Dialogue

<body topmargin=0 leftmargin=0 marginheight=0 marginwidth=0> <table cellpadding=0 cellspacing=0 border=0><tr> <td valign="top" height=105 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04b8dfe1esnpes.jpg"> <div> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#336666" FACE="Arial" ><B>The Mystic Missal - A Door to Ways and Means on the Spiritual Path</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#336699" FACE="Times New Roman" ><B>     </B><B>|</B><B> </B></FONT><B> </B><A HREF="index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Mystic Missal A Door to Ways and Me"><U><B>Home</B></U></A><B>   </B><A HREF="monthlymissal.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="The Missal Newsletter "><U><B> Missal Newsletter</B></U></A><B>     </B><A HREF="site_map.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Site Map"><U><B>Site Map</B></U></A><B>     </B><A HREF="library.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Library "><U><B>Library</B></U></A><B>    </B><A HREF="ways_and_means.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ways and Means"><U><B>Ways and Means</B></U></A><B>    </B><A HREF="links.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Links "><U><B>Links</B></U></A><B>     </B><A HREF="prayers.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Mystic Missal Prayers"><U><B>Prayers</B></U></A><B>     </B><A HREF="cd_s.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Books, DVDs and CDs"><U><B>Books-CD's</B></U></A><B>     </B><A HREF="http://mysticmissal.org/blog/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://mysticmissal.org/blog/"><U><B>Blog</B></U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="archive_index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Archive Index"><U>Archive Index</U></A>   |   <A HREF="archive1.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Archive 1"><U>Archive 1</U></A>   |   <A HREF="archive2.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Archive 2"><U>Archive 2</U></A>   |   <A HREF="archive3.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Archive 3"><U>Archive 3</U></A>   |   <A HREF="archive4.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Archive 4"><U>Archive 4</U></A>   |   <A HREF="archive5.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Archive 5"><U>Archive 5</U></A>   |   <A HREF="archive6.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Archive 6"><U>Archive 6</U></A>   |   <A HREF="tension.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tension"><U>Tension</U></A>   |   <A HREF="puer.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Puer"><U>Puer</U></A>   |   <A HREF="12_step.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="12 Step"><U>12 Step</U></A>   |   <A HREF="dreams_and_journaling.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Dreams and Journaling"><U>Dreams and Journaling</U></A>   |   <B>Dialogue</B>   |   <A HREF="maharishi.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Maharishi"><U>Maharishi</U></A>   |   <A HREF="shakers.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Shakers/Quakers"><U>Shakers/Quakers</U></A>   |   <A HREF="padre_pio.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Padre Pio"><U>Padre Pio</U></A>   |   <A HREF="aurelius_boethius.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Aurelius/Boethius"><U>Aurelius/Boethius</U></A>   |   <A HREF="bennett.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Bennett"><U>Bennett</U></A>   |   <A HREF="art.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Art"><U>Art</U></A>   |   <A HREF="benoit.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Benoit"><U>Benoit</U></A>   |   <A HREF="wei_wu_wei.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Wei Wu Wei"><U>Wei Wu Wei</U></A>   |   <A HREF="sadony.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Joseph Sadony"><U>Joseph Sadony</U></A>   |   <A HREF="harding.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Douglas Harding"><U>Douglas Harding</U></A>   |   <A HREF="richard_rose.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Richard Rose"><U>Richard Rose</U></A>   |   <A HREF="listening_attention.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Listening Attention"><U>Listening Attention</U></A>   |   <A HREF="william_samuel.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="William Samuel"><U>William Samuel</U></A>   |   <A HREF="ouspensky.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Ouspensky"><U>Ouspensky</U></A>   |   <A HREF="nicoll.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Maurice Nicoll"><U>Maurice Nicoll</U></A>   |   <A HREF="gurdjieff.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Gurdjieff"><U>Gurdjieff</U></A>   |   <A HREF="tricks_and_traps.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Tricks and Traps"><U>Tricks and Traps</U></A>   |   <A HREF="enneagram.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Enneagram"><U>Enneagram</U></A>   |   <A HREF="spiritual_retreat.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Spiritual Retreat"><U>Spiritual Retreat</U></A>   |   <A HREF="praying.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Praying"><U>Praying</U></A>   |   <A HREF="william_blake.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="William Blake"><U>William Blake</U></A>   |   <A HREF="franz_hartmann.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Franz Hartmann"><U>Franz Hartmann</U></A>   |   <A HREF="cathars.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Cathars"><U>Cathars</U></A>   |   <A HREF="u_g__krishnamurti.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="U.G. Krishnamurti"><U>U.G. Krishnamurti</U></A></div> <div> </div> </td> </tr><tr> <td valign="top" height=375 BGCOLOR="#CCCC99" TEXT="#080000" bgproperties="fixed" background="04b8dfc3.jpg"> <div> <I>Dialogue</I></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="3" WIDTH="193" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#333333" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#000000 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 120 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="f0eb3690.jpg" border=0 width="179" height="105" ALT="Dialogue" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> This month's Missal examines the art of spiritual communication in the form of <B>Dialogue</B> and <B>confrontation</B>. Meeting in small groups, online discussions, and scheduled meetings, this technique can be invaluable for the earnest seeker in search of a better look at himself. The meetings are somewhat paradoxical in that there is no goal other than self-discovery.  A topic may be chosen to get things moving, but the purpose is not one of reaching consensus or compromise, but of receiving a glimpse into the unconscious  motivations of one's own mind. The idea is not to prove a point or to persuade, but to reveal the workings of the ego in the minds of the participants.</div> <div>      The renowned physicist <B>David Bohm</B> became interested in how people might work together to move beyond the trap of thought and its potential to fragment and delude. To find a way to probe the fundamental problems of existence, he became involved in conversations with <A HREF="archive3_krishnamurti.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Archive 3"><U><B>J. Krishnamurti</B></U></A><B> </B>in Ojai, California, and developed an idea for meetings he called <B>Dialogue</B>. He refined this technique with colleagues Donald Factor and Peter Garrett as a leaderless, agenda-less large group inquiry into the motivations, assumptions, and beliefs underlying our thought and communication. Together they published<I><B> </B></I><A HREF="http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/Dialogue%20a%20Proposal.pdf" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/Dialog"><U><I><B>Dialogue, A Proposal</B></I></U></A><I> </I> in 1991. For examples of Dialogue groups, try these links:</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT> <A HREF="http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/index."><U>http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/index.htm</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mears/index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mears/index"><U>http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mears/index.html</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="799" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 103 WIDTH="793"><div> "Dialogue is a way of observing, collectively, how hidden values and intentions can control our behavior, and how unnoticed cultural differences can clash without our realizing what is occurring. It can therefore be seen as an arena in which collective learning takes place and out of which a sense of increased harmony, fellowship and creativity can arise."  -<I> David Bohm, Donald Factor, and Peter Garrett</I></div> <div>  "A key difference between a dialogue and an ordinary discussion is that, within the latter people usually hold relatively fixed positions and argue in favor of their views as they try to convince others to change. At best this may produce agreement or compromise, but it does not give rise to anything creative." <I>- David Bohm & David Peat</I></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>      Another method of using a group setting to further one's discovery of one's self, is <B>confrontation</B>, or friendly questioning. This method is practiced in the <A HREF="http://tatfoundation.org/curr_events.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://tatfoundation.org/curr_events.htm"><U><B>TAT Foundation's </B></U></A><A HREF="http://tatfoundation.org/curr_events.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://tatfoundation.org/curr_events.htm"><U>groups and meetings,</U></A> and was pioneered by founder <A HREF="richard_rose.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Richard Rose"><U><B>Richard Rose</B></U></A>. These meetings are held in person as well as in regular online groups.  The meetings use questioning of the participants to reveal the underlying motivations for their thinking and acting, and can have profound results if the participants gather in a spirit of friendship and determination in finding the truth about themselves. As in Dialogue meetings, speaking is not mandatory, and periods of silence often reveal answers. As one becomes more comfortable and trusting, active participation can take place. A monitor is used in confrontation to ensure the questioning does not turn towards personal agendas, and to keep the propensity for giving advice under wraps. The group challenges the thinking revealed by the members in a manner that points out the hidden beliefs that drive them, leaving the members with a better view of their own minds.</div> <bR> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="4" CELLSPACING="3" WIDTH="193" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#333333" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#000000 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 120 ><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="f0eb3690.jpg" border=0 width="179" height="105" ALT="Dialogue" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <div> This month's Missal examines the art of spiritual communication in the form of <B>Dialogue</B> and <B>confrontation</B>. Meeting in small groups, online discussions, and scheduled meetings, this technique can be invaluable for the earnest seeker in search of a better look at himself. The meetings are somewhat paradoxical in that there is no goal other than self-discovery.  A topic may be chosen to get things moving, but the purpose is not one of reaching consensus or compromise, but of receiving a glimpse into the unconscious  motivations of one's own mind. The idea is not to prove a point or to persuade, but to reveal the workings of the ego in the minds of the participants.</div> <div>      The renowned physicist <B>David Bohm</B> became interested in how people might work together to move beyond the trap of thought and its potential to fragment and delude. To find a way to probe the fundamental problems of existence, he became involved in conversations with <A HREF="archive3_krishnamurti.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Archive 3"><U><B>J. Krishnamurti</B></U></A><B> </B>in Ojai, California, and developed an idea for meetings he called <B>Dialogue</B>. He refined this technique with colleagues Donald Factor and Peter Garrett as a leaderless, agenda-less large group inquiry into the motivations, assumptions, and beliefs underlying our thought and communication. Together they published<I><B> </B></I><A HREF="http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/Dialogue%20a%20Proposal.pdf" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/Dialog"><U><I><B>Dialogue, A Proposal</B></I></U></A><I> </I> in 1991. For examples of Dialogue groups, try these links:</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Arial" > </FONT> <A HREF="http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/index."><U>http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/index.htm</U></A></div> <div> <A HREF="http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mears/index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mears/index"><U>http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mears/index.html</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="799" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 103 WIDTH="793"><div> "Dialogue is a way of observing, collectively, how hidden values and intentions can control our behavior, and how unnoticed cultural differences can clash without our realizing what is occurring. It can therefore be seen as an arena in which collective learning takes place and out of which a sense of increased harmony, fellowship and creativity can arise."  -<I> David Bohm, Donald Factor, and Peter Garrett</I></div> <div>  "A key difference between a dialogue and an ordinary discussion is that, within the latter people usually hold relatively fixed positions and argue in favor of their views as they try to convince others to change. At best this may produce agreement or compromise, but it does not give rise to anything creative." <I>- David Bohm & David Peat</I></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>      Another method of using a group setting to further one's discovery of one's self, is <B>confrontation</B>, or friendly questioning. This method is practiced in the <A HREF="http://tatfoundation.org/curr_events.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://tatfoundation.org/curr_events.htm"><U><B>TAT Foundation's </B></U></A><A HREF="http://tatfoundation.org/curr_events.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://tatfoundation.org/curr_events.htm"><U>groups and meetings,</U></A> and was pioneered by founder <A HREF="richard_rose.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="Richard Rose"><U><B>Richard Rose</B></U></A>. These meetings are held in person as well as in regular online groups.  The meetings use questioning of the participants to reveal the underlying motivations for their thinking and acting, and can have profound results if the participants gather in a spirit of friendship and determination in finding the truth about themselves. As in Dialogue meetings, speaking is not mandatory, and periods of silence often reveal answers. As one becomes more comfortable and trusting, active participation can take place. A monitor is used in confrontation to ensure the questioning does not turn towards personal agendas, and to keep the propensity for giving advice under wraps. The group challenges the thinking revealed by the members in a manner that points out the hidden beliefs that drive them, leaving the members with a better view of their own minds.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="826" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 HEIGHT= 153 WIDTH="820"><div> " The meetings are a mix of discussion and questioning with the overall aim of understanding ourselves and our minds better. Meetings begin with an open discussion of the topic for the week which serves as a catalyst for self inquiry. After the initial discussion the meeting moves toward questioning one another. This often takes place in a conversational format and the point of the questioning is to help each person retreat from untruth in themselves - to see where their own thinking might be clouded by desires or fears, where they might be rationalizing or if they might have unchallenged assumptions and convictions. The meeting is not intended for people who want to get together and idly talk about philosophy as an exercise and demonstration of their intellect. Meetings embody the spirit of friendship and are for people who want to take an honest look at themselves and confront the questions that are bothering them and who have a suspicion that the answers lay within. Many people who participate in this process over time will find that their thinking becomes more clear and that they understand themselves and others better." <I>-</I> <B>Jeff Crilley on confrontation</B>,<I> from his site</I><I><B> </B></I><A HREF="http://www.firstknowthyself.org/" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.firstknowthyself.org/"><U><B>www.firstknowthyself.org</B></U></A></div> </tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>      Both Bohm and Rose saw the necessity in using group work to reveal the mind. They saw how most of us need help from our fellows on the long journey from particularized thought to universal silence. To travel from incoherent, individualized, and often obsessive thoughts, to the realization of the meaning of silence and common purpose, is jump-started with group effort. The unconscious and largely negative thought patterns that run our lives are at first seen as both the problem and solution. After this seemingly endless tail chasing has run us up the creek of thought without a paddle, we may come, through the help and energy of group work, to see that the solution lies above and beyond the level of the problem. </div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="800" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" BGCOLOR=#FFFBF0 > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP HEIGHT= 221 WIDTH="608"><div>  </div> <div> "Thought is creating divisions out of itself and then saying that they are there naturally. Thought is constantly creating problems that way and then trying to solve them. But as it tries to solve them it makes it worse because it doesn't notice that it's creating them, and the more it thinks, the more problems it creates. What is the source of all this trouble? I'm saying that the source is basically in thought. Many people would think that such a statement is crazy, because thought is the one thing we have with which to solve our problems. That's part of our tradition. Yet it looks as if the thing we use to solve our problems with is the source of our problems. It's like going to the doctor and having him make you ill. In fact, in 20% of medical cases we do apparently have that going on. But in the case of thought, its far over 20%."</div> <div> <I>- David Bohm</I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#000000><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="f00b3d70.jpg" border=0 width="179" height="215" ALT="Structure of Thought 6a, by Mike and Doug Starn" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <div>      Thought can only be resolved from the realm of no-thought; life and action only understood from the dimension of silence and stillness.  The group setting of Dialogue and confrontation lends the help of a higher dimension to the individual mind, revealing what it is by showing what it is not.</div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <TABLE BORDER="0" CELLPADDING="2" CELLSPACING="1" WIDTH="810" BORDERCOLORLIGHT="#C0C0C0" BORDERCOLORDARK="#808080" FRAME="BOX" RULES="ALL" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0" > <tR> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#FFFFCC HEIGHT= 160 WIDTH="585"><div>  </div> <bR> <div> "I do believe there's a system that searches for the Truth, and it's a process of challenging everything. It's good to challenge a person's thinking. You get them out of their daydreaming by saying, "Hey -- what are you thinking? Why are you thinking it?"</div> <bR> <div> <I>- Richard Rose</I></div> </tD> <tD VALIGN=TOP BGCOLOR=#000000><NOBR><div> <IMG SRC="f06d0920.jpg" border=0 width="208" height="146" ALT="questioning thinking" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="4"></div> </NOBR></tD> </tR> </TABLE></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>- </B><I><B> </B></I><B>Related  Sites  -</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BernhardMod BT" ><A HREF="http://www.capacitie.org/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.capacitie.org/index.htm"><U>Dialogue, </U></A></FONT><A HREF="http://www.capacitie.org/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.capacitie.org/index.htm"><U>from</U></A><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BernhardMod BT" ><A HREF="http://www.capacitie.org/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.capacitie.org/index.htm"><U> </U></A></FONT><FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BernhardMod BT" ><A HREF="http://www.capacitie.org/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.capacitie.org/index.htm"><U>Capacitie</U></A>:</FONT><FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BernhardMod BT" > "</FONT>One of the requirements for successful Dialogue<IMG SRC="efade2f0.jpg" border=0 width="222" height="47" ALT="Capacitie" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="2" VSPACE="2"> is the suspension of assumptions. This ensures that space is created for other points of view and for the possibility of something quite new arising. If this suspension is carried through to fundamental beliefs about what I am and my world view, I discover an openness which I believe to be what Traherne referred to as Capacitie. The normal understanding of self/other is undermined and a commonality of interest or impersonal awareness comes about. I think this approach is what he meant by 'True apprehension'. " - Alan Mann   <A HREF="http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/index.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/index."><U>http://www.capacitie.org/dialogue/index.htm</U></A></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mears/index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mears/index"><U>Eugene Dialogue:</U></A> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BernhardMod BT" > <IMG SRC="f0a8f9b0.jpg" border=0 width="143" height="155" ALT="dudes - Eugene Dialogue" ALIGN="LEFT" HSPACE="2" VSPACE="0"> "Without purpose other than to give attention to what arises, the group seeks a flow of meaning or coherence which may—or may not—emerge."  <A HREF="http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mears/index.html" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mears/index"><U>http://darkwing.uoregon.edu/~mears/index.html</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="5" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BernhardMod BT" ><A HREF="http://tatfoundation.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://tatfoundation.org"><U>TAT Foundation:</U></A> </FONT>For more than 35 years, the TAT Foundation has focused on providing a forum of friendship where truth-seekers can compare, discuss, and debate their successes and struggles in the spiritual search. TAT offers a unique opportunity to meet fellow seekers and hear amazing personal stories. Want to join us in some thought-provoking discussions that may produce inspiration and action? <A HREF="mailto:tatsociety@tatfoundation.org" TARGET="_top" TITLE="mailto:tatsociety@tatfoundation.org"><U>E-mail </U></A>for more information on attending meetings.  <A HREF="http://tatfoundation.org/curr_events.htm" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://tatfoundation.org/curr_events.htm"><U>http://tatfoundation.org/curr_events.htm</U></A><IMG SRC="f097faa0.jpg" border=0 width="127" height="170" ALT="The Wild Within by Paul Rezendes" ALIGN="RIGHT" HSPACE="2" VSPACE="2"></div> <bR> <div> <A HREF="http://paulrezendes.com/books.php#wild" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://paulrezendes.com/books.php#wild"><U>The Wild Within,</U></A> <FONT SIZE="4" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BernhardMod BT" >by Paul Rezendes</FONT>.<FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="BernhardMod BT" > Paul Rezendes' powerful book of his journey from motorcycle gang leader to Master tracker. A professional photographer and spiritual teacher, Rezendes spellbinding adventures have given him provocative insights into our  essential relationship with nature - and ourselves. <A HREF="http://paulrezendes.com/books.php#wild" TARGET="_top" TITLE="http://paulrezendes.com/books.php#wild"><U>http://paulrezendes.com/books.php#wild</U></A></FONT></div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Tricks </B><I><B>and</B></I><B>  Traps</B></div> <bR> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B>Trap:</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="2" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B> </B></FONT><B>Self-Pity.</B> In the endless game of ego-maintenance, we bounce back and forth between the poles of getting what we want and being denied same.  Thinking relief from the ego's deflation cycle comes from wallowing in self-pity until a change of circumstance breaks the spell, we fail to rise above the trap.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B>Trick:</B></FONT><FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#000000" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B> </B></FONT><B>Help another. </B> The relief can come from helping others. When we look at the problems of our fellows, we see the issues without the threat of ego-deflation and thus get a clearer view.  If we put the adage "We are all One" to the test, we see that the tension in another is ours as well, and its release, our relief. We then realize that helping another is helping oneself, and when practised, we feel how it works. If we turn the lesson on ourselves, we may see that viewing our problems with a bit more objectivity is more efficient, and thus has the added effect of freeing our fellows from having to deal so much with our mess as well.</div> <div> <FONT SIZE="3" COLOR="#BF0000" FACE="Comic Sans MS" ><B>Trap: </B></FONT><B>You like it. </B>We might come to like the feeling of ego inflation we get from being such a wonderful helper, and forget to see what the above has actually been pointing to: we are not that which does good or bad, but that which observes.</div> <bR> <bR> <bR> <div> <B><U>Commentary </U></B><U>                                              ___________________<IMG SRC="0d4a7460.jpg" border=0 width="167" height="70" ALT="Mystic Missal Monthly Missal meditation philosophy zen religion" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></div> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Identification</B></div> <bR> <div> " The view is not the viewer." <I>- Richard Rose</I></div> <bR> <div>      In the search for our true identity, no problem is more pronounced than that of confusing what we see and what sees it. We become so hypnotized by the endless parade of images we come to feel at one with them all. We lend meaning and value to what we see, until we believe we have become what we see.  The mass of experiences we give meaning to are the pattern we come to call our 'selves', and any new experience that happens along is judged solely by how it flatters or threatens this pattern. We have come so far afield from anything even close to what we really are, it's no wonder the journey home is difficult, and so paradoxical.</div> <div>      In any instance where we might attempt to see who or what we really are, the mind calls forth an associated image and then judges it's relevance. We then say "I" to it, if it fits the bill. We are forever looking out of ourselves, for ourselves, and relying on what's not us, to tell us what is. This process of projection, judgment and subsequent identification is never questioned in and of itself, only endlessly refined. In an average lifetime, it's quite easy to never run out of things to be, the choices are legion.</div> <div>      Let's examine an inner dialogue of the sort that self-examination can produce. You hear that you should just look back at what you're looking out of. OK, you say, there's nothing there? Exactly. You now feel confused? So you  think you're a feeling? Who's feeling this feeling? You are? Look behind the feeling. Again, nothing. Now you feel stupid? Well, maybe, but let's keep looking.  You remember something you read, what your teacher said? No, very quick, before the image/feeling can take over. What do you see? Still nothing? If you can hold onto this instant of seeing 'nothing', for even the split-second before an image/feeling fills the space, you're on the right track. If something in you feels vaguely threatened by this, that's good news. Keep looking.</div> <div>      We find when trying to examine ourselves directly, we can't help but put associative images up on the inner screen of our mind. Let's try a little trick. Look at an object in front of you, preferably something still and relatively common. Just look at it. No judging, projecting, thinking, relating, associating, feeling, remembering; just look. If you can do this for even an instant, things may become clearer, calm and still. This is the absence of the projecting mind. What's left? Nothing much. Only you, the eternal observer of mind and matter, the infinite witness of feeling and believing. Behind the precious intellect, beyond the hallowed hall of feelings, lies the listener. This unlimited clear space has room for all, and need for none.</div> <bR> <div> <I>Bob Fergeson</I></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B> - Quotes -</B></div> <bR> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">" Thought runs you. Thought, however, gives false info that you are running it, that you are the one who controls thought. Whereas actually thought is the one which controls each one of us.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">" Of course, one of the main legitimate functions of thought has always been to help provide security, guaranteeing shelter and food for instance. However, this function went wrong when the principle source of insecurity came to be the operation of thought itself.<I><B> </B></I></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">" We haven't really paid much attention to thought as a process. We have engaged in thoughts, but we have only paid attention to the content, not to the process."<B> - </B><I><B>David Bohm</B></I></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">" Thought is generally considered to be a sober and weighty business. But here it is being suggested that creative play is an essential element in forming new hypotheses and ideas. Indeed, thought which tries to avoid play is in fact playing false with itself. Play, it appears, is the very essence of thought. This notion of falseness that can creep into play of thought is shown in the etymology of the words illusion, delusion, and collusion, all of which have as their Latin root ludere, "to play." So illusion implies playing false with perception; delusion, playing false with thought; collusion, playing false together in order to support each other's illusions and delusions. When thought plays false, the thinker may occasionally recognize this fact, and express it in the above words." <I><B>- David Bohm & David Peat</B></I></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">" Watching the thought processes will stimulate us to purify and clarify them. And analysis will, with increased clarity, enable us to see the anatomy of thought more clearly.</div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">" At the same time that we examine ourselves psychologically, we should examine ourselves directly. There are important questions, of which we should always be aware. We should now look at thought itself, and look for the relationship between awareness and thought." - <I><B>Richard Rose</B></I></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">" What I mean by realization is living, being energy that is aware or awake to what is, or to what is arriving in the moment. An awareness that is at rest and has no intention for anything to be other than what it is. Although it is at rest and has no intention, it can have a dramatic action on the movement of thought in a person's life. This action takes place out of time, and without a doer. It is an action that does not come from a center, nor is it linear. In other words, it is not a reaction. When a person is realized, this awareness is the unresisted perspective in a person's life, a perspective without a center, and without fear or pride.  "<B> </B><I><B>- Paul Rezendes</B></I></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">" No brims nor borders such as in a bowl we see, my essence was Capacitie." - <I><B>Thomas Traherne</B></I></div> <div> <IMG BORDER="0" SRC="Symb075c00b700f000000000.png" HEIGHT="16" WIDTH="24" ALIGN="bottom" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0">" Make peace with your past so it won't screw up the present. "<B> </B><I><B>- Regina Brett</B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <DIV ALIGN="LEFT"></DIV> <div> <B>Comic Philosophy</B></div> <bR> <div> <I><B><U><IMG SRC="ef190690.jpg" border=0 width="400" height="361" ALIGN="BOTTOM" HSPACE="0" VSPACE="0"></U></B></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div> <B>If a relationship has to be a secret, you shouldn't be in it. -</B><B> Regina Brett</B></div> <bR> <div> <B>I sometimes lie awake at night trying to think of something funny that Richard Nixon said. - </B><B>Lyn Nofziger</B></div> <bR> <div> <I><B>06/30/09</B></I></div> <div> <I> </I><I><U>Copyright  2009 -  Robert Fergeson. All Rights Reserved. </U></I></div> <bR> <bR> <div>   <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript">var site="sm8missal"</script> <script type="text/javascript" language="JavaScript1.2" src="http://sm8.sitemeter.com/js/counter.js?site=sm8missal"> </script> <noscript> <a href="http://sm8.sitemeter.com/stats.asp?site=sm8missal" target="_top"> <img src="http://sm8.sitemeter.com/meter.asp?site=sm8missal" alt="Site Meter" border=0></a> </noscript>    </div> <bR> </td> </tr></table></body>