Course Guide by Aaron

This is not meant to be a book that you sit down and read through, but a guide to practice for those in our program, Venture Fourth, and anyone who wishes to accompany us on this journey. There will be many exercises; my hope is that the reader will do each, in turn, before moving on.

This guide will contain four sections: 1) background material, 2) the weekly work for the first year of the program, 3) information for the intensives, and 4) supplemental material. We suggest you assemble this material in a 3-ring binder format so you can easily add pages to each section as the work goes on.

As we start, I want to speak about service, intention, and polarity. All beings have a balance of positive and negative polarity. That means there are the innate radiance and the smudges. Positive polarity is sometimes defined as service to others, and negative as service to self, but at the deepest level there is no self or other, and service to others is service to the self. How, then do we understand polarity? I see it more in terms of energy field contraction versus spaciousness. This is not the balanced contraction of the in and out breath or the movement of the hand opening and closing, but an unbalanced contraction created by the personalization of fear. Through our work together with the highest intention of service to all beings and harm to none, one focus will be to watch when you carry this fear contraction and to attend to it.

That which is aware of fear is not afraid. Fear is not an enemy; it is an object that has arisen from conditions, is not self, and will dissolve when those conditions cease. To fear fear is to enhance fear. To observe fear with kindness is to release the conditions out of which it arises. Fear observed through the clarity and kindness of Awareness is seen as a movement of mind and body. It does not control you. It simply is there. Then Kindness is in charge.

Our work together is to help you become the joyful servant and at the same time, to be nobody, service coming from a place of love and emptiness. All our work in these two years will be directed toward these goals; the growth of love and compassion, the opening to deeper wisdom, and the fulfillment of the intention to service in the world from this place of wisdom and compassion, empty of self.

We continue with the program vision, from Aaron, as stated in February, 2009 :

My blessings and love to you; I am Aaron. I want to describe my vision for the two-year program I intend to lead with Barbara, and with other assistance as well, from the summer of 2009 through the summer of 2011. The overall vision has evolved through my 20 years of teaching Barbara. Consider the Buddha’s “handful of leaves.” I have not taught you of the forest, but only the handful. Now it is time to expand and share of the forest, as I have with Barbara. The handful is all you need for liberation, but at this time in your universe there is call for the intention to expand, beyond seeking personal liberation, and further into active service.

The question is sometimes raised: must one first have full realization before one can serve with skill? If a child is about to fall off the edge of a precipice, the liberated human will save the child and not create any unwholesome karma through self-centered stories during such action. The not-yet-fully-liberated human can still hold the child back from the precipice, and must then also attend to any unwholesome karma that develops. With wisdom, she will use this situation to release and balance some of that karma. Thus, as one serves with love and wisdom, one moves closer to true liberation through service. Your world is on the edge of the precipice and courageous, wise and loving action is needed. I would help to prepare you for that work, to be true bodhisattvas in this world and the universe.

Through the years my work with Barbara has centered in four places. First, her development of an ever-deepening vipassana practice that serves as a base for all else. Within this practice, the entire conditioned realm is clearly seen as arising out of conditions and passing away, impermanent and not self. Equally important are the direct experiences of the Unconditioned, for to know only the conditioned with no insight into the Unconditioned is like knowing only cold without warmth, or only darkness without light. It leads one into the illusion of a duality where there is that which is present, and that to be attained, and leads to grasping. Instead, there needs to be realization of the non-dual, as stated in the beautiful words of the Heart Sutra:

Second is the development of Bodhichitta, and of the deepest intention to service to all beings. Without the involvement of the loving heart and intention for the highest good of all beings, the meditation practice can become self-centered and contracted, as can the path of service itself. But it is not sufficient that the heart be open as in the practice of metta. The practitioner must have deepened in compassion to the degree that self and other are virtually interchangeable. There must be strong intention to alleviate the suffering of all beings, an intention grounded in love. I place Barbara’s observations in a footnote to illustrate. ^¹

These will be the first foundation of our work together, insight and the open heart. Many of you have worked for years with us, with these practices. Here we will take the practice to deeper places. As part of these first and second functions, we will explore together the light and shadow in the self, with a focus on the non-duality of light and shadow. Wherever there is shadow, the light can be found. Wherever there is light, shadow may appear and ask our attention to assist in its dissolution, or at least ask for watchfulness so it does no harm. There is no need to be afraid or self-condemning that negative thoughts arise; how do we attend to them? With this in mind, we will work with what I call “character traits,” those of generosity, patience, loving kindness, clear speech, courage, honesty, forbearance, peacefulness, tranquility, clarity, and more. We will explore how we can encourage the strengthening of such traits and release the seeming opposites. We do this without creating a “fix-it” attitude, but rather, by simply opening the heart to our true selves and with the determination to express that true self. This will be the core of our private work together through the first 6 months of the program.

To do this work, we must find supports for it. We have the traditional supports such as taking refuge and work with practices such as the “Four Empowerments” and “Seven Branch Prayer,” (as explained in my book, Awakened Heart). We must go still further. As the third element of our work, we support growing awareness that one has the power and tools to fulfill loving intention. This awareness seeks the various supports offered toward knowing one’s true power ––though connection with the Higher Self and guides and through knowing one’s power animals and other supports––discovered through guided meditations, prayer, shamanic journeying, lucid dreaming and breath-work, along with meditation. We will learn skills that support these tools.

We will work with practices to learn how to hold the chakras open and rest in connection to all that is. You will learn the use of harmonics as a tool toward healing and knowing wholeness. You will begin to uncover your true power, with the knowledge that you do now have the maturity to wield that power with love.

Part of this journey is the release of dualistic thought. We will work with deeper Light and Energy practices connected with the dzogchen tradition, which foster deeper resting in Awareness and the fullest possible resting in the Natural Light that is your birthright. Gradually you learn to live from the Light.

One must also investigate whatever may block full access to power, such as old beliefs in limitation, or old karma and fears. Within this work, we invite the release and the balancing of unwholesome karma. Most of you will experience healing through this work, but the intention is less toward healing than toward knowing the ever-perfect; and not to personal gain but toward the consecration of this vessel of body-mind-spirit in the highest service. Here we also investigate the fullest extent of power and the marriage of that power to the highest positive polarity. The intention is to live in as full a consciousness as possible, using all the tools and wisdom available to us.

Imagine a sailor with little knowledge beside that of looking to a direction and holding the sail and rudder. The boat may eventually reach the goal, but think of the difference when the sailor knows the winds, tides, effects of friction on the hull, and how to trim the sail or release excess winds. You will wish to sail the boat of conscious living with as much skill as possible.

Finally, there must be the willingness to step out into the world and actually do this work. We see this idea in the view/ meditation/ action progression expressed in the Tibetan Dzogchen tradition. Work in the world is the heart of Neem Karoli Baba’s guidance to, “Love, Serve, Remember,” as spiritual path. We will borrow his words for inspiration, and words of many great masters, as we deepen in the path of service. In this final stage, we will look at the ways we may express our intentions in the world and how we support the transition to non-dual consciousness. We will work with group and individual projects in that direction. Barbara will also assist in the teaching for this last aspect of our work, with her deep training in satyagraha, ahimsa, and non-violent response to catalyst.

My talk on “Trainings,” (January 24, 2004) offered in the Fall Issue of your DSC newsletter (www.deepspring.org/ library/ newsletters/ Vol. 17, #1/ “Initiations for Spiritual Development”), also contains material that is directly relevant to this two-year program. I ask that anyone interested in the program also read that talk.

It is my intention in the two-year program to help support a group of true bodhisattvas, people dedicated to service to all beings and committed to living in the highest consciousness that they can maintain. Those who participate will share a commitment to serve as midwives to the earth and all who dwell upon and within her, supporting the transition to 4^th density and toward a stability of non-dual consciousness. If this is your intention, and if you have the base of an existent daily and committed vipassana practice or its parallel in a related tradition, we invite you to follow this program and practice with us if you are not a direct participant.

We return to the beginning focus of our work, “insight and the open heart” and the ways our work together will foster these qualities and liberation itself. In our weekly work together, you will begin by observing certain qualities of the mind and heart for 2 reasons, 1) to nurture the beautiful qualities of mind and heart and “abandon the unwholesome,” as the sutta phrases it^², and 2) to more deeply experience the non-duality of the states that arise. You have frequently heard me say, “That which is aware of anger is not angry,” and similar statements. As we learn balance and skillful effort, we begin to understand that we are not creating or doing away with anything. We are allowing the clearing of the surface smudges so the innate radiance of the ground may shine forth. We do not get rid of anger, or create kindness. Rather, we watch the arising of negative states, observe the simultaneous presence of loving states, and continuously make the choice, where to place the energy and attention. As you bring energy to the wholesome states, the unwholesome states are divested of energy and eventually they will fall away. This is how we cultivate the wholesome and abandon the unwholesome.

It does take effort and strong intention not to act out the unwholesome states, but “If it was not possible, I would not ask you to do it.” Here we see the importance of a vipassana practice, wherein one watches the arising of a state such as anger, knows it as an object arisen in mind and body, knows it as pleasant or unpleasant (yes, anger is sometimes felt as pleasant, as it seems to empower), knows the feeling also as an object, and finally comes back to the empty Awareness that watches this show run over and over, and rests in Awareness.

In the first six months of Venture Fourth we will focus on a list of wholesome qualities of the mind and heart, and the qualities that block the fullest expression of the wholesome ones. This list is compiled from Alan Morinis’ book, Everyday Holiness, and from the traditional wholesome mind states (10 paramitas) and 4 brahma-viharas of which the Dharma speaks. They are placed below in alphabetical order. We will work with them in the order I suggest, neither from the book nor alphabetically, but in a natural way so each supports the next. You will all work with the same quality within any one week, and our private meeting will include discussion of that experience.

The attached chart from Silvia Boorstein will be of help as you become increasingly familiar with the qualities of the heart. The list of qualities shows the quality, the obstruction to that quality, and the near enemy of the quality. In your work you will attend to both. For example, when selfishness arises, where is generosity? Your work is 1) not to enact the selfishness but to attend to it and 2) to nurture the seed of generosity, however small it may appear. What supports generosity in that moment? What blocks it? In this moment of self centered contraction and fear, where is the already existent generous heart and will?

With each quality, we will ask those questions. What supports the fullest expression of this quality? What blocks its expression? When it seems lacking, for example when there is great anger and no experience of compassion, ask, “Where is this loving expression now?” and “If I was not experiencing this (this negative thought or emotion) so strongly, what might I be experiencing?” Here you begin to see more deeply into what lies beyond a persistent thought or emotion,

You will note as you work with these qualities that each shapes many others. How do wisdom and compassion intertwine with all these qualities?

There are two additional qualities, intimacy and spaciousness, that I did not add to the list. Both are deeply connected to many of these qualities so we will watch them throughout the program. With intimacy you are connected to the object, knowing you and object as non-dual. With that connection, there is no contraction trying to maintain a self, or separation. There is spaciousness, joy and ease. With non-intimacy, there is an experience of contraction, a depressed, in-drawn energy and trying to maintain the separate self. In each of the qualities below, you will find that body and mental contraction are signals that there is not yet ease and balance, not full opening into the beautiful quality. It is there; one just has not yet fully realized it.

I ask you to do three things daily: daily meditation; mindfulness with the quality of the week and to do the exercises; keeping of a spiritual journal. Here you will write, at length or with brevity as you wish, about the vipassana sitting of the day and about your experiences with the exercises. I would ask you to send these weekly journals or the notes you wish to offer, derived from the journals, by email each Sunday. They will form a base for our private meeting of the following week.

The exercises will be a continuous part of practice. Please always remember that you are NOT striving to “fix” anything broken in the self, but that the aspiration is a deeper awareness of the simultaneity of the positive traits and their negative reflections, and the deeper seeing of 1) choice and 2) what blocks the beautiful trait that is always present and how it may be more fully invited forth.

At the close of this first 6 months, each participant will choose several qualities that will be the focus for the next 6 months, qualities that are the most challenging for each person.

The Periodic Table of Virtue from Sylvia Boorstein

Refining the Qualities of the Heart

Particular Expressions of a Compassionate Heart Based on the ten paramitas

The practice of:	Develops the habit of:	By:	And is supported by:	And manifests as:
Generosity	Sharing	Experiencing the joy of not feeling needy, the ease of a peaceful mind, the possibility of the end of suffering (the Third Noble Truth)	Realizing that life is inevitably challenging (the First Noble Truth) and discovering the relief that comes with the absence of self-centered preoccupation	Contentment
Morality	Calming	Discovering the joy of practicing Wise Action, Wise Speech, and Wise Livelihood—the relational aspect of the Eightfold Path (the Fourth Noble Truth)	Experiencing the pain of contrition and remorse and the pleasure of making amends (the bliss of blamelessness)	Virtue
Renunciation	Restraining	Realizing that insatiable wanting is suffering (the Second Noble Truth)	Discovering that everything passes, including uncomfortable desires (insight into impermanence)	Temperance
Wisdom	Discerning	Understanding that although our minds are continually and inevitably challenged by desires, peace is possible (the First, Second, and Third Noble Truths)	Practicing Wise Effort, Wise Concentration, and Wise Mindfulness, the mind-training aspects of the Eightfold Path (the Fourth Noble Truth)	Clarity
Energy	Striving	Realizing that there is no time other than now (insight into interdependence)	Focusing on the formidable task of ending suffering, and remembering the possibility of peace (the First and Third Noble Truths)	Indefatigability
Patience	Abiding	Understanding “This will change” and “It cannot be other, yet” (insight into impermanence and into karma)	Cultivating tranquility by practicing Wise Concentration (the mind-steadying aspect of the Eightfold Path, the Fourth Noble Truth)	Tolerance
Truthfulness	Disclosing	Discovering what is true and telling the truth in ways that are helpful (practicing Wise Mindfulness and Wise Speech, the mind-clarifying and speech-guiding aspects of the Fourth Noble Truth)	Experiencing the discomforting isolation of guile (separation from self and others) and the ease (and peace) of candor (the third Noble Truth)	Intimacy
Determination	Persevering	Seeing clearly into the cause of suffering so that the resolve to change habits of mind becomes spontaneous (practicing Wise Understanding and Wise Intention, the mind-energizing aspects of the Fourth Noble Truth)	Validating, through direct experience, the possibility of a peaceful mind (the Third Noble Truth) and consolidating, through repeated experience, the spiritual faculty of faith	Tenacity
Lovingkindness	Well-wishing	Celebrating positive qualities in other people, cultivating forgiveness	Remembering that since suffering is universal, everyone is motivated by the desire to be happy (the First Noble Truth)	Kindness
Equanimity	Accepting	Experiencing the happiness of impartiality by paying attention to the whole truth of every moment (practicing Wise Mindfulness, the mind-balancing aspect of the Fourth Noble Truth)	Intuiting and acknowledging that this is a lawful cosmos, just and comforting in its dependability; understanding karma, cause and effect, and interdependence	Compassion

Pay Attention, for Goodness’ Sake by Silvia Boorstein

Let us look at each of the characteristics and, where possible, regard both it’s opposite and what is sometimes called the “near enemy,” that is, that which masquerades as the quality but is instead that which opposes. The “near enemy” is a superficial or misleading twin of a valuable state or attitude. My suggestions are not ultimate statements. Feel free to share your own opposites and near enemies. Together we will assemble a more final list. Taken again in alphabetical order:

Awe as mix of wonder and fear (Yirah): Opposite; pride / near enemy: servitude

Balance (order): opposite: confusion / near enemy: control

Compassion (Karuna): opposite: hatred, cruelty / near enemy: pity

Concentration: Opposite: unfocused mind / near enemy: withdrawal from the present

Energy and effort: Opposite: laziness / near enemy: force

Enthusiasm / determination: Opposite: fear / near enemy: grasping

Equanimity (Upekkha): Opposite: contracted energy and mind, greed / near enemy: indifference, dissociation

Faith: Opposite: distrust / near enemy: mindless submission / resignation

Generosity: Opposite: stinginess/ greed/ near enemy: force to give

Gladness for others (Mudita): Opposite: envy / near enemy: pretense of gladness; grasping at pleasant experience out of a sense of insufficiency or lack comparison, hypocrisy, insincerity, joy for others but tinged with identification (my team, my child).

Gratitude: Opposite: assumption / near enemy: fawning

Honor / respect: Opposite: disrespect / near enemy: taking for granted

Humility: opposite: arrogance; pride / near enemy: servitude; false humility

Loving-kindness (Metta): Opposite: hatred / near enemy: attachment

Moderation: Opposite: gluttony / near enemy: withdrawal

Morality (sila): Opposite: self service / near enemy: pretense of truth

Patience: Opposite: impatience / near enemy: stoicism

Simplicity: Opposite: greed/ materialism / near enemy: rigid renunciation

Renunciation: Opposite: grasping / near enemy: denial of pleasure

Responsibility: Opposite: irresponsibility / near enemy: control

Silence / stillness: Opposite: loudness/ near enemy: withdrawal

Truthfulness: Opposite: lying/ near enemy: manipulative speech posing as truth

Trust: Opposite: distrust / near enemy: blind faith

Wisdom: Opposite: ignorance / near enemy: attachment to views

In the further pages, these qualities will be discussed at more length, along with exercises to do as you work with each one. As you do the exercises, please reflect on the interconnections between these qualities, and notice what is easy and where you are challenged.

Please notice that these qualities do have an opposite, but that the true expression of the quality brings it to the center. For example, we start with humility. Looking at humility and the line Morinis offers of self-effacement ---humility --- pride--- arrogance

As I regard what seems to be a more balanced and true state of humility I see it slightly differently. Humility sits in the middle, free of any contraction, mostly free of any self-stories; it is grounded in metta and upekkha. The line looks like this to me

Fear and low self-esteem/ unworthiness –Self-effacement – humility – pride – arrogance

The same is true of the other qualities, for example, respect for others and responsibility. Each rests in that same center of non-self. Given the line, with 3 parts for respect:

self centeredness that cannot respect anything beyond the personal self – respect from a place of kindness and emptiness – forced respect that is also fearful and self centered.

Irresponsibility from a place of service to self, uncaring about another – true responsibility – an attempt to be someone who is responsible, but still caught in the self and wanting to be good.

This last example takes us back to the “near enemy”. Note that at either end there is ego. With the true characteristic, there is no one being responsible, respectful, kind and so forth. Listing it in 5 placements as we did with humility gives more space for the human who is trying, but has not yet opened fully to emptiness of the self. It will not always appear easily as five, and that is fine.

Please refrain from creating a duality as you work with these qualities.

I ask you to begin a month before our intensive, so there is time to develop a practice with these, with which we can dialogue when we gather together. The assignment below will take you to the intensive. Further qualities and the exercises will be given in a timely way. Our weekly telephone or personal meetings will begin after the intensive. However, we welcome your journal writings on a weekly basis for this month before the intensive and will reply where appropriate.

Barbara: At the intensive we will establish a meeting schedule.

July 26: Humility: Humility: opposite: pride leading to arrogance / near enemy: servitude; false humility

Our first quality will be humility, and that is where Alan Morinis begins also. I ask you to begin this work before we meet in August so together we can discuss your experiences and ways of working. Most qualities will have one week in this first round. As I write this guidebook, I will not repeat Morinis’ words, as he is a clear teacher, but will try to add material and exercises geared specifically to our dharma background and practice.

Humility and self-esteem are not opposites. As Morinis points out, without self-esteem one is always trying to “look good” and find praise, and cannot act and speak with humility. Try to understand his line of self-debasement/ humility/ pride/ arrogance. Try it as I suggest above, with humility in the very center. If pride arises, let it not move to arrogance. When there is humility, watch out for self-debasement and then very low self-esteem. See how the ego comes in at either end.

Note in your mind and journal when there is a true experience of humility, even if fleeting. Note also when you sense the possibility of humility but it is blocked from fullest expression. Bring attention to the blockage and see what is there? Is there anything solid? Are there stories that play repetitively? How can you relate to them with kindness, but still with a firm intention not to be caught up in them? What happens to the story when it is 1) noted and 2) when there is clear statement not to perpetuate the story because the highest intention is for the good of all beings and the story does harm?

It will be helpful to start each day with a statement of your deepest intention, such as, “I consecrate this mind, body and energy to service to the Light and to the highest good of all beings. I hold the intention to release all that does not support this intention.” Frame it in your own words. Make it a daily practice. Not if pride or self-effacement enter as you state this intention.

You will become more aware of a subtle tension that accompanies any pride or self-effacement. Note it as “tension,” and watch it. There is no fixing, only attention. I would ask you to find a loose fitting rubber band and wear it on your wrist. It is a device to bring sharper attention to “tension.” When you note tension, draw back the rubber band and feel the tension there. Then gently release it (no snapping it; this is not punishment for tension), and note the release of tension in the self. This practice will help you see the arising of unbalanced tension more quickly and attend to it. Continue to use the rubber band as you work with the other qualities, always using it to remind you to attend to unbalanced tension.

August 2: Honor; respect: Honor / respect: Opposite: disrespect / near enemy: taking for granted. Here we will move aside from Morinis’ order for a week. As you discovered in your work with Humility, self-respect involves respect for others. What is respectful action and speech? It is always grounded in choice for the highest good and with no intention to harm.

Our guideline is always, does the movement come from a place of loving-kindness, non-contraction and intention for the highest good, or does it come from a place of self-centeredness. Often the outer form looks the same and we must look deeper. Morinis’ story on page 49 (Humility) is helpful here. The man who sits in the same seat all the time is said to be humble. That may be so, but not always. Why does he take the same seat? Is it so others know what to expect, to free the seats for others who wish him seated first, or is it from a place that says, “This is mine; you can find your own.”

Aug.9: Mudita (gladness for others): The near enemy is grasping at pleasant experience out of a sense of insufficiency or lack. Mudita is usually translated as "sympathetic" or "altruistic" joy, the pleasure that comes from delighting in other people's well-being rather than begrudging it. Many Buddhist teachers interpret mudita more broadly as referring to an inner spring of infinite joy that is available to everyone at all times, regardless of circumstances. The more deeply one drinks of this spring, the more secure one becomes in one's own abundant happiness, and the easier it then becomes to relish the joy of other people.

We can easily see how developing joy for others is part of honoring and respecting others. This week we will continue to work with honor and respect with a special focus on Mudita. What supports such gladness and what blocks it? How do the 3 qualities with which you have worked thus far support each other?

Begin your work with Mudita in the same way you have been trained to work with metta. Begin with a loved one, noting the joy you feel at this person’s good fortune and also that you feel sadness when this person suffers. Move on to a neutral person and then to the difficult person. Finally, be sure to include yourself and to note the joy you feel at your own well-being.

Then carry the practice into your every day life.

The Access to Insight web site gives us these instructions on Mudita, from Visuddhi Magga.

Excerpted from The Path of Purification (Visuddhimagga) by Buddhaghosa (fifth-century)

One who begins the development of unselfish joy should not start with dearly beloved person, a neutral person or hostile person. For it is not the mere fact that a person is dearly beloved, which makes him an immediate cause of developing unselfish joy, and still less so neutral or hostile person. Persons of the opposite sex and those who are dead are not suitable subjects for this meditation.

A very close friend, however, can be a suitable subject. One who is called in the commentaries an affectionate companion; for he is always in a joyous mood: he laughs first and speaks afterwards. He should be the first to be pervaded with unselfish joy. Or on seeing or hearing about a dear person being happy, cheerful, and joyous, unselfish joy can be aroused thus: "This being, verily, is happy! How good, how excellent!" For this is what is referred to in the Vibhanga: "And how does a bhikkhu dwell pervading one direction with his heart imbued with unselfish joy? Just as he would be joyful on seeing a dear and beloved person, so he pervades all being with unselfish joy" (Vibhanga 274).

But if his affectionate friend or the dear person was happy in the past but is now unlucky and unfortunate, then unselfish joy can still be aroused by remembering his past happiness; or by anticipating that he will be happy and successful again in the future.

Having thus aroused unselfish joy with respect to a dear person, the meditator can then direct it towards a neutral one, and after that towards a hostile one…

And from Nyanaponika Thera: http://www.accesstoinsight.org/lib/authors/various/wheel170.html

It has been rightly stated that it is relatively easier for man to feel compassion or friendliness in situations which demand them, than to cherish a spontaneous feeling of shared joy, outside a narrow circle of one's family and friends. It mostly requires a deliberate effort to identify oneself with the joys and successes of others. Yet the capacity of doing so has psychological roots in man's nature which may be even deeper that his compassionate responses. There is firstly the fact that people do like to feel happy (with — or without — good reason) and would prefer it to the shared sadness of compassion. Man's gregarious nature (his "sociability") already gives him some familiarity with shared emotions and shared pleasure, though mostly on a much lower level than that of our present concern. There is also in man (and in some animals) not only an aggressive impulse, but also a natural bent towards mutual aid and co-operative action. Furthermore, there is the fact that happiness is infectious and an unselfish joy can easily grow out of it. Children readily respond by their own smiles and happy mood to smiling faces and happiness around them. Though children can be quite jealous and envious at times, they also can visibly enjoy it when they have made a playmate happy by a little gift and they are then quite pleased with themselves…

Admittedly, the negative impulses in man, like aggression, envy, jealousy, etc., are much more in evidence than his positive tendencies towards communal service, mutual aid, unselfish joy, generous appreciation of the good qualities of his fellow-men, etc. Yet, as all these positive features are definitely found in man (though rarely developed), it is quite realistic to appeal to them, and activate and develop that potential by whatever means we can, in our personal relationships, in education, etc. "If it were impossible to cultivate the Good, I would not tell you to do so," said the Buddha. This is, indeed, a positive, optimistic assurance.

If this potential for unselfish joy is widely and methodically encouraged and developed, starting with the Buddhist child (or, for that matter, with any child) and continued with adults (individuals and Buddhist groups, including the Sangha), the seed of mudita can grow into a strong plant which will blossom forth and find fruition in many other virtues, as a kind of beneficial "chain reaction": magnanimity, tolerance, generosity (of both heart and purse), friendliness, and compassion. When unselfish joy grows, many noxious weeds in the human heart will die a natural death (or will, at least, shrink): jealousy and envy, ill will in various degrees and manifestations, cold-heartedness, miserliness (also in one's concern for others), and so forth. Unselfish joy can, indeed, act as a powerful agent in releasing dormant forces of the Good in the human heart.

We know very well how envy and jealousy (the chief opponents of unselfish joy) can poison a man's character as well as the social relationships on many levels of his life. They can paralyze the productivity of society, on governmental, professional, industrial, and commercial levels. Should not, therefore, all effort be made to cultivate their antidote, that is mudita?

Mudita will also vitalize and ennoble charitable and social work. While compassion (karuna [karu.naa]) is, or should be, the inspiration for it, unselfish joy should be its boon companion. Mudita will prevent compassionate action from being marred by a condescending and patronizing attitude which often repels or hurts the recipient. Also, when active compassion and unselfish joy go together, it will be less likely that works of service turn into dead routine performed indifferently. Indifference, listlessness, boredom (all nuances of the Pali term arati) are said to be the 'distant enemies' of mudita. They can be vanquished by an alliance of compassion and unselfish joy.

Aug. 16: Responsibility: As you have noticed in your work with respect, one cannot be responsible without some degree of self-esteem; to say, “I cannot do this,” with humility and to say those words with fear are very different things. Imagine yourself on a mountaintop with friends, a walk with which you are familiar. Suddenly a storm blows in and obscures all the paths. Bitter wind comes and snow begins to fall. No one is dressed to survive the night on the mountain top; no one in the group but you has ever descended from this mountain. You cannot see the trail. What voice says “I can lead,” or “I cannot lead”?

If fear speaks, to lead or not lead, and harm comes, you are responsible. Is it ego that would lead? If love and the deepest place of awareness come forth to lead, or not lead, whether you all live or die, you will have done your best.

Notice the word “response” in responsibility, the ability to respond, here meaning with care, wisdom and lovingkindness. What is needed for such clear response? First, when response comes from the ego it is tarnished; we are thus led to more fully witness and release the ego centeredness. Second is “ability” and involves a trust of the non-ego centered self that derives from mature humility and respect.

August 23: this week please reflect on the 4 qualities with which you have worked and be prepared for discussion of what you are learning. We will break into small groups to talk. I have asked Barbara to share some insights as she has practiced with these traits.

Barbara: journal: A man called the Deep Spring office from out of state several days ago and asked me to call him. He said that it was an emergency; he was critically ill, he had talked with me and Aaron before and he had some urgent questions. He now had no email. Please call his long distance number. I remembered that this man had emailed me last August, just at the time my children were visiting from out of state before they left the country for a year. He had gotten my name and contact information from a friend. When he first emailed last summer I emailed him back, said I was on vacation with family until September, and would be happy to meet with him then. He replied by email that he was dying, and would not be here in September; he wanted to speak with Aaron about his transition. When I heard his circumstances I offered to meet with him by phone the next afternoon. He replied that he would probably need to go to the hospital by the afternoon. I had chosen afternoon for the meeting because my grandson would be napping. In the morning I wanted to be with the family. But I put that preference aside, hearing that this man was dying. Payment is never the primary concern for me, but I add the note that this man said he was happy to make a donation.

Aaron spoke to him for almost 2 hours. I don’t know what was said. Aaron said he did not feel the man was able to hear him, only wanted to complain and voice his fears. I never heard from him again and assumed he had died. No donation came and that was not a concern. I hoped our meeting was some help to his transition.

Now he was calling again, almost a year later. The office manager told him I was away on retreat; the man said he was in critical condition and needed to talk to Aaron. I see how the questions raised by this situation are perfect to the discussion of humility, respect and self respect and responsibility, and that there is an area here that I need more fully to understand. Humility: there is need to find that balance, not self-effacing and ready to jump at another’s wish and not arrogant and disrespectful of others’ needs, but respectful of both the other and myself. I felt I had done that last summer.

Looking back though, I see that I was quick to jump in when there was a call for help, but then I judged the call; it did not seem genuine and resentment arose. I was not forced to respond last summer, but having done so, and now finding he was not critically ill last summer, I felt manipulated. While it would not have been an issue that he did not offer dana, the fact that he had not died and not sent any dana though he had stated that intention, and not even covered the cost of the two hour long distance phone call, also brought anger and led me to feel manipulated. Yet no one can manipulate us without our agreement at some level. Reflection has led me to better understand the balance of humility and pride. As long as I’m acting from a self, there is an expectation of some return and anger if that return doesn’t happen. True humility is free of self.

I noted the anger and thought about what to do. With the anger came separation. Instead of being able to stay open to his present need and hear him, I was closing myself off. That was not responsible. But what about responsibility to myself and to my present retreat? The answers are not always immediately apparent. It became clear that I needed to make my choice from a place of love that was responsible and considerate to us both. It is not compassionate to allow another to manipulate you. It is not compassionate to shut another out, even if they have manipulated you in the past. It took several days of doing metta for myself and for this man before I felt ready to call him with an open heart. My intention in the call, to tell him that I would be happy to talk with him next month but under no circumstances could I speak with him now, beyond this brief phone call.

He was not at home and the message was left on the answering machine. I feel at peace with the choice.

Aaron: The following qualities are put briefly in place. There will be further material sent in the coming weeks.

Aug. 30: Patience: We return to the book order with the next quality. Practice with patience gives us several new tools that will be useful with other qualities.

Sept. 6: Compassion: I paste here a compassion (mudita) meditation. I invite you to work this week with the events of September 11, 2001, and a deepening of the insight that there were only victims of these acts, some passive and some active. Can there be equal compassion toward those who died as passengers in planes or at their desks, and those whose ignorance and suffering led them to these actions?

Aaron: Compassion (Karuna); A Guided Meditation

(from Presence, Kindness and Freedom)

To be read to yourself or shared aloud with a friend. Please pause at each space between lines.

Traditionally loving-kindness meditation begins with the self. I find that in your culture it is very difficult for many people to offer loving wishes to themselves, and so we begin with one to whom it is easier to offer such thoughts and then come around to the self later. In the traditional practice, one also offers loving wishes to a neutral person before the difficult one. Here I have left out this step to make the practice shorter. Please include it if you wish.

Compassion is not forgiveness, which is a further step, but only the opening of your heart to the pain of all beings and wishing them well.

There is no wrong or right way to do this practice. If resistance arises, simply note it and reenter the meditation in whatever way you are able. You are not requested to dive all the way in but only to enter as deeply as is comfortable.

As you work with this practice, please modify it and make it your own.

* * * * *

Find a comfortable position, body relaxed, back erect, eyes closed softly.

Bring to the heart and mind the image of one for whom there is loving respect. This person may be a dear friend, parent, teacher, or any being with whom the primary relationship is one in which you have been nurtured.

We often take such a person for granted, see what is offered to us but fail to see deeply into that being’s situation. Look deeply at that being, deeper than you ever have before, and see that he or she has suffered. He has felt pain of the body or the heart. She has known grief, loss, and fear. He has felt loneliness and disconnection. She has been lost and confused. Along with the joy, see the ways this dear one has suffered.

Speaking silently from the heart, note this one’s pain, offering first the person's name.

You have suffered. You have felt alone or afraid. You have known pain in your body and your mind. You have known grief and loss. You have felt alienation, and the constriction of the closed heart. Your life has not always brought you what you might have wished. You have not been able to hold on to what you loved or to be free of what brought pain. You have suffered.

What loving thoughts can you offer to this dear one? Let the thoughts come with the breath, arising and moving out.

May you be free of suffering.
May you find the healing that you seek.
May you love and be loved.
May your heart open and flower.

May you know your true nature.
May you be happy.
May you find peace.

Please continue silently, repeating these or alternate phrases for several minutes. Go slowly. Allow your heart to connect with this dear one, to open to his or her pain and offer these wishes, prompted by the loving heart. I will be quiet.

(Longer pause)

Now, let this loved one move aside and in his or her place invite in your own self. It is sometimes hard to open our hearts to ourselves. What blocks this love? Just for the sake of experiment, please try to follow the practice and see how it feels, even if it is difficult—but always without force.

Look deeply at the self and observe that, just as with the loved one, you have suffered. Speaking to yourself, say:

I have suffered. I have felt pain of the body and the mind. I have known grief, loss, and fear. I have felt loneliness and disconnection, felt lost and confused. I have not been able to hold on to what I loved, nor to keep myself safe from that which threatened me. I have suffered.

See the ways you have suffered. Without engaging in self-pity, simply observe the wounds you have borne.

Speaking silently from the heart, this time to your own self, say your name.

What do you wish for yourself?

May I be free of suffering.
May I find the healing that I seek.
May I love and be loved.
May my heart open and flower.

May I know my deepest connection with All that Is.
May I be happy.
May I find peace.

Please continue silently, repeating these or alternate phrases for several minutes. Go slowly. Allow your heart to connect with your deepest self, to open to your pain and longing, and to offer wishes prompted by the loving heart. I will be quiet.

(Longer pause)

Now let the self move aside, and in its place invite in one with whom there has been hard feeling.^³ It is best not to choose the heaviest relationship at first, but allow yourself to practice with a less difficult relationship and then move slowly to those relationships that bring up heavier emotions.

It is so painful to maintain separation. A wise teacher^⁴ said, “Never put anyone out of your heart.” What blocks opening?

Letting go, we invite the open heart.

If it is difficult, use no force. Note resistance.

For the sake of experiment, you might follow the practice just to see how it feels. Please express your own pain too, as you speak to this one. Can you feel the space where your pain and that person's pain are one?

Say this one’s name. Speak from your heart.

You have hurt me, through your words, your acts, even your thoughts.

Through what came from you I have experienced pain.

When I look deeply, I see that you have suffered. You have felt alone and afraid. You have known pain in your body and your mind. You have felt loss and grief, have felt alienated, felt your heart closed. Your life has not always brought you what you might have wished.

May you be free of suffering.
May you find the healing that you seek.
May your heart open and flower.
May you love and be loved.

May you come to know your true nature.
May you be happy.
May you find peace.

Please continue silently, repeating these or alternate phrases for several minutes. Go slowly. Allow your heart to connect with this person, to open to his or her pain, and to offer wishes prompted by the loving heart. I will be quiet.

(Longer pause)

Throughout the world, beings suffer. Not only humans but plants, insects, animals, even the earth herself.

May all beings everywhere be free of suffering.

May all beings be happy.

(Bell)

May all love and be loved.
May all find the healing that they seek.

(Bell)

May all beings everywhere find perfect peace.

(Bell)

Sept. 18: Gratitude: This will be a core practice through these two years. You may wish to begin this now by bringing to awareness as you awake a sense of gratitude for this day and your intention to be of service to all beings with the gift of this day.

The intensives

We will have six intensives that will each have a focus. The possibility has actually been raised to have a seventh intensive in the summer of 2011 to conclude our program; that is something open to discussion and not a decision needed now. The first three will have a special overall focus of coming to know your connection with the Universe and all that is, finding the supports that have always been available to you, and learning how to access such support. Many of these are practices toward meeting your spirit and animal guides. Others will help you directly experience interbeing. Each human is different, and what supports one may not so steadily support another. That is why we have different processes. We will work with Shamanic Journeying, Breath Work, Dzogchen meditation, Lucid Dreaming, Chakras, crystals, the Elements, and more. Some material is included here, and some will be sent as email attachment to web sites that you may read on line or download as you prefer.

Intensive #1. Aug. 26-30, 2009:

First is a summary of Shamanism buy Sandra Ingerman who is well respected in this field.

http://www.sandraingerman.com/abstractonshamanism.html

Shamanism: Healing of Individuals and the Planet  by Sandra Ingerman

Shamanism: A Brief Overview   Shamanism is the most ancient spiritual practice known to humankind. We know from the archaeological evidence the practice dates back at least 40,000 years. Some anthropologists believe that the practice dates back over 100,000 years.  

The word “shaman” comes from the Tungus tribe in Siberia and it means spiritual healer or one who sees in the dark. Shamanism has been practiced in Siberia, Asia, Europe, Africa, Australia, Greenland, and native North and South America.  

A shaman is a man or woman who uses the ability to see “with the strong eye” or “with the heart” to travel into hidden realms. The shaman interacts directly with the spirits to address the spiritual aspect of illness and perform soul retrievals, retrieve lost power, as well as remove spiritual blockages. The shaman also divines information for the community. Shamans have and still act as healers, doctors, priests and priestesses, psychotherapists, mystics, and storytellers.

   Shamanism teaches us that everything that exists is alive and has a spirit. Shamans speak of a web of life that connects all of life and the spirit that lives in all things. Everything on earth is interconnected and any belief that we are separate from other life forms including the earth, stars, wind, etc is purely an illusion. And it is the shaman’s role in the community to keep harmony and balance between humankind and the forces of nature. 

  There are a variety of ceremonies that shamans perform. They lead ceremonies to welcome children into the world, perform marriages, and help people transition to a good place at the time of death. They lead ceremonies to mourn the death of loved ones. There are important initiation ceremonies performed to mark certain transitions in a person’s life such as from moving from childhood into being an adult.

   One of the major ceremonies a shaman performs is called a shamanic journey. A shaman is a man or woman who goes into an altered state of consciousness and travels outside of time into the hidden realms that many term non-ordinary. I see non-ordinary reality as a parallel universe to ours. The Australian aborigines call non-ordinary the Dreamtime. It is also referred to as the Other World in Celtic traditions. 

  In these hidden realities there are helping spirits, compassionate spirits who offer their guidance and also their healing help in behalf of all life on earth. 

  Typically shamans use some form of percussion, especially drumming or rattling, to go into an altered state that allows the free soul of the shaman to journey into the invisible worlds. In Australia you also see shamans use the didgeridoo and/or click sticks. Some traditions use sticks or bells. The Sami people of Lapland and Norway also use monotonous chanting called “joiking”. 

  When one looks at shamanic traditions around the world there are three common levels that are spoken about and also depicted through different paintings and other forms of artwork. The hidden worlds that the shaman travels to are known as the Under World or Lower World, the Middle World, and the Upper World. There are numerous levels in both the Lower World and also in the Upper World and they are outside of time.

  We live in an unlimited universe. Although descriptions of non-ordinary reality are subject to mental limitations I will describe some of the more common shamanic experiences of these worlds. 

  Shamanism is a system of direct revelation. All shamans might describe experiences differently. And how the different experiences are interpreted and seen by others is how beautiful they all are.

  The Lower World is reached by journeying through a tunnel that leads into the earth. This world seems very earthy and tangible to the shaman and is characterized by caves, seas, dense jungles, forests, and deserts. The beings inhabiting the Lower World are the spirits of animals, trees, plants, and rocks as well as human spirits that are connected with the mysteries of the earth.

   The Upper World is experienced as more ethereal than the Lower World. The lighting is bright and can go from pastels, to gray, to complete darkness. In the Upper World I might know I am standing on something but what is holding me might seem vague. The landscape here is also very varied. There are crystal cities and cities of clouds. This level also inhabits a variety of spirits.

   The Middle World is the hidden reality of the world we live in. In the Middle World the shaman can travel back and forth in time. It is also a place where the shaman can journey in looking for lost and stolen objects. 

  As I already mentioned to the shaman everything is alive. The Middle World is one place where the shaman can speak to the spirit of the rocks, trees, plants, wind, water, fire, earth, etc. The shaman can speak to the spirit that lives in all things here.

   The Middle World is also inhabited by a variety of spirits such as “the hidden folk”. The hidden folk are the fairies, elves, dwarves, trolls, and forest guardians that are present in so many myths and stories. The hidden folk remind us of a magical time in our lives before, through cultural conditioning, we closed the veils between the worlds.

   In the Lower World and Upper Worlds there are a variety of helping spirits that can help the shaman with healing individuals, the community, and the planet.

   The two most common types of spirits who work in partnership with the shaman are power animals also called guardian spirits as well as there are teachers in human form.

   Shamanic cultures believe that when we are born the spirit of at least two power animals volunteer to remain with us to keep us healthy emotionally and physically and also protect us from harm. These animals are akin to the Christian belief in guardian angels.

   The other form of helping spirit that shamans work with is a teacher in human form. These typically were the gods and goddesses of the culture, religious figures, and ancestors who wished to help.These helping spirits work with the shaman to bring healing to individuals, the community, and the environment. The helping spirits are also consulted with when information is needed.

  Soul Retrieval: How Shamans Heal Trauma  

Shamans look at the spiritual form of illness, which might manifest on an emotional or physical level. When I was doing the research for my book Soul Retrieval: Mending the Fragmented Self, I found that most shamanic cultures around the world believe that illness is due to the loss of the soul.  

It is believed that whenever we suffer an emotional or physical trauma a piece of our soul flees the body in order to survive the experience. The definition of soul that I am using is soul is our essence, life force, the part of our vitality that keeps us alive and thriving.  

The types of trauma that could cause soul loss in our culture would be any kind of abuse: sexual, physical, or emotional. Other causes could be an accident, being in a war, being a victim of a terrorist act, acting against our morals, being in a natural disaster (a fire, hurricane, earthquake, tornado, etc.), surgery, addictions, divorce, or death of a loved one. Any event that causes shock could cause soul loss. And what might cause soul loss in one person might not cause soul loss in another. Shamans believe that alarm clocks can cause soul loss. I think we all know what they mean.  

It is important to understand that soul loss is a good thing that happens to us. It is how we survive pain. If I were going to be in a head-on car collision the last place I would want to be at the point of impact is in my body. My psyche could not endure that kind of pain. So our psyches have this brilliant self protect mechanism where a part of our essence or soul leaves the body so that we do not feel the full impact of the pain.  

In psychology we talk about this as dissociation. But in psychology we don’t talk about what disassociates and where that part goes. In shamanism we know that a piece of the soul leaves the body and goes to a territory in what shamans call non ordinary reality where it waits until someone intervenes in the spiritual realms and facilitates its return.  

Although soul loss is a survival mechanism the problem from a shamanic point of view is that the soul part that left usually does not come back on its own. The soul might be lost, or stolen by another person, or doesn’t know the trauma has passed and it is safe to return.  

It has always been the role of the shaman to go into an altered state of consciousness and track down where the soul fled to in the alternate realities and return it to the body of the client.  

There are many common symptoms of soul loss. Some of the more common ones would be dissociation where a person does not feel fully in his or her body, alive and fully engaged in life. Other symptoms include chronic depression, suicidal tendencies, post traumatic stress syndrome, immune deficiency problems, and grief that just does not heal. Addictions are also a sign of soul loss as we seek external sources to fill up the empty spaces inside of us whether through substances, food, relationships, work, or buying material objects. Anytime someone says” I have never been the same since” a certain event and they don’t mean this in a good way, soul loss has probably occurred.  

You can really see how much soul loss there is today as we put money over life. Anytime someone says that we have to kill other life forms for material gain that person must be suffering from soul loss. Anytime someone feels that buying one more car or that gathering material objects will bring happiness that person is suffering from the loss of soul. As you can see we are looking at a great deal of planetary soul loss today as you watch how we behave towards each other and the rest of life.  

Coma is also soul loss. But in coma there is more of the soul out of body than in the body. Coma is very complicated to work with today for many reasons. It takes skill on behalf of the shaman to find out which way the soul is trying to go. Does the soul want to re-enter the body? Or does it need help moving on which would lead to the death of the patient? There is a lot to say about this topic and it beyond the scope of this article.  

Today there has been a resurgence in the interest of the practice of shamanism. We now have many hundreds of wonderful shamanic practitioners reintroducing the practice of soul retrievals into our culture.  

It is interesting to note that as soul loss was so understood in shamanic cultures people who suffered traumas were given a soul retrieval within three days after a trauma occurred. Today as we have not been practicing soul retrieval, modern day practitioners are going back ten, twenty, thirty, or forty years or even more looking for lost soul parts.  

Also in a shamanic culture the individuals knew what was out of balance in their lives that might have caused an illness or issue to occur.  

In our culture we are unaware of what is out of spiritual harmony that is creating illness. And because often our soul loss happened so young we are unaware of the unconscious patterns we are living out due to our first soul loss. We are always trying to retrieve our soul. And how we do this is by repeating the same trauma over and over again. The names might change of the people involved in our life story, but the story is often the same.  

The effects of having a soul retrieval vary from person to person. Some people feel that they are more grounded in their body and feel more solid. Some people feel lighter and a joyful way of being returns to them. For some memories of the past traumas might be triggered bringing up a variety of feelings that must be worked through. And for some people the effects are too subtle to notice a change until further work to integrate the soul is done.  

As people feel more present in their bodies and in the world, they become more conscious of behavior that might be out of balance and disharmonious. When we are numb we might be aware that things in the world are not right but we can easily distract ourselves from feeling a need to change. When we are fully “inspirited” there is no place to retreat to and we are more inspired to change our lives.  

I believe that once a person has his or her soul brought back the client now has to do some work. If the person has done a lot of personal work the soul retrieval might be the end of the work. If not the soul retrieval would be the beginning of the work.  

Now it is up to the client to look at how to create a healthy life style and attract healthy relationships that will support wholeness and a life filled with healing. How do we want to use the energy that was returned from the soul retrieval and our returned vitality to create a positive present and future for ourselves? And how do we bring passion and meaning back into our lives again so that we thrive instead of just survive? All these issues I call “life after healing” and are crucial to create long term healing after a soul retrieval.  

I write about spiritual practices we can bring into our lives to create a positive present and future in my books Welcome Home: Following Your Soul’s Journey Home and Medicine for the Earth: How to Transform Personal and Environmental Toxins.  

This is vital work for the times we live in. The earth wants her children home and she wants them home now. It is time to come back home again and take our rightful place on the earth. It is our birthright to fully express our souls and create the world we want to live in. And it is our birthright to shine as brightly as the stars above us. It is time to share our light again in the world.  

Medicine for the Earth: Healing Our Planet  

I started practicing shamanism in 1980 and my own personal practice led me to explore with the spirits the issue of reversing environmental pollution. One of the most important messages I was to receive over my twenty years of journeying on this was it is who we become that changes the world and our environment not what we do. Harmony within will create harmony without. So the true work is learning how to change our thoughts, attitudes and belief systems. We actually have to work with “ the alchemy of the soul” to really be able to change our inner environment as our inner state of being will be reflected in the outer world. The literal definition of alchemy is “working within and through the dense darkness inside.” This is big work and involves committing to spiritual practices that we must engage in daily and throughout the day.  

Stories that come from the Bible, from the Kabbalah, and from various Taoist, Hindu, yogic, alchemical, Egyptian, and shamanic works show that miracles were once an everyday occurrence. I researched different spiritual traditions to give me clues to how miracles were performed by ancient cultures, mystics, and saints. As I read about miracles a formula of elements that seem to be part of all miracles started to form. The formula that came to me is a hologram. The elements cannot be taken separately but combined with each other create transmutation. The definition of transmutation I am using is the ability to change the nature of a substance. The work of effecting environmental change is how to change toxic substances into neutral substances.  

The formula I arrived at is intention + union + love + focus + concentration + harmony +imagination = transmutation. Although we cannot use these elements as separate entities I would like to explain them separately.  

For all miracles to happen we must hold a strong intention of what we want to see happen. Intention creates action. This involves concentration. We know that a key to the success of spiritual practice is the ability to concentrate. We must also be able to maintain a focus on our short term and long term goals.  

All miracles involve union with a divine force. In the bible when Jesus says to heal in my name the true Aramaic translation of this is to know God and heal as God does. This means having union with the creative force of life is essential for true healing to take place. Sai Baba, a guru in India, is known for his miraculous acts and healing abilities. He says: “The only difference between me and you is I know who I am and you don’t” (meaning he knows he is divine). These are just a couple of examples of what different mystics say about union.  

Love is an essential ingredient in all miracles as it is only love that heals. Techniques don’t heal. Where there is an open heart there is the energy to bring through miraculous and magical energy. Love is the great transformer.  

I have already mentioned harmony as it is known in the practice of alchemy that harmony within will create harmony without. Disharmony creates disease; harmony creates beauty and health.  

Imagination is another key in performing the miracle of transmutation in that we must be able to envision an environment that is pure and clean and which supports all of life. Caroline Casey, an American astrologer, says: “Imagination lays the tracks for the reality train to drive down.” With our imagination we have to ability to sculpt our world.  

To add to this formula there are more principles to remember. As we change our perception we change our reality. To change our perception to create a reality of a clean environment we must be able to see the beauty in all things. To see the beauty in all things, we must live in a state of appreciation and gratefulness.  

There are two phases of the work. One phase of the work is to learn how to recognize that we are more than a body, our thoughts, and our past experiences. We are spiritual light and we are divine at all times.  

We are not separate rather we are connected to one source and to a web of life. Imagine a hand where one of the fingers drops to the floor and thinks it can have an independent life without being connected to the body. That is what is happening today. Humankind is acting like separate fingers that have forgotten the connection to the original source of life.  

In our egoic states we perceive ourselves as separate from each other and the rest of life. Life circumstances and our relationships with others trigger negative thoughts and feelings. As human beings it is important to acknowledge our thoughts and feelings. It is also important to acknowledge that there is energy behind our thoughts and feelings that we can send out to others and into the environment. In shamanic cultures it is understood that there is a difference between expressing anger and sending anger.  

It is healthy to have a range of thoughts and emotions. The work we must do is to learn how to transmute or transform the energy behind our thoughts and emotions into love and light. In this way we can feel the depth of our feelings but not create any harm by doing so.  

We must again recognize as all ancient cultures did that words are vibration. And when we speak out loud we send a vibration out into the universe that will manifest back down on others and us.  

You might remember when you were a child saying the phrase abracadabra. This is actually an Aramaic phrase “abraq ad habra” and it literally translates to “I will create as I speak”.  

I write about how to transmute the energy of our negative thoughts into an energy embracing love and light and how to work with the power of words in my book How to Heal Toxic Thoughts: Simple Tools for Personal Transformation.   The second phase of the work is gathering together in community to do ceremonies to reverse the pollution that we have created.  

My book, Medicine for the Earth: How to Transform Personal and Environmental Toxins goes into detail about this material. After I wrote the book I started some scientific experiments to check out if the practices I wrote about will truly transmute toxins. I have been working with intentionally polluting de-ionized water (pure water with no minerals in it) with ammonium hydroxide, a common and dangerous pollutant in our environment. As ammonium hydroxide is a strong base it is easy to check its presence with the use of pH strips. I have worked with many groups of students at this point. With every group I have worked with using the principles I wrote about, the water has changed a pH of 1-3 points toward neutral. We have prepared for days but once we begin the ceremony work it has only taken approximately 15-20 minutes before the water changes. From a scientific point of view this would be seen as impossible.  

Since these initial experiments I started using a gas discharge visualization camera which is based on the Kirlian effect. We can now take pictures of the change in energy of the substances present in our circle. Besides water we have put in the circle a peach, some soil from a road that has a lot of cars driving on it, and some cheddar cheese crackers. To see some of the pictures we have gotten you can visit www.medicinefortheearth.com and click on “Results”.  

It is important to note that in our ceremonies we have not tried to manipulate the environment. We have not focused on the substances on the altar of our circle. We change ourselves with the understanding that our outer world will reflect back to us the inner changes that we make. This way of perception goes back to the ancient and esoteric principle of “as above, so below; as within, so without”.  

Alchemists did not actually change lead into gold. The practice of alchemy was about changing lead consciousness into gold light consciousness. As we begin to change our consciousness and get in touch with the light inside of us we can effect great changes in our outer world. It is who we become that changes the world not what we do. The world changes by how we change.  

All life is made of light. We are all light. Everything is light. In remembering this we can transmute everything in our outer environment and what we take in to pure healing light.  

All spiritual traditions teach that everything manifests on a spiritual level before manifesting on the physical. Where we have power right now to create change on the planet is by incorporating spiritual practices into our lives.

Back to the first Intensive itself. We’ll gather on Wednesday afternoon Aug. 26 in time for dinner. Arrive as early as you wish to settle in.

Wednesday evening: early dinner, followed by a silent sitting. Introductions; a go-around so the participants may come to know each other. Taking refuges and precepts. Silent sitting and rest. Silence will be maintained until after breakfast the next morning.

Thursday and Friday: optional early sitting. Breakfast. Short sitting. Silence then broken each day (except for meditation periods) until evening sitting. Thursday morning: Aaron presents an overview of the program, with time for questions. Break. Aaron will speak about moving beyond limitations. Lunch and break to walk, swim or rest. Afternoon and evening: Heather Cumming (see below) will begin our work with shamanic journeying, and continue this work through Friday evening

A brief synopsis of her schedule from Heather:

First day: talking about core shamanism its roots and history and doing two journeys which are called dismemberment journeys. Participants working in pairs to dismember that which keeps them separate from a deeper connection to their higher selves. These are very strong journeys.

Next day, journeys to connect with animal guide and spirit guides; we will work two journeys, also working with the elements outside as Aaron suggested - merging with water and lying on the land to do so and also with the earth -

Participants should bring a bandana, blanket to lie on and a rattle if they wish - best not to have rattles with animal parts - deer hooves etc. but something simple made out of a gourd. We will journey also to the spirit of a stone that will be the first stone of their medicine bag. Participants will learn to merge with the spirit of the stone to work with in a healing way.

Saturday: early sitting. Breakfast. Silence broken. Detailed look at the weekly exercise part of the program for the fall and winter. We will use the book by Alan Morinis, Everyday Holiness, (available on Amazon) as a guide, but will also go beyond this book. Aaron will also speak about taking a Bodhisattva Vow or stating of intention, which we will do in Intensive Two, each privately with our own wording. Afternoon: Aaron will lead us in meditations to find our guides and Higher Self. Time for walking, swimming and boating.

Evening: after dinner, we will share thoughts: “what blocks my power? What strengths will help me release such blockage?” and also, “Why do I wish to reclaim power? What forms of service call out to me as I invite fuller power?” The evening ends with a silent sitting.

Sunday: After our morning sitting we’ll break the silence and move back into an integration of the various foci of the weekend. How do we bring together our strong commitment to service, our recognition of our strengths, and the clarity of our practice, to do the work we wish to do? How do we work skillfully to build our strengths, and to release old concepts of limits and blockage? Aaron will talk more about a Bodhisattva intention; Aaron or Barbara will also talk more about the weekly work and course book. We’ll have time for questions. The morning is left more open to see what other needs appear.

The book The Way of the Bodhisattva by Shantedeva and Aaron’s book, Awakened Heart (available from DSC or can be downloaded from the DSC site) will be assigned reading through the fall. We will be discussing your experiences with this material in our private meetings, and helping to prepare each of you to create your own personally worded Bodhisattva Vow. The actual taking will be optional, dependent on each person’s readiness. There is no problem to wait until spring or even later to take it. The taking of it is meant as a support for you.

Second Intensive: Nov. (18-22) This is not yet outlined in detail but one core will be the ceremonial stating of a Bodhisattva intention for those who feel ready to do so. Others will continue to explore this path. The vow or intention will be formulated privately, each as his/her own heart speaks.

We will discuss stages and states of consciousness (with prior reading from Aaron’s talks and also a large portion of the book, Putting on the mind of Christ, by Jim Marion, Hampton Roads Publishing Co. 2000). This is not a book directed to Christians in a religious sense, but is about consciousness, whether we call that highest level “Christ Consciousness” or Buddha Consciousness.” See the contents at this link:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/157174357X/ref=sib_dp_ptu - reader-link

We’ll explore our experiences of these stages of consciousness and how we may experience two stages seemingly simultaneously. This relates to Aaron’s frequent statement, “That which is aware of fear is not afraid.” We’ll do more work with connection to our guides. We’ll spend some time with vipassana, and understanding how our deepening practice can support our highest intentions.

We will work with breath work one day (or more) over this weekend, with guidance from Julie Wolcott, as a way of further exploring states and stages of consciousness, and of connecting more deeply with guides and Higher Self, and our deepest intentions. Julie is a part of our group and a certified transformational breathing facilitator. http://www.transformationalbreathing.com/

Transformational Breathing (TB) is a complete self-healing system using conscious breathing to facilitate improved well-being, inner peace and greater joy in life. It is unique from other forms of Breathwork. It works by facilitating the natural healing process for all types of trauma, is beneficial in gaining greater physical, mental and spiritual health, and in maintenance of optimal health.

We’ll also begin to work with chakras this weekend. We’ll use some materials from my friend Carla Rueckert McCarty as supportive reading. http://www.llresearch.org/ I’ll be sending a link for that material.

Intensive three: (March 24-28, 2010) A deeper focus on dzogchen practice, or non-dual awareness. Our special focus this weekend will be those areas of dzogchen often called “view” and “meditation.” This will support our later work with the Light and Energy practices and also the “action” phase. Reading: Flight of the Garuda, DSC edition. We will also read and work with the Vision is Mind; Mind is empty; Emptiness is clear light; Clear light is union; Union is great bliss teaching by Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, pasted below.

We’ll also work with sound and harmonics and how they may support changing consciousness and energy. We may have a facilitator join us for a day to support our work with harmonics. And we will deepen work with elements.

Aaron is still formulating the entire curriculum for the two years. There will be frequent looping back and deepening, so the curriculum is more a spiral than a linear progression.

Some reading we may use, beside those listed above (Awakened Heart, Way of the Bodhisattva, Putting on the mind of Christ, Flight of the Garuda, DSC edition, and Everyday Holiness), are:

How Can I Help by Ram Dass and Paul Gorman, Knopf, 1985

Compassion in Action by Ram Dass and Mirabai Bush, Bell Tower, 1992

Ahimsa by Daniel Altman Quest, 1980

World as Lover; World as Self by Joanna Macy, Parallax Press, 1991

Worlds in Harmony; Dialogues on Compassionate Action, by The Dalai Lama, Parallax Press, 1992

Healing with Form, Energy and Light by Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, Snow Lion, 2002.

The Way of the Shaman by Michael Harner, Harper 1980 or a related book. I have not read this; we’ll see what, if anything, is recommended.

Other suggestions are welcomed. Please send me your recommendations. We keep in mind that this is an experiential program, not an intellectual one, so reading will be secondary rather than a primary to our work.

Vision is Mind; Mind is empty; Emptiness is clear light; Clear light is union; Union is great bliss

Geshe Tenzin Wangyal teaches us a five-stage Dzogchen meditation that begins with contemplating our worst enemy and culminates in the discovery that mind is empty, clear and blissful.   Vision is mind. Mind is empty. Emptiness is clear light. Clear light is union. Union is great bliss.  This is the heart instruction of Dawa Gyaltsen, a Bön meditation master who lived in the eighth century. Bön is the native, pre-Buddhist religion of Tibet, which has incorporated many Buddhist elements. This teaching is a direct introduction to the nature of mind and is not elaborate with ritual. The pith instructions of these masters—their heart advice to their students—are often only a few lines, but these few lines can guide the fortunate practitioner to recognizing his or her own true nature as Buddha.   

Vision is mind  How do we work with Dawa Gyaltsen's instruction, which begins, "Vision is mind"? Vision includes everything we perceive, but I suggest that you use what bothers you as an entrance to this practice. Do you have a famous person in your life? The famous person is the one who seems to be born to create a problem for you, as if that were his or her number-one mission in life. Sometimes we feel there are people like that. Such people can make trouble for you not only with their presence, but with one single postcard sent to you. When you see the postcard with their handwriting on it, you are immediately disturbed.   So we begin our meditation practice with this famous person as our starting point. Create a protected environment and sit in a comfortable upright position. Now invite the image of your famous person to come into your awareness. They always come anyway, but this time you are inviting them so that you can look more deeply into this experience. What exactly is this famous person composed of? See the image of the person, the character of this person who bothers you so much. Sense the energetic or emotional presence of this person. When your famous person was born, he or she did not show any physical signs or marks of what you now see. And not all people share your view of this person. What you perceive is your mind, your karmic vision, which is more karma than vision.   So in this moment, instead of looking out and focusing on that person, look inward. Step back and let the experience come in. Do not step forward but step backwards. Don't go to your office and make phone calls and send emails. Just sit and close your eyes and reflect on this person, and experience what you're experiencing at this very moment. This is your vision. It is very much in you, in your mind. That famous person is now an image or a felt sense. Perhaps you have a sense of being contracted, closed or agitated in the presence of this person; feel this fully, not simply with your intellect. Sit with the image of your famous person, and with the resulting feelings and sensations, until you recognize that this experience is in you, and you conclude, "Vision is mind."    

Mind is empty  The next question is, "What is this mind?" Look for your mind. Look from the top of your head to the soles of your feet. Can you find anything solid? Can you find any permanent color, shape or form that you can call your mind? If you look directly, you come to the conclusion that your mind is empty. Some people come to this conclusion very quickly; for others it requires an exhausting search to discover this clear awareness. But this is what mind is. You can obviously pollute that clarity in any given moment, but by continuing to look directly, you can discover that mind itself is just clear. Clear means empty. "Empty" is a philosophical term, but as experience it is clear and open.   So what began as the famous person is now clear and open. If this is not your experience, you are grasping the image and holding on to the experience in some way. Just be. Relax into the experience. Simply be. Mind is empty. When we arrive at the experience of emptiness and vastness through the doorway of the famous person, it is possible to have quite a strong experience of emptiness.   

Emptiness is clear light   Our next question is, "What is this emptiness?" Sometimes emptiness is scary to the point where someone may prefer even their famous person to this nothing where one experiences the absence of self. But this experience of open space is essential. It clears the identity that creates the famous person. In order to clear the obstacle of the famous person, you have to clear the identity that creates that famous person. There is an expression, "The sword of wisdom cuts both ways." Don't be scared by this. Remember: "Emptiness is clear light." It has light. It is possible to feel the light in the absence of the stuff.   Usually we accumulate a lot of stuff in life. Then we have a big yard sale in order to get rid of that stuff. For a moment we might feel "Ahhh . . ."—a sense of relief at getting rid of our old stuff—but soon we are excited again about all the new stuff we can accumulate to decorate and fill the open space. In your meditation, when things clear, just be with this. Don't focus on the absence of the stuff, but discover the presence of the light in that space. It's there. I'm not saying it's easy to recognize and connect with the light—clearly it will depend on how much you are caught up with appearances and with the famous person. I'm not talking about the clear appearance of the famous person; I'm speaking of the clear appearance of the space. So when you look at appearance and discover it is mind, and then discover that mind is empty, clear light emerges. When you look for the mind, you don't find the mind. When you don't find anything, the Dzogchen instruction is to "abide without distraction in that which has not been elaborated." What has not been elaborated is that space, that openness. So you look for mind; you don't find anything. What you don't find is pure space which is not elaborated. So don't do anything. Don't change anything. Just allow. When you abide in that space without changing anything, what is is clear light. The experience or knowledge of emptiness is clear light. It is awareness.  Clear light is the experience of vast emptiness. The reason you have a famous person in the first place is that you experience yourself as separated from the experience of the vast, open space. Not recognizing the vast space, not being familiar with it, you experience visions. Not recognizing the visions as mind, you see them as solid and separate and out there—and not only out there, but disturbing you and creating all kinds of hassles for you that you have to deal with.   Perhaps you say, "Well, I am very clear about the direction in my life." Here, you are clear about something. The clarity Dawa Gyaltsen points to is not clear about something; it is clear in the sense of being. You experience your essence, your existence, your being as clear. That clarity is the best. Through experiencing that clarity, you overcome self-doubt.   

Clear light is union   From this experience of vast emptiness we say, "Clear light is union." The space and the light cannot be separated. Clear refers to space, and light refers to awareness; awareness and space are inseparable. There is no separation between clear presence and space, between awareness and emptiness.   We have a lot of notions of union: yin and yang, male and female, wisdom and compassion. When you pay close attention to the experience of emptiness, you experience clarity. If you try to look for clarity, you cannot find it—it becomes emptiness. If you don't find it, and you abide there, it becomes clear. The experiences of clarity and emptiness are union in the sense that they are not separate. Clarity is the experience of openness. If you don't have the experience of openness, you cannot be clear. What is clear is that openness, the emptiness. What is empty and open is that clarity. The two are inseparable. Recognizing this is called union.  This means that our experiences do not affect our relation to openness. It is usually the case that experiences affect our connection to openness because immediately we get excited and attached. Then we grasp, or we become agitated, conflicted and disturbed. When that doesn't happen, when our experience spontaneously arises and does not obscure us, that is union: the inseparable quality of clear and light. You are free; you are connected. You are connected; you are free.   This combination experience, whether in deep meditation or in life, is rare. Often, if you are "free," that means you are disconnected. So this sense of union is important. Having the ability to do something and the ability to feel free, having the ability to be with somebody and still feel a sense of freedom, is so important. That is what is meant by "clear light is union."   

Union is great bliss  If you recognize and experience this inseparable quality, then you can experience bliss. Why is bliss experienced? Because that solid obstacle to being deeply connected with yourself has disappeared. You can have a strong experience of bliss because you have released something. Bliss spontaneously comes because there's nothing that obscures you or separates you from your essence. You have a feeling that everything is complete just as it is.   So you begin with the famous person, and you end up with bliss. What more could you ask for? This is the basis of the whole Dzogchen philosophy in a few lines. The famous person you project is great bliss, but you must understand this as your mind, and that very mind as empty. From there, emptiness is clear light, clear light is union, union is great bliss. You can experience this in an instant. The moment you see the famous person, you can instantly see light. But sometimes we have to go through a longer process to see this. It is a question of ability. So this progression, this process, is our practice. It takes time. But there is a clear map.  These five principles can be applied in daily practice. You can do this practice anyplace, in any given moment, and especially when the famous person is bothering you. When a difficult circumstance arises, of course you could just live with it, or you could try to find one of many solutions. But as a Dzogchen practitioner, this practice of the Fivefold Teachings is what you do. Perhaps you lost a business deal and you feel bad. What does "lost" really mean? You look at that; that is vision. Whether fear-based vision or greed vision, you look directly at that experience. Be with that experience. Then you realize it is mind, and you look at your mind and discover that mind is clear— just clear. Even when we have a lot of problems, the essence of mind is always clear. It is always clear. There is always the possibility to connect with the essence of mind rather than the confusion aspect of it.  

How we conclude   I love this practice very much. On the one hand, it is so practical. It gives you a tool to deal with a very specific situation. On the other hand, it guides you directly into the essence, to the root of yourself. It always amazes me when people fight with one another and say, "Oh, that terrible person. We have been good friends for a long time and I always thought that person was so honest. It took me a long time to discover that that person is really terrible." So your conclusion is that that person is terrible. Have you heard people say things like that? This is not really a healthy solution. It's like going to therapy and realizing, "My dad was really a bad guy. Now I feel much better." Of course, you might realize some difficult aspect of your situation, but realizing that is not the conclusion. You need to conclude into the essence, conclude into the root, to come to the place in yourself where you realize your mind is clear and blissful and the image that was bothering you has finally dissolved through your meditation.   What is the conclusion here? The conclusion is bliss. "Union is great bliss." What better conclusion would you want than that? And it will be like that if you open your mind to learn, trust with your heart, and pray. It's really important to pray, and to pray for a deep experience. Because if what you think is not that deep, the result won't be that deep either. Through prayer, you open your heart and receive the blessings of effortlessness. The quality of effortlessness is a quality of heart, and devotion and prayer open the heart. So praying is wonderful. It sets up the intention and puts you in the right direction, so when you do the practice of meditation—of directly looking and being with your experience—it will work.   I encourage you to practice this heart advice of Dawa Gyaltsen, to look directly into what is disturbing you and discover the nature of your mind. Through the profound simplicity of these five lines, not only can you heal your day-to-day life and make it lighter and more pleasant, but you can recognize and connect with your innermost essence, the nature of your mind as Buddha.   

Questions and Answers  Question: In terms of the experience of "vision is mind," it seems that our grasping mind, our small mind, is different from the natural state of mind which is clear light. I don't know how to bridge the gap between the grasping mind and emptiness, because the grasping mind doesn't seem empty.  Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche: It doesn't seem empty, but it is. If you look at the ocean you might find it calm and peaceful, or with small ripples, or bigger ripples, or small waves, or bigger waves. All these appearances - from calm to ripples to waves - have the quality of wetness. All are water in every appearance. The appearance of the ocean can never be anything other than water, no matter how terrible or peaceful the ocean appears. In the same way, no matter what vision appears, it is always empty. The essence is always there. The only question is, "Am I able to see it or not?"

 Question: It is wonderful when the famous person dissolves, but I still have an obligation to him or her, a responsibility. He or she is my child. So the "famous person" situation may keep recurring. Do I keep dissolving in the same way?  

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche: Sure. The famous person can still be famous without disturbing you as much. The reason we call him or her "famous" is that they really bother you. Do they really need to bother you? No. He or she can be as they are or they can be different, but they don't have to bother you. We have expectations that things need to be a certain way. Do they really have to be a certain way? No.  Let's take a situation in which I'm trying to help my child. How am I trying to help? I want him to go to school and study well. So what's the problem? Well, the child has some difficulty learning. O.K. So I'm trying to do the best I can under the circumstances. If I'm doing that, then what am I worrying about? Some people learn faster, some learn slower. Right?   But the problem is not about the child learning too slowly; it's that I can't accept the situation. It's not about the child; it's about me. I have some fixed idea about what would be good for my child. This is usually the case. I think, "What I want is good for you." The child probably doesn't agree. He might be interested in a completely different thing than I am. But I feel like I'm the boss, and of course I am: I have a moral responsibility and so on. But there is someplace where it is just fine. I need to realize that.  

Question: Is it just the lack of practice of recognizing that "vision is mind" that makes me feel there is a hook that draws me back to, "Yeah, but that famous person really is mean"?  

Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche: I am not suggesting that this is the only way to deal with life. This is one of the Dzogchen ways. It is not a samsaric way, and sometimes we have to deal in a samsaric way. If somebody is trying to cheat me, of course I don't like that. If somebody asks me for something, I don't mind giving. But if somebody is taking something from me, then I don't want to give. If that aspect of me seems to be who I really am in this moment, then I will fight or do whatever needs to be done. It's not a question of one approach being more valid than another. Who I am and what realization I have determines how skillfully I am able to work. In the end, the real sense of victory is the practice. But in the conventional sense, we do whatever we have to do. We naturally defend and we fight. Sometimes, you defend, you fight, and you still lose. Then maybe you don't have any other choice but to see it as emptiness! That is a forceful way of discovering emptiness.   

Geshe Tenzin Wangyal Rinpoche, the director of Ligmincha Institute in Charlottesville, Virginia, was the first lama to bring the Bön Dzogchen teachings to the West. He is the author of, among other books, Healing with Form, Energy, and Light: The Five Elements in Tibetan Shamanism, Tantra, and Dzogchen. 

Course Guide by Aaron

Introduction

Particular Expressions of a Compassionate Heart Based on the ten paramitas

Footnotes