When man discovered the mirror, he began to lose his soul.

—Émile Durkheim

Last week I gave an elderly gentleman a massage. His legs were very stiff so at one point I asked him to relax the left hip joint so that I could manipulate the leg. How do I do that? he asked. Just put your mind there, I suggested. He then asked, Is part of the brain down there? I chuckled and tried to explain that mind is not brain and neither is it thinking; it is simply awareness. Just try to be aware of the joint and the tension it contains. And surprisingly it worked.

the world we live in
is a revelation

walking

seeing

I do not search

I search for nothing

finding

—herman de vries

If a man from a previous civilization—an ancient Greek, let us say, or a Roman—suddenly appeared among present-day humanity, his first impressions would probably lead him to regard it as a race of magicians and demigods. But were he a Plato or a Marcus Aurelius and refused to be dazzled by the material wonders created by advanced technology, and were he to examine the human condition more carefully, his first impressions would give place to great dismay.

He would soon notice that, though man has acquired an impressive degree of power over nature, his knowledge of and control over his inner being is very limited. He would perceive that this modern “magician,” capable of descending to the bottom of the ocean and projecting himself to the moon, is largely ignorant of what is going on in the depths of his unconscious and is unable to reach up to the luminous superconscious levels, and to become aware of his true Self. This supposed demigod, controlling great electrical forces with a movement of the finger and flooding the air with sound and pictures for the entertainment of millions, would be seen to be incapable of dealing with his own emotions, impulses, and desires.

—Roberto Assagioli

Rationalisations:
lies we tell
to make ourselves
feel better

My teacher had a damning phrase for students who have yet to establish a daily practice regime: Not ready to begin. The real beginning is when you formally commit to a life dedicated to the teaching. The good student realises quite soon after starting their studies that this is their only chance and that everything else in life pales in comparison, including family and spousal commitments.

When I talk about mainstream culture, I am specifically referring to the “religion of science” (or dogmatic scientism), academic psychology (the cognitive-behavioral paradigm) – a New Age, Disneyfied doctrine (simplistic magical-positive thinking), traditional (monistic) religion, commercial media and social media culture (narcissistic histrionics or hypertransparency). In general, I am referring to all one-dimensional, mainstream thinking that flows from powerful organizations and the ways they wield power, all for their exclusive gain.

—Sergi Rufi

Break on through to the other side

Liang Tung-tsai, my teacher's first Chinese master, had a witty phrase for know-it-all students: Worse than a beginner. Yet in a way we are all worse than beginners because beginners really do have beginner's mind. So until we cultivate beginner's mind – the ability to repeat an exercise with the same enthusiasm and attention we gave it when we first learned it – then we too are worse than a beginner.

To all of us, I believe, in the middle of the twentieth century, the Roman Empire is like a mirror in which we see reflected the brutal, vulgar, powerful yet despairing image of our technological civilization, an imperium which now covers the entire globe, for all nations, capitalist, socialist, and communist, are united in their worship of mass, technique and temporal power. What fascinates and terrifies us about the Roman Empire is not that it finally went smash but that, away from the start, it managed to last for four centuries without creativity, warmth or hope.

—W. H. Auden, 1952

By all means think, but in images not words. Words are abstractions. The word tree is not a tree, and neither does it evoke a tree. Thinking in images is effectively imagining – developing the imagination.

Quiet mind
Empty mind
No mind

The teaching constitutes an attack on the Ego. Without persistent, concerted practice you will develop resistance to that attack and then the teaching won't be able to penetrate – you will effectively have become a poor student.

Depression is the result of turning a blind eye
(Eventually the past catches up with you)

The first book of Thus Spoke Zarathustra begins with the story of three metamorphoses: “How the spirit becomes camel, the camel becomes lion, and how finally the lion becomes child.” The camel is the animal who carries: he carries the weight of established values, the burdens of education, morality, and culture. He carries them into the desert, where he turns into a lion; the lion destroys statues, tramples burdens, and leads the critique of all established values. Finally, the lion must become child, that is, he who represents play and a new beginning, creator of new values and new principles of evaluation.

According to Nietzsche, these three metamorphoses designate, among other things, the different moments of his work, as well as the stages of his life and health. These divisions are no doubt arbitrary: the lion is present in the camel; the child is in the lion; and in the child, there is already the tragic outcome.

—Gilles Deleuze, Nietzsche, 1965, included as final chapter in Pure Immanence, 2001

What do all civilisations have in common?

Unsustainability.

Anything worthwhile has a price & a risk

I've yet to meet a therapist capable of turning the therapeutic spotlight back on themselves. Yet without this the life is one of pure pretence.

The search for an equilibrium is essential for the artist, to be as aware of inner space as he is of outer space.

—Mark Tobey

Content is a glimpse

—Willem de Kooning

Unless you let gravity flow through you it will be a pall dragging you down.

When you make spiritual progress, the body, which always lags behind, often injures. Its way of saying: "Wait for me!" Just be patient and resist fearing you've done something wrong. Eventually, the chances are, one such injury will be the death of you. So be it. This is why those on a spiritual path don't make old old bones.

Refuse to be an accomplice.

—Simone Weil

an inner discipline : a search for truth

Clearly distinguish body, mind & spirit. Gravity pulls the body down. Levity lifts the spirit(s). Selfless attention expands the mind until mind is simply the space you operate within – the boundless field of consciousness. Thoughts & feelings are fleeting tightenings of mind within mind. They come & they go. When they linger too long you have obsession, indulgence, worry & narcissism.

To think about God is to the human soul what breathing is to the human body.

—Jacob Needleman

Practice stale & tedious?

Try reversing your circuits.

Often a change is as good as a rest.