F A Cup: Man Utd 0 v 1 Portsmouth

Harry Redknapp's FA Cup curse struck Manchester United again as Portsmouth won a dramatic quarter-final clash. Sulley Muntari scored the winner from the spot with 12 minutes left after Milan Baros was upended by United's substitute keeper Tomasz Kuszczak. (BBC Sport)

Kuszczak, who replaced Edwin van der Sar at half-time, was sent off and Rio Ferdinand took over in goal.

United went close to scoring, Sylvain Distin denying Michael Carrick on the line and Patrice Evra hitting a post.

The surprise win took Portsmouth back to Wembley for the first time since 1939 for the semi-finals and ended United's hopes of repeating their 1999 treble triumph. For Redknapp, who has previously knocked United out of the FA Cup with both Bournemouth and West Ham, it was another victory over Sir Alex Ferguson to savour.

Paul Scholes, Carlos Tevez and Owen Hargreaves all returned to United's starting line-up after the Champions League victory over Lyon - and they met with stubborn and well-organised Portsmouth resistance.

United were understandably furious after six minutes when Cristiano Ronaldo was clearly bundled over by Distin as he raced into the area, but referee Martin Atkinson ignored the appeals, to the clear disgust of Ferguson.

Penetrating The Darkness

For as long as humankind has recognized animals as teachers, wise men and women have recognised traits worthy of respect in both wild and domestic creatures. The cultural and spiritual significance of certain animals transcends geographical boundaries, unifying disparate peoples.

Not so the majestic and mysterious owl, which has over many millennia served as the focal point of numerous contradictory beliefs. Though owls have been regarded with awe and fascination, they have also inadvertently served as agents of fear. Since owls are nocturnal, human-owl encounters tended to occur at night and likely when the bird was swooping silently down to earth to grapple with prey. Yet even as some shied away from the owl, calling it an agent of darkness, others recognized the depths of awareness in beautiful owl’s eyes.

In the classical Greek tradition, an owl could often be found perched on the shoulder of Athena, goddess of wisdom, while owls could ward off bad luck in Roman lore. It is in Native American mythos, however, that the owl attains its own unique identity. Owls are patient messengers, bringers of information and the holders of wisdom, and they are capable of seeing the unseen. With their keen eyesight, they can glance into the soul to discern meaning and motive, and they are totems of truth. Unlike our distant forebears, we may never encounter an owl in the wild, but we can nonetheless internalize the wisdom of the owl by attuning ourselves to its most venerable qualities. Fully integrating the medicine of the owl into spiritual existence is a matter of considering how we might open ourselves more fully to the wisdom that can be found in the larger universe.

Should you find your efforts blocked as you commune with the owl, remember that it was not always revered as an icon of wisdom. This denizen of the nighttime has overcome many prejudices in its long association with humankind. To reveal those hidden elements of the self that impact your life for better or for worse, you must often make your way through the darkest parts of your soul as if you yourself are the nocturnal hunter. There is indeed darkness both inside the self and outside the self, but like the owl you can transcend it by drawing nourishment from the insights you receive when you penetrate it.

Getting Nearer and Nearer

Well doesn't time fly when you're having fun? The old adage. The old corny saying. But it is very true. We have so little time left now to be ready & prepared for the 'leap of faith' on Wednesday.

No more Saturdays left in New Zealand now ... and on Monday, no more weekends.

This is the final hurdle. The final push. Balanced on the razor's edge with it all finely balanced. Last minute preparations and carefully laid down plans reaching fruition. A huge pile of boxes in the corner of the room, to my right ... all our earthly possessions packed ready for the shippers.

A stirring conversation with my soon-to-be new boss mid week, filled me with all the confidence I needed to dissolve any doubts I had about the imminent BIG move. No looking back ....

Indeed ...right where we are located in Hamilton, there is a Psychic Fayre on over the weekend. We took ourselves to the venue (it is a two minutes walk) ... to have a nosey. To perhaps have someone pick up on our venture. Though, as an 'experienced' clairvoyant, I have little doubts about the move ... and have my own personal communion with 'them there upstairs' ... it is still good to hear from an outsider who doesn't know us and therefore doesn't know our plight. So I was somewhat open minded earlier today, anticipating something from one of the psychics on show at the venue.

Kristine elected to have a reading with one of the 'psychics' in the morning. She was however bitterly disappointed. Her $40 spent on an apparent nutter on about 'bits of red energy going in there and coming out there'. She was also told that she 'could expect pain on her shoulders because of her wings growing there. But the wings have been clipped to stop her using them!' In Kristine's words the woman was 'not right in the head!'

Feeling a little bemused we came back home for lunch and some more packing and cleaning. Mid-afternoon we decided to go back to the venue for a second look. The admission tickets permitted us multiple entries throughout the weekend. After saying hi to a few of the stall holders and psychics who we know personally, having been alongside them at previous venues, we decided to sit down and watch the demonstration put on by a Psychic Artist.

She proved to be very good. She also was able to provide us with the little bit of inspiration which we'd been looking for at the venue. Basically, I was her 'second victim' of the demonstration. It is very rare for me to get 'messages' ... so it was a pleasant surprise for her to come to me!

'You don't like you job. You are changing jobs and are on the move. It will be the best thing you ever did, and it is the right decision. You are becoming less grumpy which is good.'

She then handed me a sketch of the Aunt who she'd been in contact with. After a few moments I was able to ascertain that the sketch was that of my late father's Aunt Jean ... my Great Aunt Jean who I'd last gone to visit in Glasgow when I was a young child.

We were both suitably impressed with the Psychic Artist. Pleased by the simple message which had indeed confirmed our move and provided the insight that the move was indeed correct. Ev 'hardened' mediums appreciate receiving messages!

Tomorrow is back to the grind stone with the computer tables being dis-assembled ... and the house tidied for top to bottom. It will then be Monday and the first of my remaining three days in employment in New Zealand. On Thursday we are Oz bound ... the point of no return where the old chapter ends and the new script begins ....

Once sauntering along those fresh pages, we will be able to chill, clear our mind of the stressful thoughts and worries which have been plaguing us over the last few weeks. We can then take stock of the situation ... and RELAX!

Weathermen warn: Don't venture outside on Sunday night

Coastal regions around Britain risk being flooded when winter's biggest storm strikes early next week. (Daily Mail Saturday 8th March 2008)

The warning came as it emerged that some of the highest tides of the year will coincide with the severe weather already predicted.

Forecasters said on Thursday that heavy rains and winds of up to 80mph will lash large parts of the country on Monday.

Yesterday, they also warned Britons to stay indoors tomorrow night when the gales are expected to begin and to avoid unnecessary journeys.

The unsettled weather is expected to climax on Monday morning around rush hour when the deepening low-pressure system swings east across the UK.

The Met Office has issued severe weather warnings for much of the UK on Monday.

Brian Golding, head of forecasting, said: "The arrival of this exceptionally deep area of low pressure is expected to coincide with spring tides on Monday, bringing the risk of flooding to western coasts from southern England to northern Scotland."

The storm also brings the risk of disruption to transport and power networks, with winds strong enough to uproot trees and damage buildings, said forecasters.

They warned it "could well be the strongest storm of the winter" but at this stage they are not predicting it will be as severe as that of October 1987.

Image of the Day

Intrigue on Mars

A Brief Introduction to Numerology

Numerology, was invented to quantify, tabulate and create concepts to be applied at useful purposes. The role of numbers in esoteric studies was largely originated from and developed by Pythagorus in the fifth century BC from maths developed first by the Babylonians.Pythagorus believed the secrets and real nature of the world could be arrived at by finding the real nature of numbers. Using fractions and ratios Pythagorus invented a sytem of musical notation from ratios of sounds represented by mathematical symbols. Pythagorous also studied geometry and originated a mystical philosophy that incorporated math that spread to areas as far and diverse as Western Europe and India.

In the fourth century BC Aristotle who had had instruction in Pythagorean concepts as well as from Plato and Socrates before him and pre Socratic cosmogeny before them, taught that numbers were the only ideas that had no existence in the physical world but only in the universal mind. This teaching was contrasted from Plato's teaching that everything has a higher existence as an eternal idea af of which the corporeal thing is a mere imitation. Aristotle believed numbers were derived from number one and that the numbers that followed after started with the dyad which allowed for expression of the plural from unified being after the first multiplicity. Like numbers planes and solids had no existence in the form of physical objects but could be used in ways of thinking about physical bodies. The infinite unity of the cosmos bestowed existence to unequal, finite numbers in the act of creation from an infiite being that could have no parts divisibility or differentiation since these could not have arisen from or predicated as distinct from an infinite unity. Comologies from Plotinus to Lao Tzu give account of plural modes of existence or a manifestation of being producing new realms in the manner of "the one becoming two, the two becoming three" and so on. The view of more modern philosophy that number is a primary as opposed to a secondary quality, since as Aristotle himself held that a thing could not both be and not be, is consistant with more modern views on how we perceive.

Geometric ratios which can be used to calculate cosmogonical, and religious meaning in the construction of ancient monuments like Solomans temple or the great Pyrimids is also used in astrology to measure geometric relations between astral and celestial bodies from the location of these bodies relative to each other to a measure of so many degrees on an astrological chart, which allows the astrologer to read the positions from the information available to him or her. The constant rotio Phi or "Golden mean" is useful for studying the proportion of geometric shapes when in cosmic relation and for plotting terms in a geometric system which may involve aspects of a religious system like the tree of life better known as the Kabbala. The use of geometric symbols in representing the composition of matter involved cubes, pyrimids, octohedrons, icosahedrons, and dodecahedrons as symbols for earth, fire, air, water and cosmos or ether. The triangle was considered as the fundamental shape of all matter being the most basic stable shape. Familiar geometric shapes composed of triangles include the star of David, consisting of two triangles brought together symbolizing personal power. The cube is composed of six sides that can be broken into twelve equilateral triangles, unfolding int a cross shape and with similarities in dimensions to Solomans temple in Jerusalem.The pentacle is a cofiguration if pentagram and isocoles triangle that can be shown to be be extended infinately inwardly and outwardly even simultaneously in macrocosm and microcosm. When circumscribed by a circle the pentacle takes up exactly half the area of the circle, to name a few of the many, some of the inverse relations to this shape which symbolizes a perfectly balanced person.

Geometric shapes of the symbols for the sun, moon and planets were expanded only by John Dee in his Mona Hydroglyphica which involved analysis and combination of these symbols and their components. The circle sometimes containing the symbol meant the monad that generated the worlds and continue to do so as part of the motion of each planetary sphere in a fully ordered solar system. Combinations of these symbols combined their power to form talismans. A rennaissance philosopher and scientist Dee was an personal astrologer to Qeen Elizabeth I.

As a point when extended becomes a line, a line a plane, a plane a solid and as some say the motion of a body through space; time arising as a consequence of something in motion. But to infer too much from what can be shown with geometrical concepts can give rise to fallacies . These pure concepts cannot form the basis of knowledge and serve at least partly the framework of experience. (Adam Brown)

So ... what is 'magick'?

"Unless a man be born a magician, and God have destined him even from his birth to the work, so that spirits do willingly come of their own accord - which doth happen to few - a man must use only of those things herein set down, or written in our other books of occult philosophy, as means to fix the mind upon the work to be done; for it is in the power of the mind itself that spirits do come and go, and magical works are done, and all things in nature are but as uses to induce the will to rest upon the point desired." - Cornelius Agrippa

"Magick is the art of belief." - ludrikos muttleyos, on chaoskaos

"Magick is the practice of imposing one's will upon reality in order to create change. The changes created by magick can take place in the outside world, but the most potent changes occur inside the self – changing attitudes, expanding abilities, pushing accepted limits – all through the exercise of willpower." - Michelle Belanger, Psychic Dreamwalking

"Magick...may be defined as the process of projecting psychic energy into physical reality where it can then take shape as a spirit. The higher spirits, such as angels, derive from superconsciousness, the oversoul in which the mind exists as a part, whereas the lower spirits, such as demons, derive from subconsciousness, the repressed fears and traumatic experiences of the practitioner." - Frater W.I.T., Enochian Initiation

The Fluid Self: Changing Identities in Spiritual Travel

Everyone knows what it is like to be embodied living in the physical world from day to day. In what ways does the individual's identity, self-concept, and body image vary during spiritual travel?

One fascinating aspect of spiritual travel is the ability to shift from one's normal body image to a different form. Taking on an identity or form different from one's normal body image happens on occasion during spiritual travel.

It sometimes happens spontaneously and advanced practitioners can probably choose to create a new body image through visualization. Some claim that those who reside in the more ethereal places seem to use this ability to change shape as a form of artistic creativity. They are said to be able change bodies the way we in the material world change clothes.

However, it is more common to find one's self with little or no bodily sensation thus creating the sense of having no body at all than to shift shapes.

One of the basic lessons learned during spiritual travel is that the soul can take many forms and identities when outside the body. However one generic thing that happens repeatedly is the soul or individual becomes a kind of energy or vibration. The qualities of this difficult to describe "energy based identity" differ much like the varying qualities of color and texture differ on the surface of a body of water such as a lake. The surface of the water changes so much depending on the kind of wind and the quality of the natural light as it reflects off the surface.

Raymond Moody talks briefly about these alterations in body image that occur during near-death experience:

I have heard this new body described in many different terms, but one may readily see that much the same idea is being formulated in each case. Words and phrases which have been used by various subjects include a mist, a cloud, smoke-like, a vapor, transparent, a cloud of colors, wispy, an energy pattern, and others which express similar meanings.
Raymond Moody, Jr. M.D., Life After Life, (Harrisburg, PA: Stackpole Books, 1976), p 50

However, it is important to remember that those undergoing a near-death experience are usually experiencing out-of-body states for the first time. The above terms are descriptive of how such persons felt immediately after their accident or injury when they first found themselves outside their physical body. Spiritual travelers are likely to experience a wider variety of identities than those described as occurring during near-death experience.

Generally, this kind of experience is very important for the following reason. Once the individual gets acquainted with this unusual way of being during spiritual travel, it is not such a big step to mysticism since once the soul becomes aware of its own energetic nature and essence, it can approach the mystical areas of light and sound with a sense of relatedness. One form of energy is not so easily alienated by another form of energy, whether in the form of another disembodied individual or a vast ocean of light or sound. This is one way in which spiritual travel in the psychic areas prepares the individual soul for its encounter with ultimate Truth or God.

There are many who write on the subjects of mysticism and meditation who talk of the illusion of separateness, and how true spirituality consists of overcoming this illusion. However, when the individual's consciousness is focused within the body, the barriers which account for this feeling of separation are solid and substantial. It is during out-of-body experience that the self becomes permeable and can merge partially or fully with other forms of consciousness and states of being.

In whatever form the individual takes as he or she experiments, the freedom to vary one's bodily form and identity can be one of the beautiful and fascinating aspects of spiritual travel. (spiritualtravel.org)

C'mon The Poms!

First Test, Hamilton: New Zealand 470 & 147-8 v England 348 (stumps, day four)

Ryan Sidebottom took a hat-trick as England hit back in astonishing fashion late on day four, New Zealand closing 269 runs ahead at 147-8 in Hamilton.

Having taken a first innings lead of 122, New Zealand were coasting with Stephen Fleming's serene 44th Test 50. The Kiwis pressed but, aided by superb catching, England took four wickets in nine balls, Sidebottom with 5-37.

Monty Panesar added 3-33 after Paul Collingwood and debutant Tim Ambrose hit fifties in England's obdurate 348.

On a gloriously sunny morning at Seddon Park, the spectators arrived in healthy numbers hoping for more entertainment than had been seen in the previous three days.

But until the dramatic final session, the depressingly docile wicket, plus England's refusal to alter their defensive gameplan, meant the liberally sprinkled grass banks remained quiet, more reminiscent of a garden party. (BBC Sport)

Walking With Awareness

Many of us take the benefits of walking for granted. Each day we limit the steps we take by driving or sitting for long periods of time. But walking even a few blocks a day has unlimited benefits, not only for our health but for our spirit. As we walk, we connect with the earth.

Even when walking on concrete the earth is still beneath us, supporting us. Walking lets our body remember simpler times when life was less complicated. This helps us slow down to the speed of our body and take the time to integrate the natural flow of life into our cellular tissue. Instead of running from place to place or thinking about how much more we can fit into our day, walking allows us to exist in the moment.

Each step we take can lead us to becoming more mindful of ourselves and our feelings. Walking slows us down enough not only to pay attention to where we are in our body but also to our breath. Taking time to simply notice our breath while we walk, through the length of our inhales and exhales, and becoming attuned to the way in which we breathe is taking a step toward mindfulness. When we become more mindful, we gradually increase our awareness of the environment around us and start to recognize that the normal flow of our thoughts and feelings are not always related to where we are in the present moment. Gradually we realize that the connection we have with the earth and the ground beneath our feet is all that is. By walking and practicing breathing mindfully, we gain a sense of calm and tranquility. The problems and troubles of the day slowly fade away because we are in the "now."

The simplicity and ease of a walking practice allows us to create time, space, and an awareness of our surroundings and of the wonders that lie within. Taking a few moments to walk each day and become more aware of our breath will open the door for the beauty of the world around us to come in.

Daily Tarot of the Day

The Ace of Wands card suggests that my power today lies in initiation.

I am a winner by virtue of my desire, belief, vision, and intention. I bring fresh inspiration into the world and am master of my domain. My solution is found in creative transformation and I am empowered by my spark of life.

Energies of creativity will be there below the surface. It is up to the acolyte to find them. Using them is the puzzle. How to, and what for ... is the enigma. The task set by those vibrant traces provided in the consciousness of the majority.

Even the accomplished artist will find this to be a period in their lives where creativity flares once more ... disgruntled they will view their previous works as not the mould to follow into the future. Something new is what the heart will desire and what the spirit will demand.

Madeleine Parents (May Be) Set To Sue Newspapers

Lawyers for Kate and Gerry McCann are considering taking legal action against British newspapers whose coverage they feel to have been incorrect and unfair. (Sky News Friday 7th March 2008)

Principally they are looking at the publications in The Express Group: The Daily Express, The Sunday Express, The Daily Star and The Daily Star Sunday.

Clarence Mitchell, the spokesman for the McCann family, confirmed that their lawyers were in discussions, but denied that any writs had yet been issued.

"It's wrong to say that we're actually suing, but our lawyers have been assessing all articles, in all papers. We are extremely unhappy with The Express Group's coverage. We always said it was the worst amongst all the tabloids."

He also added that the figures that have been quoted in the media are wildly speculative and that The Express Group had made no initial offer for an out-of-court settlement.

Under UK law, the McCanns and their lawyers have a year from the publication of an article to decide whether they wish to take legal action against its content.

Nada-Brahman

Shabda (or Nada-Brahman) is a spiritual musical sound that can be heard during yogic meditation and is believed to have a spiritually transformative power.

This belief in the spiritual nature of both the inner spiritual sounds of meditation and physical outer sounds of mantra and chanting (shabda is associated with both) is a common one throughout India today. Both kinds of sounds have a special power for the spiritual traveller.

The emphasis on inner spiritual sounds or a "current of sound" is seen especially in the Sikh and Radha Soami traditions in the Punjab, and was a common theme in the poetry of a popular medieval saint named Kabir who was born in Varanasi in the fifteenth century. Kabir is highly respected by these groups and his poetry has been elevated to scripture by being included in their holy books.

Unfortunately, it is taboo in many of these traditions to speak or write about personal religious experience. It is therefore difficult to find autobiographical examples of this kind of religious experience except indirectly in the poetry of various saints from northwest India.

The view that the universe contains waves or currents that can be perceived as sound which move between the two poles of existence is a common theme in the Shabda Yoga traditions. The first pole is in the higher spiritual planes of being where the templates for all life forms and the templates that define the basic order of the material world are said to exist. The second and opposite pole is manifestation, and the physical world as we normally perceive it.

These traditions claim that on one hand there is a flow of creative energy or spirit issuing from the first pole that is responsible for the material order and evolution we see around us. The consciousness present in life forms is said to depend on this outward expanding spiritual flow. In this world view, the universe is being constantly created or recreated, and refreshed or renewed by this outward flow.

On the other hand there is also said to be a returning flow which reverses creation, and draws or carries the traveler back from the second pole or material world to his or her origins in the spiritual realms. The salient point of this discussion lies in the fact that the spiritual traveler who can perceive these returning currents of sound can learn to catch the returning wave, and ride it back to higher planes of being. This is the reason for our interest in these sound currents. They serve both as the mechanism of travel, and a compass orienting the traveler pointing the way through the psychic planes and into the spiritual planes.

The ability to tune the soul to perceive the sounds of Shabda must come first, and the ability to catch them, and metaphorically ride them is a more advanced stage. The advanced stage involves transitioning from immersion in a single "lower" sound associated with a psychic state represented by, for instance, the sound of drums or thunder to the higher sounds of flutes, violins, or vinas which are associated with different heavenly or spiritual worlds.

Developing one's spiritual hearing is a process that takes time and effort, and is a worthy goal on the spiritual path. It is also a skill that is sometimes ignored or overlooked. The spiritual traveller needs to take a special interest in this form of spiritual development to truly understand the kind of freedom and knowledge that spiritual travel can offer.

You Not Me

Dream Theater



Another track by Dream Theater which has grown on me ....!!

Being round you is driving me crazy
Watching you run is making me lazy
You're trying to buy a place in my head
Telling me lines I've already read
Speaking my name to try to confuse me
Say it again you're starting to lose me

That's alright I'm okay
It happens every single day
It's all the same
But I'm not blind

It's all about you not me
It's all about the things
That you're expecting me to be
There's not enough time to live
And all that you're expecting me to give

It's all about you not me
It's all about you not me

You're building my prison brick by brick
Eating your words is making me sick
You get what you want
Cause nothing is sacred
You're reading my mind
And leaving me naked
You say I gotta give before I receive it
One of these days I'll believe it.

It's all about you not me
It's all about the things
That you're expecting me to be
There's not enough time to live
And all that you're expecting me to give

It's all about you not me
It's all about you not me

Britain braced for 'worst storm of winter' on Monday as forecasters predict fierce winds and torrential rain

Winter's most ferocious storm is heading Britain's way, weathermen warned last night. (Daily Mail Friday 7th March 2008)

Heavy rain and winds of up to 80mph are expected to lash large parts of Britain on Monday.

The gales will be strong enough to cause serious damage as well as blow away any memories of the blues skies that made February the sunniest on record.

The worst weather will sweep into exposed western areas as well as coastal parts of the South, and could cause significant disruption to travel and power supplies. The latest storm will arrive a week after strong winds swept through Britain. They strengthened over Europe to leave a trail of destruction across several countries.

Dolmens

A dolmen (also known as cromlech, anta, Hünengrab, Hunebed, quoit, and portal dolmen) is a type of single-chamber megalithic tomb, usually consisting of three or more upright stones (megaliths) supporting a large flat horizontal capstone (table).

Most date from the early Neolithic period (4000 to 3000 BC). Dolmens were usually covered with earth or smaller stones to form a barrow, though in many cases that covering has weathered away, leaving only the stone "skeleton" of the burial mound intact.

"Dolmen" originates from the expression taol maen, which means "stone table" in Breton, and was first used archaeologically by Théophile Corret de la Tour d'Auvergne. The etymology of the German Hünenbett or Hünengrab and Dutch Hunebed (lit. Huns' bed) all evoke the image of giants building the structures. Of other Celtic languages, "cromlech" derives from Welsh and "quoit" is commonly used in Cornwall. Anta is the term used in Portugal, and dös in Sweden.

Dolmen sites fringe the Irish Sea and are found in south-east Ireland, Wales, and Cornwall. In Ireland, however, dolmens are more to be found on the west coast, particularly in the Burren and Connemara, where some of the more well-known examples, such as Poulnabrone dolmen, are to be found. Examples have also been found in northern Ireland where they may have co-existed with the court cairn tombs. It is thought that the dolmens themselves evolved from a simpler cist burial method. (Wikipedia)

Treatise on Sitting Meditation

Sitting meditation is the method of great liberation; all the teachings flow forth from this, myriad practices are mastered this way. All the buddhas and bodhisattvas have entered and left by this door.

"What does it mean that sitting meditation is the root source of all the teachings?"

Meditation is the inner mind of the enlightened ones, discipline is their outer character, doctrine is their speech, Buddha remembrance is the invocation of Buddha's name; all come from the enlightened mind of the buddhas. Therefore it is considered fundamental.

"The method of meditation is formless and thoughtless; spiritual qualities are not obvious, and there is no proof of seeing reality, so how can we believe this?"

Your own mind and the enlightened mind are one. If you do not know your own mind, on whom can you call for witness and proof? Other than seek the identity of mind and Buddha, what proof do you seek?

"How should we practice this method? Even if we practice we are not sure of attaining enlightenment and fulfilling buddhahood; and if it is uncertain, even if we do practice, what is the benefit?"

The enlightened mind itself basically has no delusion or enlightenment. This is actually the subtle art of those who realize thusness; even if you don't become enlightened, when you sit once in meditation you are a Buddha for that sitting; when you sit for a day in meditation, you are a Buddha for a day; when you sit in meditation for all your life, you are a Buddha all your life.

"How should I rest my mind, how should I use my mind?"

The enlightened mind has no attachment to appearances; detachment from appearances is the character of reality. Among the four modes of conduct, walking, standing, sitting and lying, sitting is considered to be stable and tranquil. This means sitting straight and contemplating the characteristics of reality.

"Please explain in detail the meaning of sitting straight and contemplating reality."

Sitting straight means sitting cross legged as the Buddhas do; contemplating reality means sitting meditation, forming the symbol of absorption in the cosmos (left palm up, left hand on right palm, thumb tips joined to form a circle, symbol of the body of reality with no lack or excess, beginningless and endless, perfect and complete as a sphere), body and mind unmoving.Eyes half open, watching over the tip of the nose, you should see all compounded things as like dreams, illusions, bubbles, shadows; don't get hung up in thought about them.

"Why keep the eyes half open, watching over the tip of the nose?"

When the eyes are open and you can see for a distance, your mind can be distracted by the profusion of objects; yet if you close your eyes, you fall into a state of darkness and oblivion, and your mind is not clear. When your eyes are half-open, your thoughts don't race; mind and body are one thusness. This is called fulfilling buddhahood right where you are, the meaning of great capacity and great function.

"Though I hear what you say, it's still hard to really believe. I have heard that to attain wisdom, I need to accumulate virtue through reading and reciting the scriptures, fasting, discipline and recitation of Buddha names. How can there be anything special about peaceful meditation without doing the other practices?"

Practicing without any sense of attainment is called the exceedingly profound transcendent wisdom; this wisdom can cut off the source of birth and death like a sharp sword. To practice virtue in hopes of reward is the illusion of ordinary people. If you practice the way of unity of cause and effect, you realize buddhahood in one lifetime.

Daikaku (1213-1279)

— Excerpt from "Original Face: An Anthology of Rinzai Zen"
Translated by Thomas Cleary

"Forgotten Wonders"

We built a castle in the sky ... in the swirling, freezing mists
Atop a grassy hill side ... an escarpment of solid rock to help keep the bastards out
Summoned were all the banes of protection ... the gods looked favourably upon us
And when it was done ... we built a mighty pyre and burnt all the ones who’d died
Flames licked higher towards the gods ... our captured enemies the sacrifices
Their frenzied screams of dying sickened me ... but then they sent a chilling message
Attack us at your peril ....

I was a young man then, full of hopes and dreams
The order had barely shown much interest in me then
I seldom wished to fight ... content to wander with the women folk the moors
Seeking the herbs and the roots which could heal or those which the priests used

On a sunny day ... I can remember it well ... a perfect day ... with no cloud in the sky
I sat dreamily against my favourite tree in a quiet place
I had some of the root which I’d kept for myself ... thankfully the priest ne’er noticed
Tentatively ... nervously ... I placed the bitter root in my mouth ...
Then chewed a little .... carefully at first ..... then as a warmth began in my feet ...
And lifted up my spine .... I chose more .... until I’d swallowed the entire root

A strange, dizzy feeling overtook me ... I felt tired but also alive ... alert
I felt myself sinking into the ground then lifting like a bird
Below me I could see the moors and the castle embankment below me
I soared and soared higher into the sky ... until I entered a wondrous world
A place I cannot truly describe ....

And presently I came upon strange peoples ... wearing strange colourful robes
They appeared kindly as I approached them .... they greeted me ....
They led me to a wonderful water’s edge and washed me ... then dressed me like they
I knew not where I was ....

When I awoke ... it was nightfall ... my head hurt and my stomach felt heavy

Next day I could barely lift my head ,... somehow I managed my duties
Later ... when the pain in my head eased ,... a priest called me over to him
He led me to the enclave at the far end of the citadel .... the head priest was waiting
A fearsome man with long black hair, shabby beard and robes of purest white
I was scared ... his eyes looked right through me .... he told me I had the mark
It was time I became an initiate .... he’d known I eaten the root and had lived
Somehow I’d survived the crossing over ... I could not deny ... I could only nod my head

It was many years later ... as I partook in the ceremonies to empower the circles of stone
That I learned I’d eaten too much root that first time ... truly I should have died
My gifts of foresight and healing were a proven tool by then ....
I was a master Mage by then ,... a wanderer of my own path ....

The stones ... ah the stones ... wonders of power and enchantment ...
Doorways to other worlds .... I had the privilege to be involved in their construction
The geometry and shape matching exactly the ancient scriptures ...
Visitors from out of the glowing mists and thunder would come ...
and assist in the sculpting of a specific rock ... one of the desired resonance ...

My role to empower the circuit with earth and sky ...
The conduit at the centre of the hub which brought the two powers together
And my flesh ... was the transmitter ... for my form was almost all water
The dragon would then waken within me and set alight my own circuitry

Thus I was the fire ... the divine spark ...
I would then master the dimensional change ... I would walk between the worlds
And greet those who would be there on the different frequency
They could then wander through me ... I would be mediator for the tribes
My voice was the oracle in those great times ....

Architecture ... astrology .... healing ... music .... other wonders would come through me
And our knowledge grew ... but I wasn’t the lone mediator
There were many ... each unique ... each creating a different frequency ...
The stones ... I recall them all with wonder .....

Sadly our knowledge was murdered and burnt ...
We were declared evil by those who were fearful of us ....
Our castle was burnt down to the ground ....
And our history was then forgotten .... lies made which became legend
So later generation could only guess at how or why ...

Matthew James 7 April 2005

2 Minutes To Midnight

Classic Iron Maiden ...



Taken from the 'Powerslave' album ....

Image of the Day

Artwork by David Dees - Deesillustration.com,,

Finding Your "Power Hand"

When you're born, you have a predisposition for utilizing one hand over the other. You're either a righty or a lefty, or if you are very talented you can be ambidextrous.

This predisposition is often called dominance. One hand is dominant over the other. The same is true in the energy world. You will have one hand, or sometimes one entire side of your body that is more sensitive, or stronger than the other side. In metaphysical healing terms, many people call this your "power" side or "power hand".

As you learn to utilise energy, you build up something like a tolerance to the different levels that can be guided from the Divine, through you and into a client. The more you practice, the more you learn, the more energy you can channel during a healing session.

But even with all this practice, one hand might be able to channel more energy than the other. That same hand will also be the one that is often more sensitive to feeling energy in someone else's body. That's great for helping you to discover the location of illness or weakness in your client.

More on Healing

There are many different ways to give and receive healing. A laugh, a hug, even a pat on the back or soothing tone can provide healing to someone in need.

In today's environment of high medical bills, expensive prescriptions and invasive procedures, many people are looking to 'alternative medicines'. But you might take note at just how many of these 'new alternatives' are actually ancient healing methods or simple 'home remedies' your grand mother used to provide.

No matter what you chose to believe, nothing should take the place of a visit to your doctor when problems arise. Holistic healing methods are designed to assist in treating the 'whole' person and not just the physical ailment most medical treatments deal with.

Madeleine: British police meet Portuguese detectives to plan fresh interviews with Tapas Nine

British police have met Portuguese detectives to plan new interviews with the group of friends who dined with Gerry and Kate McCann on the night their daughter Madeleine disappeared. (Daily Mail Friday 7th May 2008)

Portuguese police continue to believe the so-called Tapas Nine - the McCanns and their seven friends - could still hold the solution to the unsolved mystery that began in May last year.

And Leicestershire Police said yesterday that Detective Superintendent Stuart Prior had returned from the Algarve after three days of meetings with counterparts in Portugal about how fresh interviews would be conducted.

Madeleine was three when she went missing from her family's holiday apartment in Praia da Luz while her parents ate dinner at a tapas bar 50 yards away with their friends from England.

Portuguese detectives, who have been widely criticised for their failure to find any solid evidence or charge anyone, remain unsatisfied by the witness accounts given by the so-called Tapas Nine, as they try to establish a timeline of events on that evening.

Leicestershire Police said Det Supt Prior flew to Portugal to discuss the issue of mutual legal assistance, the process whereby evidence is gathered in one country to help an investigation in another. A Leicestershire police spokeswoman said: "Since Madeleine's disappearance, we, together with other law enforcement agencies, have been working closely with the Portuguese authorities.

Intuitive Guidance From Within

Learning to trust our intuition is something that can connect us with our higher selves. Sometimes it might not seem easy to do this. Our thoughts and minds often get in the way. But by accessing our innermost self, we will find that the information we receive is usually what we truly need at that moment. One of the techniques that allows us to really get in touch with our deepest font of wisdom is using our body as a pendulum. The simple act of letting our physical being lead us in a certain direction can offer us extremely deep insights and help us find the answers we seek.

Many of us may have tried using a pendulum or crystal on a chain as a dousing tool to acquire the information we need to make decisions or even find lost objects. Using our bodies puts us much more closely in tune with our being. The process of using your body as a pendulum is to ask your higher self a question and wait for your body to respond in either a forward-tilting or backward-tilting motion. The first step is to really understand how our higher self communicates with us by centering our bodies, asking ourselves the directions for "yes" and "no," and noting which way our body moves. For a lot of people a forward motion is "yes," and your body tilting backward is a "no" answer. It is easier to start with simple questions at first to understand how our higher self communicates with us. As we become more used to the messages we receive and how we process them, we can start asking for more specific things such as what dosage of herbs to take or which foods would best nourish our bodies. Using this technique in the grocery store or when shopping for vitamins and remedies can be extremely helpful.

Since we are always present in our bodies, understanding how we can use our bodies as pendulums is a tool we can use at any given moment in our lives. Letting our bodies tell us what is happening inside of us will in turn help to guide us through not just daily but also major life decisions. The more we allow our bodies to open up and share with us the connection it has with our deeper self, the better able we will be to truly access the knowledge we hold so deeply within.

Tarot Card of the Day

This card represents dynamic passion - for life in general. If it comes up relating to an inner energy then it will indicate that you are overcoming old fears, breaking out of old patterns, and setting yourself free. There will be confidence, decisive action, an assertive leap forward into the heart of your life. It will often come up to indicate that you have broken through habitual limitations and restrictions, thereby freeing off your power to be used constructively.

It can indicate a spiritual breakthrough, which will always include the courage to face your fears, and see them for what they truly are. One strange fact about unacknowledged fears is that they take on the darkest, most horrifying shape with which your subconscious can imbue them. Yet when you drag them out into the light of day, you suddenly realise that what you were so scared of might a) never happen; b) not be as bad as you thought it would be when you feared it; and c) you've probably got what it takes to deal with it anyway!

If the Princess of Wands comes up to indicate a person, then she will be strong, forceful, determined, unswerving...and perhaps a touch bossy! She is a faithful and trustworthy friend, whose insight and perception will often steer you in the right direction. She will be energetic and enthusiastic about life, with a big personality.

As a partner she's independent, sometimes a touch stubborn, but loyal and caring. These are often career women, and usually wait till later on to start families. She will be experienced, and intelligent, though regularly you find that such young women have had to learn most of their lessons the hard way.

As an enemy she's dangerous - she's usually outspoken, and unafraid to express her anger. If you manage to make an enemy of one of these women, you need to think very carefully about how that happened. Mostly their engagement with life is so total that they don't waste time on negative pursuits. All the Wand people place morality and ethics high on their list of priorities. They are honest decent people with a strong code of behaviour to which they adhere faithfully.

This card will rarely come up to indicate an event - she almost always shows either another person in your life, or an aspect of self.

Healing At A Distance

Absent Healing is a form of healing that takes place when the person giving the healing is not in direct contact with the person to be healed.

Some common names for healing, include: absent healing, faith healing, spiritual healing, laying on of hands and reiki. These are to name only a few.

Healing is a practice and a belief that individuals can affect others by channeling energy from a higher source. The idea has existed in many cultures since the earliest records of man. Healing can be practiced in a variety of locations including: home, clinics, churches and seminars. It should be noted too, that not all healing is based upon religious faith.

For The Future ..

***Stop Press - Future Features - Stop Press***

Once we get settled in Canberra and we can step from behind the 8-Ball; perhaps in a couple of months (all going well) I intend to add a series of new features to A Light In The Darkness.

Ideas have been mulled over for a number of months, but because of our nomadic nature at present, I've elected to leave them on the back burner.

One such feature I intend to introduce will be an Absent Healing List. In the coming weeks I will think a little more on this intended feature ... so please bear with me.

Parallels

Yes live 1977



A little bit of classic progressive rock for a change .... classic Yes from the 'Going For The One' album.

Instinct ... and things

Instinct ... is just that, instinct. Some call it 'the sixth sense'. Some perceive it as a second nature feeling inside of them. A 'knowing' or 'just a feeling'. It is best described, from personal experience, as an over-riding 'knowing' ... your entire being is screaming out with all of its normal five sense heightened. A little like being connected to a battery and overwhelmed with tens of thousands of volts of biochemical electricity. It is an adrenalin rush. A feel good factor. When I receive that type of 'feeling' I just know instinct is the only 'guide' to listen to.

Instinct for me is not receiving information from a 'guide'. It comes from self. My higher self. My higher immortal. That part of my self which transcends the sub-conscious ... which exists far beyond imagination. It is a part of self which somewhere exists on a very high and quick vibration.

Instinct for me is in truth a fact of life. It has rarely let me down. Indeed the times it has ... can be attributed to me not listening properly to its 'information' or not following its advised path to the letter.

Instinct for me is an overwhelming feeling that The Shining Star is very much alive. It is a driving force at this moment in time. Each time I see her picture there is just a 'knowing' that she still wanders this earth plane. It is a powerful tracer that connects with me. A heartbeat somewhere on the planet which I 'instinctively' link to. I do not understand how or why. It just does. I simply must accept this occurrence.

It is frustrating for me too when 'instinct' declares there are falsehoods in much of the media speculation which has appeared over the months. I read the words written and instinct provides me with a sickly, heavy feeling ... which I attribute with 'something not being right'. Further investigation of this feeling ... by calm and relaxed moments of meditation ... almost always result in the momentary flashing of imagery in my mind's eye. This has been commonplace in the path in connection with the many, many hours of 'professional consultations' I've offered over the last couple of decades. Flashes of 'instinctive inspiration' have made up the bulk of my 'utterances' during the consultations.

I don't ever know how I know the information or why I know. I just have simply accepted it as fact ... it's been the way it is ... and still is.

So it is that the current mystery intrigues me ...

Instinct has often adopted the form of 'The Hawk' and provided me with numerous insights relating to the situation. In moments of clarity I've been able to visualise being the hawk with its beady eyes symbolically gazing down at the trail made by the mystery. I've been able to symbolically see the eventual safe return of the Shining Star. I've seen the apparent deception of one who has their feet in two camps. Someone who is a Judas. There has been a betrayal ... and I instinctively know it is still taking place.

Someone around the core of the mystery does seem to have access to the trail which leads to where the Shining Star resides at this moment in time. There are communications on a fairly regular basis to check that she is safe and well. A guilt complex it appears. The separation of the little girl and her family does indeed seem to be longer than had been planned. So the judas figure may well have been double crossed or betrayed also.

There is a significant changing of the guard occurring deep within the realm of those who planned the entire thing. The clearing out of the darkness created by the former 'robed one' ... a spring clean created under a rouse. A sense of new faces being appointed and old connections being dashed and broken. This goes very deep indeed. A new wonder denied public viewing for fear it contradicts the reductions sanctioned by those on high. There are issues linked to religious doctrines too. Ages old tensions very much out in the open and much salt added to the wounds.

When the likes of 'the Two Old Dears' make contact ... I just 'know' these impressions are not part of instinctive insights. It feels totally different. The communications originate in a different area of my mind for starters. Instinctive impressions appear to take place towards the front of my mind ... whereas these seperate contacts come from the very back of my mind. I'm aware almost of a linkage via the cerebral cortex ... like someone plugs themselves into me. '

I have little or no control of what these connections transport into my mind. It may be my own 'mind voice' but it is information which just appears ... is not there one instance and is there the next. It is free flowing ... and very difficult to control. I've developed a technique I describe as my 'answer machine' ... where I sense a series of very high pitched 'bleeps' in the central part of my mind. I have learned to comprehend that if I am to focus on the region where these bleeps originated ... then I will 'be able to read the mind mail left there for me' ... sceptics laugh if you have. You will be not alone in your scepticism believe me. Over the years I've had awful belittlement over this. But the results have been the proof of the pudding. Information has been received in this way which could not have been anything other than 'direct mediumship' .... it works but I've never really got to grips with the exact mechanisms.

Like now I have a mind message to 'get on with it'. One of the two is foot tapping. Arms folded and not appreciating the human limitations of typing on a keyboard. 'She is indeed alive ... from cruiser to island to mainland. Not the island you perceive however. Shrouded in clouds for much of the year ... cruisers come and go as they please. Private landings and poorly monitored coast line. Rehearsals had taken place and some of those linked to the family drafted in gradually so as not to arouse suspicion. Their causes transcend many pieces of the pyramid. The puzzle will not be solved. But the important truth lies in the fact that she WILL be returned. It may not be when folk wish ... and finding her location could jeapodise her safety as it compromises those not meant to be known. They will stop at nothing to hide their connections. For this is most certainly meant to appear like a normal abduction with a world wide campaign to find the little girl. It will lead to a large organisation blessed with finding so many lost. So many will be found which is the silver lining for such a bad situation. Those of the family now central to the organisation are largely ignorant of the manipulation of so many to get them there. It is what they represent as figureheads through their own well familiar child which gives them the appeal. It will lead not just into Europe but also to the Americas and places as far and wide as Africa and Fiji. It is a world wide net being cast at this moment in time.

The girl will be 'found' when it suits the main man. There have been deliberate leaks in the media as the cunning play games with everyone. The girl has been seen and will be sighted again and perhaps again. The family is not to lose hope. There are safeguards in place to minimise the risk to her being. She coping well and is generally of good health. Her teeth give her a little concern at night when she cries herself to sleep ...but her suffering is minimal and she copes as well as can be expected. In her heart she never forgets. She is of clever mind and knows with her own instinct she will be returned. The family unit she has been 'given' all know she is to be returned. Like a princess they treat her ... when she is with them.

Image of the Day

GLENCOE, Scotland

"Overture 1928"

Dream Theater live from New York on August 30, 2000



Man, they are growing on me .... !!

A shaming day for democracy: MPs vote to deny British people a say on the EU treaty

The British people were finally denied a say on the EU constitution last night after a momentous day in the Commons. (Daily Mail Thursday 6th March 2008)

MPs voted against holding a referendum on the biggest shift of power to Brussels for at least a decade. This was despite pledges from both Labour and the Liberal Democrats that voters would have the chance to decide the issue.

The furious parliamentary debate on Europe plunged Nick Clegg's LibDem leadership into crisis as 13 rebels - a fifth of his entire tally of MPs - joined the Tories in calling for a national vote. Mr Clegg, who had ordered his MPs to abstain from voting, helped rescue Gordon Brown from defeat in two crucial votes on the Lisbon Treaty.

A Tory amendment calling for a referendum was defeated by 311 votes to 248, a Government majority of 63.

Servitors, Psychodynamics and Models of Magick

Chaos Magick, at least if approached by through the internet and conversation with chaos magicians, can appear a sprawling, contradictory mess of techniques to the newcomer.

The relativistic stance of Chaos Magick, and it's apparent lack of a unifying template can appear both morally disturbing and intellectually frustrating, especially to occultists coming to it from more traditional paths. Frater U.D., in a small essay published in 1991, provided a clearer approach to chaos magick by declaring it to be a meta-model, a fifth approach to magick. The other four he defined as the Spirit Model (used by shamans and traditional ceremonial magicians, in which autonomous entities exist in a dimension accessible to ours through altered states of consciousness); the Energy Model (where the world is viewed as being 'vitalized' by energy currents that the magician manipulates); the Psychological Model (in which the magician is seen as "a programmer of symbols and different states of consciousness," manipulating the the individual and the deep psyche); and the information model (where information is the code that programs the essentially neutral energy of the life force).

Frater U.D. points out that writers on chaos magick generally subscribe to a great extent to the Psychological Model, but, their approach utilizes a Meta-Model, which is really a set of instructions on how to use the other models. One of the most salient facts about chaos magick, and one of the most difficult for many newcomers to grasp, is that it is not really a magickal philosophy at all, it is really a technology, an approach, or stance towards magickal systems. The path to this was a result of chaos magicians developing and then transcending the Psychological Model. This essay on servitors while discussing many of the practical issues in the creation and deployment of servitors also elucidates the relationship between chaos magickal theory and modern psychology.

Modern magicians, chaos magicians, contemporary sorcerers, and the other magickal users of servitors appear to have adopted a modified psychodynamic view of personality, and the way in which we identify ourselves.

This view, first expounded by Freud and the other founders of psychoanalysis (Jung, Adler, etc.), suggests that the way in which we view ourselves develops over time, and motivational syndromes (what we want and how we go about getting it) are critical to this development. This is quite a different view than type or trait personality theories which were in favor throughout most of Western history (man is composed of a compound of four or five elements, for example). Chaos magicians tend to display more of a situationist stance to personality, that is to say they tend to act as though the situation in which one finds oneself is the dominant factor in observable behaviors. Chaos magicians also tend to suggest that this is a good thing, since it means the personality can be used opportunistically, as a tool to achieve desires. This stance also reflects Buddhist and Eastern views of the Self, which either repudiate its existence as a permanent construction, or state that its essential nature can only be discoveredthrough profoundly altered states of consciousness (samadhi).

Phil Hine, in his excellent pamphlet "Chaos Servitors, a User Guide" writes of the self:

"I prefer the analogy of the self as an organic city-entity, where some portions are more prominent than others, where there are hidden tunnels and sewers, and where the under levels carry vital energies to buildings. The city-self is continually changing and growing - tear down a building of belief, and another grows back in its place."

Austin Osman Spare was clearly influenced by psychodynamic theories of the self, as well as Eastern ones, and the general magickal theory he passed on to us embody these ideas. Primarily concerned with motivation (desire), Spare wrote in "The Book of Pleasure":

"The 'self' is the 'Neither-Neither,' nothing omitted, indissoluble, beyond prepossession; dissociation of conception by its own invincible love is the only true, safe, and free...This Self-Love is now declared by me the means of evolving millions of ideas for pleasure without love, or its synonyms-self-reproach, sickness, old age, and death. The Symposium of self and love. O! Wise Man, Please Thyself."

Note the combination of psychoanalytic vocabulary and Vedic metaphysics combined with an insistence on motivation as fundamental.

Now a servitor is generally considered to be a part of the personality of the magician that has been severed from him. This is a limited view of servitors, that they could be considered severed portions of the Deep Mind, and consequently not located in the psyche of any particular magician. In my view demons, angels, imaginary friends, poltergeists and perhaps even ghosts are servitors. Servitors can be called thought-forms (as opposed to godforms which may sometimes be servitors on steroids).

Since contemporary magickal stances to personality are psychodynamic and motivational servitors tend to be viewed as functional entities, and rather easily operated. Contrast this with the type and trait theories that inform Traditional Ceremonial Magick. Magicians up until this century (and still some today) spend what seems to me ridiculous amounts of time and effort evoking demons, using grimoires, and engaging in a paraphernalia of magick that makes a great deal of sense if you believe in type and trait theories of personalities, but very little if your approach is situational and pyschodynamic. If you believe that a demon you summon is a wholly independent entity with a personality type all of its own you may have to resort to extreme measures to force it to do your bidding. If you believe that a demon is a servitor summoned as a manifestation of your desire then a simple bargain will suffice (I'll give you energy, you get what I want, I'll give you a nice place to live).

“Do not grasp another’s bow”

“Do not grasp another’s bow; do not ride another’s horse; do not meddle in another’s affairs.” Though this is a commonplace saying, it can also be sustenance for entering the Path. Just examine yourself constantly: from morning to night, what do you do to help others and help yourself? If you notice even the slightest partiality or insensitivity, you must admonish yourself. Don’t be careless about this!

In the old days Ch’an Master Tao Lin lived up in a tall pine tree on Ch’in Wang Mountain; people of the time called him the ‘Bird’s Nest Monk.’ When Minister Po Chu-yi was commander of Ch’ien T’ang, he made a special trip to the mountain to visit him. Po said, “It’s very dangerous where you’re sitting, Ch’an Master.” The Master said, “My danger may be very great, Minister, but yours is even greater.” Po said, “I am the commander of Ch’ien T’ang: what danger is there?” The Master said, “Fuel and fire are joined, consciousness and identity do not stay: how can you not be in danger?”

Po also asked, “What is the overall meaning of the Buddhist teaching?” The Master said, “Don’t commit any evils; practice the many virtues.” Po said, “Even a three year old child could say this.” The Master said, “Though a three year old child can say it, an eighty year old man cannot carry it out.” Po then bowed and departed.

Now if you want to save mental power, do not be concerned with whether a three year old child can say it, or whether or not an eighty year old man can carry it out. Just don’t do any evil, and you have mastered these words. They apply whether you believe or not, so please think it over.

If, with a straightforward mind and straightforward conduct, you are able to seize supreme enlightenment directly, this can be called the acts of a real person of power. The concerns that have come down from numberless ages are only in the present: if you can understand them right now, then the concerns of numberless ages will instantly disperse, like tiles being scattered or ice melting. If you don’t understand them right now, you’ll pass through countless eons more, and it’ll still be just as it is. The truth that is as it is has been continuous since antiquity without ever having varied so much as a hairsbreadth.

Matters of worldly anxieties are like the links of a chain, joining together continuously without a break. If you can do away with them, do away with them immediately! Because you have become habituated to them since beginningless time, to the point where they have become totally familiar, if you don’t exert yourself to go beyond them, then as time goes on and on, with you unknowing and unawares, they will have entered deeply into you. Finally, on the last day of your life, you won’t be able to do anything about it. If you want to be able to avoid going wrong when you face the end of your life, then from now on whenever you do anything, don’t let yourself slip. If you go wrong in your present doings, it will be impossible not to go wrong when you’re facing death.

There’s a sort of person who reads scriptures, recites the Buddha-name, and repents in the morning, but then in the evening runs off at the mouth, slandering and vilifying other people. The next day he does homage to the Buddha and repents as before. All through the years till the end of his life he take this as daily ritual-this is extreme folly. Such people are far from realizing that the Sanskrit word kshama means to repent faults. This is called “cutting off the continuing mind.” Once you have cut if off, do not commit wrongdoings again.

The mind, discriminating intellect, and consciousness of students of the Path should be quiet and still twenty four hours a day. When you have nothing to do, you should sit quietly and kept the mind from slackening and the body from wavering. If you practice to perfection over a long, long time, naturally body and mind will come to rest at ease, and you will have some direction in the Path. The perfection of quiescence and stillness indeed settles the scattered and confused false consciousness of sentient beings, but if you cling to quiescent stillness and consider it the ultimate, then you’re in the grip of perverted “silent illumination” Ch’an.

By keeping mindful of the matter of birth and death, your mental technique is already correct. Once the mental technique is correct, then you won’t need to use effort to clear your mind as you respond to circumstances in your daily activities. When you actively try to clear your mind, then you won’t go wrong; since you don’t go wrong, correct mindfulness stands out alone. When correct mindfulness stands out alone, inner truth adapts to phenomena; when inner truth adapts to things and events, events and things come to fuse in inner truth. When phenomena fuse with their inner truth, you save power; when you feel the saving, this is the empowerment of studying the Path. In gaining power you save unlimited power; in saving power you gain unlimited power.

This matter will be taken up by brilliant quick-minded folks, but if you depend on your brilliance and quick wits, you won’t be able to bear up. It is easy for keen and bright people to enter, but hard for them to preserve it. That’s because generally their entry is not very deep and the power is meager. With the intelligent and quick-witted, as soon as they hear a spiritual friend mention this matter, their eyes stir immediately and they are already trying to gain understanding through their mind’s discriminating intellect. People like this are creating their own hindrances, and will never have a moment of awakening.

This is what Yung Chia meant when he said, “The loss of wealth of the Dharma and the demise of virtue all stem from mind’s discriminating intellect.”

The obstruction of the Path by the mind and its conceptual discrimination is worse than poisonous snakes or fierce tigers. Why? Because poisonous snakes and fierce tigers can still be avoided, whereas intelligent people make the mind’s conceptual discrimination their home, so that there’s never a single instant, whether they’re walking, standing, sitting or lying down, that they’re not having dealings with it. As time goes on, unknowing and unawares, they become one piece with it; not because they want to, either, but because since beginningless time they have followed this one little road until it’s become set and familiar. Though they may see through it for a moment and wish to detach from it, they still can’t. Thus it is said that poisonous snakes and fierce tigers can still be avoided, but the mind’s conceptual discrimination truly has no place for you to escape.

Taken from the Chinese text Chih Yueh Lu – Records of Pointing at the Moon
Zen Master Ta Hui (1088-1163)