Love is NOT pleasure

Without the understanding of pleasure you will never be able to understand love. Love is not pleasure. Love is something entirely different. And to understand pleasure, as I said, you have to learn about it. Now for most of us, for every human being, sex is a problem. Why? Listen to this very carefully. Because you are not able to solve it, you run away from it. The sannyasi runs away from it by taking a vow of celibacy, by denying. Please see what happens to such a mind !

By denying something which is a part of your whole structure - the glands and so on - by suppressing it, you have made yourself arid, and there is a constant battle going on within yourself.

As we were saying, we have only two ways of meeting any problem, apparently: either suppressing it or running away from it. Suppressing it is really the same thing as running away from it. And we have a whole network of escapes - very intricate, intellectual, emotional - and ordinary everyday activity.

There are various forms of escapes into which we will not go for the moment. But we have this problem. The sannyasi escapes from it in one way, but he has not resolved it; he has suppressed it by taking a vow, and the whole problem is boiling in him. He may put on the outward robe of simplicity, but this becomes an extraordinary issue for him too, as it is for the man who lives an ordinary life. How do you solve that problem?

(souljourney) Growth Needs

Poverty exists where basic needs are not being met. It is vital to recognize that the basic needs of humanity will only be met for humanity by those who already have their basic needs met and who are meeting their growth needs. Unless more people meet their growth needs, the world will be kept in poverty and deprivation of human dignity. Growth needs refer in some way to the growth in our essential nature as human souls in incarnation.

As more and more people are responding to soul, which is the consciousness of growth, issues of poverty are increasingly being addressed as a global responsibility rather than just a local issue as we see with such global events as Live 8.

There are many people today who must consciously recognize that they have growth needs because they are ready and capable of fulfilling these needs. When the basic needs are sufficiently met, then it becomes mandatory to fulfill the growth needs, for that is always the next step. If we do not make that transition we start to develop pathologies – which is exactly what has occurred and is occurring on the planet.

These pathologies take the form of alienation, anguish, cynicism, apathy, etc. and manifest in behaviour that we are seeing in the world today such as children killing children, psychopathy in high places (characterized by a lack of conscience), megalomania (lust for power), lack of respect for life and property, and the like. These are the pathologies that develop when growth needs are not being met. They are maladies of the soul in the sense that soul needs to be connected to and is not. Therefore the soul energies themselves are being distorted and expressed in pathological conditions.

Growth needs are those needs that relate to the development of consciousness. Some are foundational in that they lay the groundwork in the personality for consciousness development, and often are about developing awareness in the personality which must precede the development of consciousness.

There are 33 parameters of the growth needs that we need to experience. Here, p a u s e. Take a paper and rate yourself on a 5-point scale ( '0' you don't have it at all ; '5' you have it fully and the rest in-between). You will then develop a clear picture of your own growth needs and then a clear plan of action will emerge for you. You can take the help of a close companion / spouse for a second opinion and objective assessment.

1- giving
2- right relationships
3- good health
4- awareness of feelings
5- connection to beauty
6- control of reactions
7- balance and harmony
8- mental clarity
9- ability to concentrate
10- ability to think logically
11- knowledge
12- ability to discriminate
13- humour
14- freedom & ability to choose
15- detachment
16- spiritual discipline
17- trust in inner guidance
18- safety and security
19- integration of experiences
20- satisfaction in achievement
21- self esteem
22- friendships
23- love and support
24- a sense of belonging to community
25- meditation & communication with higher realms
26- development of the heart
27- relationship to the universal/God
28- soul consciousness
29- universal ideas and ideals
30- unconditional love
31- a meaningful belief system
32- a sense of meaning in life
33- a sense of purpose




Exercises:


1. Rate yourself on all the above parameters on a 5-point scale. Or get rated . Get a clear picture of your own growth needs first.

2.Attune to your soul or true inner self and determine what growth needs you need to meet.
3. What effect will meeting these needs have in your life and service?

4. In meditation attune to the energy of each of these needs, and internalize and deepen these qualities of being within you.




"Although we know that a
Frozen pond is entirely water,
The sun's heat is necessary to melt it.


Although we awaken to the fact
That an ordinary person is Buddha,
The power of dharma is necessary
To make it permeate our cultivation.


When the pond has melted,
The water flows freely.
When falsity is extinguished,
The mind will be numinous


And dynamic and then its function
Of penetrating brightness will manifest."

- Kuei-feng

(souljourney)How To Gain Insight

Insight is soul vision. People who are interested in growth, meditation or spirituality often seek insight so that their goals and aspirations can be fulfilled. But seldom do people know how to get those insights. For example, they go into meditation where they may have been taught to receive insight, but without doing the preparatory work to receive insights. Or, they might try to gain insight by thinking.

Insight is an activity of soul that manifests in the personality, so an environment has to be created in which the insight can arise.

The following four steps are the basic procedures for gaining insight and being creative:

1. Every new process or birthing in life, which is what creativity really is, requires a focused purpose. There must be a kind of intensity of purpose that you want to pursue or fulfill. You therefore must have some passion about the issue or area of life for which you are seeking insight. You must really care about the issue, and be genuinely interested in it. Your attention must be absorbed by it so that you can focus on it and not be distracted by lesser interests. In terms of developing soul consciousness, you must have a deep, sincere desire to make this a priority in your life.

2. If any particular skills are required to understand, appreciate or express the insight, then those skills must be developed. If there are any materials required, then those materials must be assembled. If there is knowledge required, then that knowledge must be gained. If you are pursuing soul consciousness you need knowledge about soul and higher mind, and you need experience at a higher mind level as well as at the buddhic level. True knowledge is based on experience, but the knowledge can lead into the experience of the more abstract levels.

On a personality level experience precedes understanding. But on a soul level understanding typically prepares one for experiences at that level.

3. Once we have acquired sufficient knowledge, skills and materials, and still feel very dedicated to the pursuit, the amassed energy of it will begin to take over. We must allow it to do so, and we take a subservient role toward it. This is a gestation period, a time when we allow the soul or the universal wisdom to dominate our mind and brain.

Thinking does not create insight. So at this stage we don’t work at thinking to create, but become receptive long enough so that insight can unfold as revelation in the brain. Insight usually occurs when thought is suspended, or at least it pushes thought out of the way. An insight contains a lot of information. It is a type of wholeness, but appears suddenly. Thought is needed only afterwards to unravel it or apply it.

4. The final stage is manifestation of the insight into some practical or concrete application. The insight will likely be ‘larger’ than our ability to manifest it with a high degree of accuracy or perfection. The more knowledge and skill we have the better our expression of it.
Insight must lead to change and creative expression. Otherwise we betray its purpose and block ourselves from further insights.

Exercises:

1. What is so important to you for which you are wanting insight?
2. Are you willing to give a lot of energy to this?
3. What skills or knowledge do you need in order to manifest the insights you are seeking?
4. Are you willing to manifest the insights you get for the benefit of others?