~~~~~~~Living In The Spirit~~~~~~~

   "It is accumulation that is the cause of sorrow. We do not die to everything from day to day; we do not die to the innumerable traditions, to the family, to our own experiences, to our own desire to hurt another. One has to die to all that from moment to moment, to that vast accumulative memory, and only then the mind is free from the self, which is the entity of accumulation."  Jiddu Krishnamurti, As One Is, page 62

   This is kinda funny~~~because~~~I would be one of the last ones to lay out a delineated spiritual path or program~~~as~~~Bill Gothard's spiritual erector set of how to do everything christian~~~or~~~Bill Bright's four spiritual laws~~~hell~~~I used so much yellow magic marker on Francis Schaeffer's books that the pages warped from the wetness~~~and there was hardly any white left on them! Thought's detailed lists~~~and~~~convoluted gymnastic techniques~~~never worked for me~~~they all ran their course~~~and~~~ran out of steam~~~but~~~The Living Moment~~~is filled with a most sacred and timeless consciousness that self's abilities are unable to capture~~~or~~~as Jesus put it~~~old wine skins can't hold new wine~~~their lack of flexibility doesn't allow for the expansion of the new. Krishnamurti put it this way~~~Truth Is A Pathless Land~~~and~~~when you are there the other is not.

   So here goes~~~Living In The Spirit 101~~~or~~~how one thing leads to another. It's like Van Gough's The Sower pictured above~~~it all starts with a seed~~~and~~~as it is with all seeds~~~even the ending is contained in the beginning~~~so just open your heart once~~~to God~~~and~~~that seed is planted.

   Lesson #1   You can't take anything with you. Not even your self. The birth of the spiritual life occurs when the seed cracks~~~and living roots dig into timeless soil. Such life only arises from death~~~and even flourishes within the violent impermanence of  this universe of which we are a part. It's like The Parable of The Pearl of Great Price~~~you give up all that is in time~~~for~~~the timeless~~~and then~~~you give it all up~~~again~~~and again.

   Lesson #2   Living In The Spirit is a constant emptying of what you have come to think you are~~~every moment is new~~~and you have to be empty of the time bound~~~to be filled with the timeless.

   Lesson #3  This Is It~~~it's all here~~right now.

   Lesson #4   You have to do the meditative and spiritual work~~~yourself~~~only you can live your life~~~no one can do that for you~~~and that means that there is no spiritual authority~~~no one~~~nothing~~~that stands between you~~~and~~~the spirit~~~the creator of everything.

   Lesson #4   Acceptance Of Things as They Are~~~brings about~~~a sacred thankfulness~~~for all that has been given~~~to you. When all measurement and comparison cease and you no longer see and strive to be better and have more than all the others~~~when all ambition and accumulation~~~stop~~~you see that you are just like all the other people on this Earth~~~and that empathy~~~that spirit~~~timelessly explodes~~~throughout your heart. Freedom from the grind of having to become somebody~~~freedom from psychological becoming~~~freedom all striving~~~unleashes the shackles of self.  You are The World.

   Lesson #5   You simply trust in the spirit as a little child trusts his parents~~~there is no question that what life has in store for you~~~moment by moment~~~is what you need.

The Good~~~The Bad~~~and~~~The Ugly.

   Lesson #6   We're all just camping out here~~~this world is impermanent~~~and not~~~our timeless home. It's a big change from seeing things materialistically~~~to seeing that we're all trapped in a spiritual Plato's Cave~~~and this world is no longer all that is.

   Lesson #7   Living and Seeing are always moment to moment~~~and when you live in the now~~~and not in thought~~~timeless synchronicities happen~~~all the time.

   Lesson #8   When you see Life from this timeless consciousness~~~and what you once thought important reveals itself to be not that important at all~~~there is a Divine Humor that pervades your conscious life~~~and even the tragedies that once befell you~~~are like branches that had to be pruned~~~to let the light shine in. Sometimes everything seems to be funny~~~when once it was all so serious~~~as your perspective completely shifts when you see this world is not your home~~~and not so important~~~one day it will cease to exist.

   Lesson #9   There is No Perfection of Consciousness in this world~~~except That~~~of the spirit~~~of the creator~~~of the timeless~~~of God~~~or whatever you wish to name That Which Is Sacred.

   Lesson #10  There are No Spiritual Lessons :) only the spirit can teach you :)