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Post by Ben on Coffee on Nov 3, 2005 1:02:30 GMT -5
An interesting consciousness experiment for the scientist in all of us:
This was taken from my brother in law who tonight consolidated several spiritual concepts into a few application friendly actions for the goal orientied or the "cause and effect" oriented folks. It involves sticking to a regimine of actions that if done with sincerity can help squelch the desires, purify the heart, and lead one into a deeper connection with spiritual happenings.
For the scientists among us it would be useful to format it like an experiment. Stating hypothysis, procedure, keeping record of findings, and finally drawing conclusions at the end.
Here is what you do:
(this is an abbreviated version, the full version may be too much of a burden to pull off for those who just want to give it a quick try)
For the duration of ten days:
1) Do not slander anyone present or not present (i.e. talking about a person in a way that they would not like to be talked about, not saying anything bad about a person)
2) Do not read the news, watch television, or discuss with anyone anything that does not pertain directly to your own life (i.e. by directly I mean it is not physically present in your life like, "Mr. Bush said so and so today" or "The Bulls won the playoffs")
3) Do not do anything for the sake of looking better to other people (i.e. making sure you tell people all the meditation you are doing to make them think highly of you, talking about something in a way that makes you seem like you have it together)
4) Do not eat except when you are actually hungry
Try it for ten days and note anything that changes. Do you feel any clearer or more focused? Does the overall state of being feel any better? Have there been any notable changes in any difficult situations? etc.
This short list had been extracted from a list of eight. The other actions involve more difficult things such as rising at the break of dawn, fasting, and particular meditations.
I thought it might be interesting for others to do these relatively easy things as an experiment to see how it changes conciousness. The reason it changes consciousness is because of their purifying effects on the heart. There are many ways to purify the heart and change consciousness. This is only one way and a good one to have in the toolbox.
Peace and Blessings,
Ben
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Post by B on Nov 3, 2005 21:05:49 GMT -5
Hey Ben, Im living in CA now... Where are you these days? Perhaps we could meet up sometime, that is if it does not interferre with the above Just kidding, Ill try to track down your email and send you a message some time... -Bill
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Post by Bendubois on Nov 11, 2005 0:53:35 GMT -5
Bill,
I am still in the east bay / Berkeley area. I am 5 minutes north of Berkeley in an area called El Cerrito. It would be great to see you if you could make it.
Ben
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Post by B on Nov 12, 2005 18:26:22 GMT -5
Ben,
sounds good. As soon as I get some things together her I'll be able to come visit.
Im right in san francisco, by san francisco state university...
Bill
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Post by bendubois on Nov 13, 2005 0:27:16 GMT -5
Bill,
If it helps the El Cerrito Plaza Bart stop is only a few blocks away from my house. Give me a call when you want to come 510-326-4850. Also we have a small Sufi gathering at our house the second sunday of every month. Usually I give a teaching and then we all do dhikr.
Ben
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Post by Joe on Nov 14, 2005 13:34:14 GMT -5
I'm glad you guys will be able to meet up. It will probably be a little while but one of these days Jess, Ava and I will be there for the sunday dinner. Take care...
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Post by Ben on Nov 14, 2005 16:12:33 GMT -5
Bill,
I need help designing and publishing a website for our organic catering company. Please email me at duboisorganiccatering@yahoo.com.
Ben
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Post by Bill on Nov 14, 2005 23:44:46 GMT -5
Ben,
sent you an email.
Bill
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Post by Ben on Nov 16, 2005 2:04:17 GMT -5
On the meaning of freedom in our American society:
We could banter all day about the man and go on for a few hours on conspiracy theory trying to rationalize the ugly qualities of current events but I think an overlooked phenomenon bares some obvious truth.
I believe it is our idea of freedom in America that has gone awry. Hang with me. The word Liberty comes from a latin root meaning freedom. It is what our nation's population at large believes is their right and it has in my opinion created a lot of destruction for this reason: Our nation's idea of freedom is for the most part a belief that we should be able to do as we wish. In reality for many this makes people slaves to their desires. When one becomes a slave to their desires where is the freedom? In actuality there is no freedom without breaking the attachment to desires. There is no real Liberty unless one is freed from the contraints of the "lower self". With the cultivation of this aforementioned idea of freedom that utimately leads to enslavement to the desires the general disease of a culture appears. If you trace many common problems to their roots such as drug addiction, materialism, greed, sensationalism, etc. you can see it mostly comes from falling into the grip of the self's desires. You can even take a look at it inside your own experience i.e. You wanted to eat ice cream everyday for a few weeks and your body suffered or you wanted to pursue something for yourself and left an important obligation, etc. I want to put out the idea that many people's idea of freedom is actually slavehood. If you are raised in a culture that says this kind of freedom is right it can be hard to find the truth. It can also be confusing trying to find real freedom.
True freedom does exist in the turning away from desires. Amoung many things it frees you from the narrow consciousness of this physical existance. If there is attachment to desires the focus tends to orient itself solely on fulfilling these desires. Kind of like you are in a park but you can only stare at the trashcan in the park. It can be understood if we live in a society where a lot of what we see is saying, "trashcan, trashcan, trashcan", it tends to be what you look for.
It takes an effort but you can't reach much of anything worth while these days without struggling with the desires, the ego, the "lower self", whatever you want to call it. You have to be careful because the ego can masqarade (spelling?) behind what you think is a good belief. It gets tricky but that is one of the qualities of the darkness. "Puzzling you is the nature of my game", to quote the Stones.
I am not suggesting oppressing the people with limitations. I am suggesting freedom through the understanding of breaking attachment to the desires.
Peace and Blessings,
Ben
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Post by Joe on Nov 16, 2005 7:44:23 GMT -5
The idea of democracy has been a successful analogy to describe political systems with input from many people. In principle, democracy is a system in which everyone is equal. Equity of rights, responsibility, and choice are the foundation for democracy as a philosophy. In practice democracy is limited. From the time of the ancient Greeks to the present day the rhetoric of democracy has presented a lofty ideal that has not been achieved as of yet. The idea of equity of all people is a recent revision of the statement, “all men are crated equal…” (Jefferson 361). More specifically the qualification, “men”, during the founding of the United States meant English, Protestant, and owning land. Thomas Jefferson spoke of an inalienable right of liberty while holding other humans in the bondage of slavery. He was such a scumbag; he even had sexual relations with a young girl who he considered his property. I know “scumbag” is informal, but how else would one describe this behavior? Yes, the practice of democracy in America excluded women from voting until very recently. Even today the disparity in number of women elected or appointed to office is astounding. Another difference between the theory and practice of democracy deals with wealth. While you no longer are required to be a land owner to vote or hold office, there are no U.S. senators who are remotely representative of the average American when it comes to social economic status. Each election cycle we hear millionaires competing to convince us the represent us more than their competing peer. The main thing to remember in the United States is that we live in a democratic republic. Our votes are filtered through people who know better to protect us from ourselves. As you can see from current events, things are going great. . “War on Terror” is an ironic statement. War is terror. Mars the god of war is accompanied by two moons, Deimos or chaos, and Phobos which means fear. Fear is the precursor to terror. Terror is the root of Terrible. Who would deny that war is terrible? Today there are 150,000 United States citizens with guns in Mesopotamia. This is all a strange misunderstanding. Somehow Europeans got the idea 1500 years ago that we are descendent from the patriarch Abraham. This is odd since Abraham’s great, great, great, great grandson referred to the gentiles as dogs. Well dogs aren’t very smart, so we dogs spend a billion dollars a day to obey Moses’s command to murder the Canaanites and capture their land. As long as this 4,000 year old crusade continues there will be no peace. Middle Easterners accepting permanent foreign occupation with out resistance is akin to Americans giving up New England to an invading army. Surely Yankees would fight for a thousand years to regain their land. Other Americans may even attack the source of the hypothetical army’s wealth and business. Margerat Mead describes the futility of war and “its terrible cost in human suffering and social waste” (Mead 660). Unfortunately the architects of war are willing to saddle innocent people with this “terrible cost” in exchange for the benefits of cash and influence. In our world the most despicable criminals have nothing to fear. Who would challenge them, The United Nations? It has been revealed that corruption runs all the way to Kofi Annan who played a part in laundering billions of dollars in the oil for food program. Art imitates life. In Star Wars III the main character try’s to arrest the chief executive. This political leader has the courts and legislators in his pocket. The consolidation of power, as a result of fear of war and terrorism, leads to security trumping personal freedom. I see no way out at this point from our real world situation or in the Jedi’s world. The dark side is powerful.
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Post by DESIREer on Nov 16, 2005 11:34:09 GMT -5
Nice posts. I agree passionately with Joe’s. I could have done without the Star Wars reference, though. However, in the end, so what? You know and I know and other people know and…what are you and I going to do about it? I also appreciate Ben’s also. It’s very Eastern, and while I have studied and appreciate Eastern thought, the fact is, we’re Western (more specifically, American). We have the shadow of Rome hanging over our political and societal structure. And Rome, as we know, was nothing more than a war machine. “The Holy Roman Empire was neither Holy, nor Roman, nor an Empire. Discuss.” To talk about the cessation of desire is to ignore the 2000 years of the questing and lusting and conquering and destroying that is, at this point, imprinted in our DNA. Relief and release through Eastern means requires time, effort, patience, and a willingness to subdue the ego. (Thank you Freud for that catch-all, meaningless word.) This is at a time when most Americans can’t sit in traffic without freaking out. I’m not saying Westerners shouldn’t look to the East for spiritual guidance and practice, I’m just saying it won’t work for everyone; and if I point to the Richard Gere’s and maybe even the Dalai Lama, and now Madonna and other Kabala adherents (Paris Hilton!?), Eastern thought in Western minds tends to be internalized and ego-ized despite the overwhelming intent of Eastern philosophies. We as Americans are beyond the point of being rescued by a catch-all movement, religion or other philosophical/ideological entity. When it comes to personal pursuits, we’re nothing but dirty, egg-sucking dogs. As for the meaning of freedom, well… Yeah. In the early 1900s, a group of artists created some of the most lurid, stunning, nauseating, beautiful, ugly art the world has seen. Giant canvases filled with paint splatters or two tone cubes or whatever the artist felt at the moment. Later it was named. Cubism. Abstract Expressionism. Dada. Etc. What I see in it all is an expression of the artist’s ego. Not in a bad way. I see it as each artist looking at the world, external, internal, or both, and filtering it down to an explosion in a single moment in time, preserved for posterity on a canvas. (Or some other form) And these explosions give us a meaning to our humanity. An explanation. In the same way that adherents to Eastern Religions find this, or sci-fi referencing sociologists/historians find this, etc. Unfortunately, most of America and the West substitute greed and possessions and “success”, which really means money, for those moments, that are much harder to achieve, much harder to understand, much harder to do anything with once you’ve achieved them, moments. Those moments when we understand the true nature of what our minds or our souls or our spirits or our chemicals can be. It’s not the language, it’s not the way, it’s the end result that matters. Find the force, and use it. (Not for the darkside)
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Post by Joe on Nov 17, 2005 19:31:28 GMT -5
"The Empire never ended"
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Post by bendubois on Nov 18, 2005 1:54:30 GMT -5
Joe,
I was with Luka today. Remember Luka's house jams back in State College? He wanted to know where he could find your music acrchive online. Don't be suprised if you hear from him on the board. He was also wondering if P22 is planning on doing anything in Boulder. He has been living there for about five years doing software stuff. I remember a post not too long ago mentioning some Degiactivity in the Boulder region.
Ben
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Post by degicank on Nov 28, 2005 14:17:52 GMT -5
Check out www.geocities.com/rjs121576/econocanknew.htmlfor online archive! I'll get some off those Jams from Luka's Psu parties up asap! We went to Boulder for 5 days in '03. Days at "Burnt Toast" and a night at Druid's ares and Widespread Lot at redrocks. I don't think we'll be playing there again until '07. We have a boulder degicank office, Josh has the phone#. We are about to start a Denver office on New Years with Lee and Robert. Take care!
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Post by Selflessness on Dec 4, 2005 2:15:05 GMT -5
Anyone out there:
From last Sunday 11/27 until Friday 12/2 I clocked in about 95 hours of work. We just opened an organic catering company in the bay area and business is picking up at a nice pace. Being on the budget start up plan I had the pleasure and displeasure of fulfilling many roles in the production of eight events. I was both the owner and the dishwasher. During this week of work many things opened for me and I wanted to share something interesting I experienced in selflessness.
I found that I was so focused on giving that I lost most of my selfish yearnings for things such as sleep, "down time", etc. The core of our business revolves around giving love. With the focus so much on the love and so little on my own desires many interesting things began to happen. I noticed that this orientation elevated my sense of being to a high place. It allowed avenues of light or blessings or "good things" to flow profusely. From that intense giving I began to recieve in a major way. From the physical (monetary, etc.) to the spiritual (insights, secrets, etc.). It only began to really sink in when today I decided I wanted to fill my desires up again. The flow of light ceased.
So, again, tasting these experiences rather than bantering about them is the real deal. So one has to give them a shot. In concusion I learned that if I ditch my selfish wantings and just give for the sake of love without concern for getting anything in return the light or blessings or "good stuff" opens big time. I have never noticed it so clearly like this working a job.
Peace and Blessings,
Ben
PS When I did this the blessings brought what I truely and deeply wanted. Kind of like receiving something and then saying, "Wow. I wasn't aware up front that I wanted that, but something deep inside has been richly satisfied". Ah, the nature of hearts and souls and spirits.
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