February 4th SuperWisdom Tele/Web class – Live this Saturday at 8:AM Pacific time.
Topic:  Chapter 11 in Treasury of Positive Answers, by Vernon Howard.
Get connection details, read the chapter,  and compare your time to the world clock.

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 If print appears too small in this email, read online.

February 4th SuperWisdom Tele/Web class – Live this coming Saturday at 8:AM Pacific time.
Topic:  Chapter 11 in Treasury of Positive Answers, by Vernon Howard.
Get connection details, read the chapter,  and compare your time to the world clock.

What One Drop of Water Can Teach
By Tom Russell

Glimmering effortlessly, the morning sun lit up one drop of water on the edge of a blade of grass. I watched from my office window for several minutes, grateful for nature’s ability to demonstrate inspiring truths. In the following exploration, the drop of water represents one’s essence, the sphere:

1. Realization of Oneness dawns as static inside the sphere subsides. The sphere grows sensitive, quiet, receptive, vibrant, joyful, alert to unnecessary tension, and this clarity reflects the morning sun.

2. The sphere’s inherent desire for growth can turn in unproductive directions; for example, a frantic and desperate search for God/Truth/Reality that creates much static inside the sphere. The productive direction is toward a calming down, and a heightening of sensitivity – a sensible approach that does not postpone interesting and joyful activities, and does not demand immediate “spiritual” results.

3. The sphere represents a unique expression of life, one that has never happened before. A great deal of static is caused by spiritual seekers who have picked up a very strange idea — that they must collapse or melt the sphere.  Not so! The water drop on the edge of the leaf was not collapsed, but transparent and bouyant; likewise, the sphere exists to reflect the light of the inner Source. When clear, the sphere enjoys a dynamic and active life — daring  the unknown and trying new things, thinking its own authentic thoughts, and manifesting many other admirable, sometimes heroic qualities.  It also possesses a wonderful sense of humor. Growth is not retreat, but resilience and radiance!

4. In the absence of static and background noise, the quiet currents of the inner Source flow over and energize the internal structure of the sphere. This energy ebbs and flows, sometimes felt more, other times less. Learning to be content with temporary low flows opens the door to increasingly profound flows. So called “spiritual work” to get back high flows, originating in impatience disquised as sincerity, creates much static. When the very next breath is a gift, where does this greed come from?

Our society fosters static. Television shows about political matters have opposing opinions, not for discussion, but to generate conflict and confusion. Religions and spiritual enterprises must make malcontents, the more loaded with guilt and/or disquised ambition, the better (from their viewpoint). Education comes nowhere near teaching peole HOW to think, but what to think.  In most any family or business, you have a CSO – the Chief Static Officer. Static is contagious and manipulative, a vibration that seeks your entrainment. 

Only silence reveals and nourishes  the perception of Oneness, revealing what cannot be taught by any human teacher. Silence dawns many times during the day, even if only for a minute at the traffic light. The sphere lights up effortlessly.

Podcast Highlight

A wealth of inquiry exists at the SuperWisdom audio website. The latest posting, “Moments of Higher Consciousness” fits nicely with the article above. Use iTunes to subscribe, or enter your email, to receive notice of new discussions.

Years ago Fred and I recorded a podcast on The Human Shadow.  It’s a frequent theme in literature, especially in Robert Louis Stevenson’s Doctor Jekle and Mr. Hyde. Enjoy this podcast if you haven’t already.

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SuperWisdom Tele/Web class. Connect free by internet or telephone.
Topic: The Power of Beginner’s Mind
You’re invited!  Connection Details Here.

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Saturday, January 7th, 8:AM Pacific time.

SuperWisdom Tele/Web class. Connect free by internet or telephone.
Topic: The Power of Beginner’s Mind
You’re invited!  Connection Details Here.

In this upcoming tele-class, we will focus on this powerful story told by Vernon Howard:

A young man loved books. He thought about choices for his career. The idea came to him, “Why not work in an industry connected to something I love?”  He applied at a big book publishing house and was hired.

He started on the ground floor in the binding department. He mastered the work and was promoted to a supervisory position. However, the time came for him to move upward to a new dimension of the enterprise. The second floor was the typesetting department. After substantial time in this second department, he moved up to cover design, later to advertising, then to distribution, followed by the editorial department.

Decades later, as the head of the entire publishing company, he looked back to highlight the primary lessons of his professional life. He recalled the beginning years, and how with each new level of responsibility he felt uneasy and uncomfortable about starting all over.  He then observed how a highly constructive switch in his thinking occurred at a certain point, where he began to look forward to the newness, the uncertainty of starting all over once again.

Likewise in our spiritual journey, there arrives over and over again the necessity to leave what we know, what we’re comfortable with, and be a beginner on a higher dimension of spirituality. Often we hesitate. We linger. To “know” feels good. To “doubt” feels painful. A part of us likes the idea of certainty, of knowing; thus, a recurring temptation exists to settle down, sometimes with others who support this tendency.

In this January 7th class, we’ll explore together the many connections to this transformative principle. These are friendly events that you can enjoy live, as they occur, through your computer or by telephone.

A “Not to Do” list for 2012

So often people make a list of new year’s resolutions, focused on new things to do.  How about a list of things to stop doing?  Wouldn’t it be energizing to detect activities and involvements you can eliminate? Doing less clears the space to do fewer things, that really matter.

Immunity from Propaganda

In the movie “They Live” a few people get hold of special glasses, allowing them to see through a spellbinding worldwide signal generated by alien invaders. You have in your pocket a pair of special glasses that enable you to see, with stunning clarity, the hidden currents of today’s sophisticated propaganda. As in the movie, it hurts when you first put the glasses on.

We live in a mushy, feel good society that has been infected by ideas that destroy individual initiative and responsibility.  The old-fashioned virtues of self-reliance, kindness and orderliness, plus artistic interests and cultural literacy, all build the launch pad from which the journey to the inner stars begins. Gurdjieff divided people into three categories: tramp, lunatic and good householder. Only those who reached the level of good householder, meaning cleanliness, responsibility and capacity in daily life, could move upward.

SuperWisdom Quotables

1. “What remains to be done is that the general public should absorb the facts of mind-manipulation. Failure to do so has resulted in the almost free field for the cults which are a bane of Western existence.” (Idries Shah)

2. “How does one cope with darkness? Not with one’s fist. You don’t chase darkness out of the room with a broom, you turn on a light. The more you fight darkness, the more real it becomes to you, and the more you exhaust yourself.” (Anthony de Mello)

3. “Catch a moment when you are particularly far from remembering yourself — at this moment you will remember yourself.” (P.D. Ouspensky)

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Following this article, find your invitation to the Saturday at 8:AM Pacific, December 3rd free online class. Participate by internet or telephone. Welcome!

If the print is too small in your browser, read this newsletter online here

Seven Key Ideas from Seven Wise Sources
By Tom Russell

In our digital age, information overload presents a serious challenge.  Less is often more.  Let’s slow down and focus on seven key ideas, from seven different sources: Taoism, Gurdjieff, Vernon Howard, Zen, Buddhism, J. Krishnmaurti, and the Bible.

1)  Taoism teaches the big idea of FLOW — moving with the currents of life rather than resisting and demanding that things be different, or go another way.  The most fruitful ground for the application of this principle is the inner domain. What we resist inside ourselves expands.  Thus, by granting space for undesirable elements in the inner world to dissipate on their own, resilience and cheerfulness flourish.

In the outer world, what a relief to give up demands that people behave on a higher level than they actually occupy. We chain ourselves with our own demands. Insisting that people be kinder, more thoughtful, more efficient, more resourceful, hardens our own egotism.  What a clever way to avoid seeing our own lightless inner caves!  Have you known people amazingly perceptive at seeing the faults of others, but having no capacity to see their own? (Podcast)

2) Gurdjieff beautifully demonstrated the principle of creative destruction.  He would end activities that had served their purpose, then begin something fresh – a new project or a new group.

Gurdjieff honored what was precious – the generation and expression of energy, and not the continuance of forms.  Gurdjieff taught how everything visible in this world can serve, at best, a temporary purpose. At a certain point, what was once constructive turns destructive.  Gurdjieff’s principle of creative destructive frees us from false allegiances to “the way things are” and teaches us to love the original Source of all, and not its temporary expressions.

3) Vernon Howard challenged his students to be very alert to self-deception, especially as it applies to spiritual pursuits.  In such a wide diversity of ways, he encouraged the end of the split between the cellar and the house. If there’s a torture chamber in the cellar, don’t try to blot it out of mind by decorating the above ground house. End the fracture and dare to come face to face with the ache. “Never cover a pain with a pleasure,” he said.

A favorite escape for those who take up spiritual aims, according to Vernon Howard, is to entertain fond illusions of being further along on the spiritual path than one actually is. Though this direct approach never earned Vernon Howard any popularity contests, his high standards were deeply compassionate and authentic.

I well remember the relief I felt, after first arriving at his school, of giving up at least part of the act of being a “together” spiritual person. Admitting how presently fractured things were in the inner world eliminated the pretense, allowing a ray of light to enter and touch the anguish, without filters. It felt good and true. Podcast

4) Zen reveals the power of Beginner’s Mind – an inner state of  openness, child-like curiosity, and pure perception. Beginner’s Mind is not bogged down with “how much it knows.” Beginner’s Mind is light and nimble, capable and wise, flexible and receptive. If a certain concept has something for us, then consume it, but don’t’ save the wrapper. Toss it! Life is what is happening while we’re trying to be “spiritual.”

An anchor serves a valuable but temporary purpose. Your ship was meant to sail unchartered seas, not stay anchored in the cove. If I’m someone wise, someone who knows, someone who can teach others, then I block myself from the immensity of the present moment. I can let the content of the present pass through me, but if I try to grab it, warehouse it, then I kill the perfume. This was one of the challenges J. Krishnamurti presented to his audiences toward the end of his life: “How will you keep the perfume alive?” Organizations degenerate into relics without the perfume.  (Podcast A) — (Podcast B)

5) Buddhism houses many treasures. However, if one contribution has to be highlighted, it would perhaps be the principle of the Middle Way.  If we try too hard, we miss it. If we don’t try at all, we miss it. If we reject something with too much determination, we invite a counter force that takes us in the opposite direction. If we embrace something too passionately, even the wish for enlightenment, we incubate anguish and desperation when what we embrace slips out of our arms.

The Middle Way overflows with practical wisdom, teaching us how to traverse this life of temporary appearances without attachment and concern. This nourishes a tranquil mind and produces a lively heart, more receptive to life’s subtle currents of wisdom and vitality.

6) J. Krishnamurti revealed with brilliant clarity how devastating dependency and imitation are to the awakened life.  When J. Krishnamurti entered a room, one felt himself to be in the presence of a prince from the cosmic realm. His countenance and graceful manner were the most magnetic, yet he also wore finely crafted clothes, and arrived, perhaps, driving his Mercedes sports car — totally blowing the images people formed of what a spiritual teacher should be like.

His direct approach to spirituality stressed the necessity of exploring life without the overlay of gurus and authorities. Today his message inspires us to dare to think for ourselves, even if we make mistakes, which we will!  He declared, “Nobody can push you out of your trap – no guru, no drug, no mantra, nobody, including myself, especially myself.”

J. Krishnmaurti exposes a dangerous trap to spiritual seekers, which is the attitude:  “I’ll find someone, somewhere, who by just being in his or her presence, or involved in the group activities, will lift me to a better place.”   When one thinks this way, he is not yet at the point where authentic inner development can begin. When one loses the ability to think accurately and critically, calling a spade a spade without vibrations of self-righteousness, he or she becomes an empty vessel through which dynamic and confident personalities enslave the mind. Podcast  

7) The word mentioned in the Bible more than any other, over 800 times? Heart. “Keep thy heart with all diligence, for out of it are the issues of life.” (Proverbs 4:23)  To “keep thy heart” is to invite and cultivate awareness in the center of your being. The Bible teaches that the way is to slow everything down  and dive deep into this sacred inner region. Listen to what’s there! This is your inner teacher. “Be still and know that I am God.” (Psalms 46:10).  Podcast.

Conclusion:

You may wish to keep a journal of “big ideas.” As you pick up a diamond, either from an outer source or from your own internal connections and insights, why not record the experience?  Your own “Book of Development” grows to be your most productive reading.

* SuperWisdom Live Connect Class this Saturday, December 3rd at 8:AM Pacific time. Participate over the internet or by telephone, anywhere in the world! It’s free. Invite friends. Details Here

* New Podast: The Inner Meaning of Christmas – Reclaiming the New Testament for Esoteric Scientists. Listen now.

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Join us this coming Saturday, November 5th, at 8:AM Pacific time.
Topic: Chapter 15 in Vernon Howard’s “Pathways to Perfect Living”
Connect live by telephone or internet. It’s free.
Read the Chapter and get class access details.

Thinking About the Bible in a Powerful New Way
By Tom Russell

“I and my Father are one.” How can we understand these six dynamic words, spoken by Jesus, with more depth and clarity?

Often we try to attract wisdom through head based machinations. The brain can, in its own eyes, become very spiritual, you know. This is why the Bible councils, “Vanity of vanities, saith the Preacher, vanity of vanities; all is vanity.”

As an exercise in conscious and creative imagination, try this three step exercise. First, picture yourself as an antenna, a receiving set. It’s not hard to do, since a kinesthetic network of nerves, comprised of 100 billion cells, weaves its way throughout your system. Work with the mental picture. Let it teach you something new. We’re in such a hurry these days to get somewhere. Can we slow down much more, and notice what’s already there?

No longer being “head bound,” but expanding your perception to include this vast network, greatly expands your ability to receive the more subtle intimations of spirit. Yes, even your hands and feet, and your internal organs, get in on the act, the act of receiving the cosmic broadcast. The Bible uses the word “heart” more than 800 times, pointing to the necessity of receptivity, and a more inclusive and deeper understanding.

Second, picture yourself as the broadcast station itself. Experiment with allowing yourself to produce a bold and clear signal, a tone that inspires, guides and forgives. Some traditions invite you to discover your unique spiritual name within this tone. The Bible supports this, as in, “I will give you a new name.”

As with the mental picture of the antenna, I invite you to play with this image of the broadcast station for awhile. Experiment. Take notes. What if, from this inner source, you radiate in all directions simultaneously? Perhaps picture a sphere, and the sphere itself has a center. This is the meaning of the wonderful word quintessence — the essence of essence.

Now for the third step. Can you conceive of both together? Can you feel a sacred communication between the two? Can you catch a hint of the ever deepening energy loop of your inherent Oneness? Do you see now what it means to be your own teacher? Do you also catch a glimpse of the meaning of the New Testament words, “Physician, heal thyself?”

The broadcast station, and the receiving apparatus, are ONE. Our heart longs to make this fundamental connection of unity and harmony. “I and my father are one.”

1. Be neither surprised nor dismayed by your hundreds of blunders along the way. Walk on. Remember that conscious blunders are advancements. This means to sense the wrongness of an act or attitude, even while doing it. (Vernon Howard – from the chapter we’ll study on Saturday)

2. Ask, “What new can I do?” Instead of looking for new things to do from any outer source, what if you used this question to spark answers within yourself? (Tom Russell)

3. There is a way of living in daily life, where time as movement from this state to that, has gone. You have an extraordinary vitality, an extraordinary sense of clarity. You are then only dealing with facts, not with ideas. (J. Krishnamurti)

4. From this hour I ordain myself loos’d of limits and imaginary lines, Going where I list, my own master, total and absolute . . . (Walk Whitman)

5. All false organizations maintain human-level power through the deceitful opposites of promise of reward and threat of punishment. (Vernon Howard)

Picture yourself as a skillful white water kayaker. You’re floating in calm water, enjoying the quietness and beauty of the wilderness. The calm stretches of the river nourish your powers of reflection and sense of higher purpose, while the rapids make kayaking an exhilarating and challenging leisure activity. You hear the river’s roar just ahead.

Likewise, doesn’t life include both the quiet stretches, and the white water? Problems and challenges heighten our awareness levels and light up our faculties. They enter our life as disguised gifts of energy.

Then picture an unskilled kayaker frantically paddling away from the white water, trying to avoid or delay his entrance. As a skilled kayaker, picture yourself providing council to the novice to not resist, but look for the fastest current and embrace it. “The fastest current provides your safest line through, and the line that is the most fun.”

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Contents:

1. Saturday, October 1st Class Invitation
2 Recent SuperWisdom Podcast
3. The Micro and Macro Orbits of Energy

SuperWisdom Class – this Saturday, October 1st at 8:AM Pacific — It’s free.
Topic: Chapter 10 in Vernon Howard’s Power of Your Supermind 
Read the chapter 
Connection links and details

SuperWisdom Podcast Audio Discussion

“I Don’t Know” — Your Gateway to the Inner Stars
Listen now

The Micro and Macro Orbits of Energy
By Tom Russell

Mother lodes of wisdom exist in surprising places – places that often do not carry the label of “spirituality.”  In this article, let’s explore how efficiency, jolts and hobbies increase the flow of personal energy, thus attracting Macro Energy.

Efficiency

We tend to do things with far greater effort than necessary. This manifests often in the little things — brushing our teeth, opening a door, the next breath, holding a writing tool, or even sitting in a chair!  We throw lots of energy at small tasks, wasting most of it in the process.

Consciousness, awareness, develops beautifully as we tune in to excess effort. How can we change what’s happening, unless we’re first deeply aware of what’s happening?   Instead of trying harder to “get it right” on the spiritual path, what if we gently tuned in to what we’re doing right now?

Doing less enhances the energy flowing in a natural, internal micro orbit. This circulation generates a feeling of well being, of centeredness, of happiness.  Our power of attention expands as it can draw on excess free flowing energy. Attention struggles when trying to draw energy from a pool that has been squandered.

People can effort themselves into oblivion.  The art of doing less, not more, turns the inner quest into a delightful game.  It’s a deeply interesting, energizing and forgiving approach to mastery.

Efficiency with paper and computer, clarity of objectives, time management, all of these areas fall nicely into this domain. One can find many good books to explore this, including The Art of Time and the 80/20 Principle.  Powerful principles abound in the Alexander Technique, and other kinesthetic studies, Pilates for example.  Though Pilates seems very difficult and challenging at first, and one might wonder what in the world have I gotten myself into, persistence reveals that it’s largely about performing movements with the least amount of excess effort.

Often people react to these type of suggestions, feeling they can “mental” into place anything they wish.  To repeat the first sentence of this article: Mother lodes of wisdom exist surprising places – places that often do not carry the label of “spirituality.”

Jolts

A jolt happens when we see something about the human mental structure, especially our own, that we have not seen before. Often an event, conflict or situation reveals this.  The more our “cover” is blown, the better we feel afterwards if we don’t try to suppress what we’ve observed.

Like chunks of ice breaking away from an iceberg, jolts set us free. They lift us out of cozy little ruts.  Jolts also can nourish our sense of humor in profound ways. They demolish self-deception, and energize the micro orbit of energy.

La Rochefoucauld’s “Collected Maxims and Other Reflections” provides an outstanding source of great little jolts. Notice how, though the maxims seem rather dark, the reading uplifts you nevertheless. Order the book from Amazon.com.  Read selections from the book.

Hobbies

The “spiritual person” image weighs heavily. The “spiritual person” sees hobbies as a waste of time. I’ve seen people get involved in spirituality to the total exclusion of their natural interests and relationships. Instead of opening up, they shut down, while calling it sincerity!

For example, Sufi writer Idries Shah warned of a spiritual group becoming one’s social center. He counseled that attendees should have their own life and social circle outside the group, and not use a group to fulfill these natural needs.

Recently while engaged in my favorite hobby, a state of pure fun poured through. Nothing tugged my attention away from the delightful activity at hand. Whether it’s golf, music, sewing, hiking, camping, tennis, sailing, motorsports, woodworking, bird watching, you name it, hobbies and natural inclinations nourish the orbit of energy.

Where did we pick up the idea that the spiritual path is such a solemn endeavor, and that fun is a worldly thing?

Macro/Christ Energy

Immanating from lofty sources of Light, Christ Energy continually rains down on this earth. Christ Energy expresses itself in its own realm, and exists independently of human minds and hands.

Jesus said this energy bubbles up from within. (John 4:14)  Bouyant and resilient, Christ Energy never perishes.  What if you ARE this Christ Energy, and not a temporary mind/body apparatus?

Jolts, hobbies and efficiency serve to enrich a micro orbit of energy within ourselves.  This current attracts the Macro Orbit. ”For whosoever hath, to him shall be given.” (Mat 13:12)

If I perceive that the gateway resides in the unencumbered flow of the micro orbit, then I can work where it really matters. The attraction and entrance into the macro orbit can then happen naturally, effortlessly, originally. One can never postpone joy. Maybe it’s just a thimble full today, but it’s still a touch. Who said you had to wait for joy until you’re enlightened, or awake, or saved, whatever that all means? How many of these heavy ideas have we picked up without questioning, without realizing it?

Enjoy the day, and I look forward to seeing you on the Saturday Class.
Cordially,
Tom

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1. Your September 10th Class Invitation
2. The Tale of the Rat, by Tom Russell
3. The Purpose of SuperWisdom Foundation
4. Places of Interest at the SuperWisdom Website

SuperWisdom Class Invitation

Join us Saturday, September 10th at 8:AM Pacific time, for an exploration of the masterpiece book, Awareness by Anthony de Mello. The class is free and you can connect by either internet or telephone. Read the book from this page, as well as get the class connection details. This book overflows with valuable metaphors and enlivening humor.

Though the class is a discussion and we’ll open it up right away, let’s begin with this idea from the book:

“When you renounce something, you’re stuck to it forever. When you fight something, you’re tied to it forever. As long as you’re fighting, you are giving it power. You give it as much power as you are using
to fight it.

“This includes communism and everything else. So you must “receive” your demons, because when you fight them, you empower them. Has nobody ever told you this? When you renounce something, you’re tied to it. The only way to get out of this is to see through it. Don’t renounce it, see through it.”

Check out the online edition of the book and mark your calendar, for this coming Saturday, the 10th, at 8:AM Pacific (Los Angeles) time.

The Tale of the Rat
By Tom Russell

Consider the old story of the man who heard a rat in the walls of his house. He decided to get a cat to get that rat. But the cat needed milk, so he purchased a cow. The cow needed a pasture to graze, so the man fenced one in. He then needed equipment to manage the pasture. The equipment sometimes broke down, so he had to hire mechanics to keep it all running. All because of one little rat!

Nurmerous opportunities come our way to simplify, to decline involvement. Consider the news. The purpose of any media show is your involvement. They want you worried and tuned in. Why not watch
much less television news. Someone invites you to go somewhere to do something. You consider your options and politely decline, if you wish. A big one today is tech upgrades – the newest gadget. I’ve
still found pen and paper superior, and I admit to a preference for a basic cell phone that’s often turned off. A new definition of “hell” is when antsy people can buzz you anytime they want!

Life longs for silent simple spaces. Yet we run away with the first sign on an ache, or anxiety, or hounding thought. We use a little rat as an excuse for escape, and look what it wroughts.

Sitting awarely and inquistively, with any pain, worry, or fear, with no desire to escape or “fix” it, now that’s real spiritual skill. If you know it won’t hurt you to hurt, then the hurt can just be there purely, without interference, and tiny healings begin to flourish.

Silent Simple Spaces. If you do not grant them to yourself, then be very clear that no one, nor group of any kind, will ever grant them to you. Claim your sacred right to live your own life.

The Purpose of the SuperWisdom Foundation
By Tom Russell

At SuperWisdom Foundation, we have no membership, no creed, no calls for “loyalty” to an organization. Just as a single underground river winds its way beneath a desert, bubbling up to the surface to form several beautiful oases, so does SuperWisdom Foundation strive to focus primarily on the river, the river of invisible principles, and not the expressions.

It seems almost impossible for the leaders of an organization, with a loyal following, to point to something outside their domain as worthy of investigation. After all, highlighting a discovery in another oasis can diminish “loyalty” to their organization. Followers can get too wrapped up in their oasis to consider the value of others. It’s the elementary stage of the spiritual quest.

Vernon Howard once said that if we waited for the perfect student, we would never have a class. Likewise, if we demand the perfect class or organization, we will never find it. So why not thoroughly enjoy the friendships and the exchange of information, if you find one of value. Look for connections you may have never thought of before. However, do your own work, which must ultimately be unique to you. Just know that it is in the nature of things to change, so never sell out your integrity for the perpetuation of any organization. Never marry your Essence to any group – it’s an awful dead end. There is a Cosmic Marriage, discussed in the New Testament — the Marriage of your Essence with God.

SuperWisdom Foundation explores the vast galaxy of Truth with its endless expressions, highlighting often unpopular and little known ones. Sometimes they’re inspiring, other times they’re challenging to the core. The word “SuperWisdom” does not refer to any of these potent wisdom expression, but only the glow of your awakened Essence. All else, at best, can merely facilitate the release of this cheerful, healing glow.

The simple draws us, but the simple, though imminently workable, often is not easy. Therefore, the writings, podcasts and classes.

Places of Interest at the Website

A. The Metaphor of the Membrane
B. Taoism and Life’s Easy Flow
C. The Alexander Technique (now here’s an oasis)
D. Podcast Audio Discussions – List of Categories

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It’s free and you’re invited! Open and invigorating discussion format. Nothing to join. No creeds.
When: Saturday, August 6th at 8:AM Pacific Time
Full Details and Connection Link Here
Topic: Independence – Stop Trying to Please People Who Can’t Be Pleased

This is a section from the SuperWisdom book by Tom Russell
Suggest reading this chapter before the class:
* Page 65 if you have the paperback
* Page 84 in the free online PDF download

We all have to start somewhere, and the spiritual seeker identity gets us up and going. We collect knowledge, attend meetings, and do all kinds of activities to honor the impulse inside for a more meaningful and connected existence.

However, this identity serves as a bridge that is meant to be crossed. The aim is not to be a super student who is continually getting more spiritual, but to abide in the fresh air flowing through the high garden windows, open on both sides of the room.



How often have “spiritual seekers” become bogged down in their pursuits and studies? They seem to reach a wall, and experience deep frustration for not being able to pass beyond that wall. Even more tragically, they’ll take on the identity of a group, reinforcing each others’ decision to lock themselves inside the limited identity.

When not stuck in the role of the striving super student, one finds that the spiritual identity (with books, discussion, personal journals, etc) can be enjoyable, illuminating, and challenging. However, consider the heaviness of the spiritual identity when the quest turns obsessive. Consider how tyrannical it gets, with accusations over “not living up.” The runaway spiritual identity feels superior to all those people out there who are not on the “spiritual path.” It feels itself capable of only learning from a “sage’s” books or lectures, and filters out a thousand other elements, including the never-ending love whispered by nature, or the smiling farmer selling his produce at the local market. 



This kind of talk sounds sacrilegious to some. However, if the “spiritual identity” was going to take you to your longed for destination, don’t you think it would have done so by now? Are you going to “fall away” and slip into oblivion if you employ flexibility to move out of the role for awhile? Isn’t spirituality all about opening up, listening to a far wider kaleidoscope of impressions, and transcending concepts and activities that may have once served a useful purpose? 



A Workable Solution



The problem is not the spiritual identity, but getting stuck in it. When picking up the spiritual identity, presently so useful, ask yourself:


a. How can I make it more transparent? 

b. How can I increase its skill in asking questions? 

c. How can I bring it more to reflection and quiet time, the place it most often wishes to avoid? 

d. What ways can I find to use pen and paper to vastly expand its network of internal connections between ideas and concepts? (index cards, small spiral notebook, ipad)
e. How can I develop its ability to spot humor, and have a light spirit? 



Observe how much more your desired changes take root when you know you’re working on an identity, not you! Your Essence, who you really are, uses the identity but is not the identity. Knowing this generates a precious freedom to playfully learn and experiment. Your Essence dwells in freedom now. Forgetting this, and clutching the spiritual identity, is like taking a change of clothes as yourself.

The unchecked “spiritual identity” craves the profound, and these suggestions may seem far beneath its grand designs. It just doesn’t like being taken down a notch or two. Perhaps we’re simply learning to be a connoisseur of living. Perhaps we’re falling back in love with the simple activities, events and expressions of everyday life.

If one settles down with the spiritual identity, places it on a pedestal, becomes proud of it, promotes it, clutches it, hardens it, etc., then hasn’t one made an idol of it? Hasn’t one solidified the identity, instead of letting it serve as the open windows mentioned above?

Vernon Howard:
Q: Please comment on the need for going beyond spiritual knowledge.
A: The acquisition of spiritual facts is necessary, but it is only the first section of the upward path. This section ends at the edge of a cliff. To continue to climb we must bravely leap over to the opposite cliff where essence becomes alive. The leap is made by dropping vanity over knowledge and by a willingness to become nothing in order to become everything.

Anthony de Mello:
Somebody came up to me with a question. What do you think the question was? He asked me, “Are you enlightened?” What do you think my answer was? What does it matter!

You want a better answer? My answer would be: “How would I know? How would you know? What does it matter?” You know something? If you want anything too badly, you’re in big trouble. You know something else? If I were enlightened and you listened to me because I was enlightened, then you’re in big trouble. Are you ready to be brainwashed by someone who’s enlightened? You can be brainwashed by anybody, you know. What does it matter whether someone’s enlightened or not? But see, we want to lean on someone, don’t we? We want to lean on anybody we think has arrived. We love to hear that people have arrived. It gives us hope, doesn’t it? What do you want to hope for? Isn’t that another form of desire?
You want to hope for something better than what you have right now.

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Topic: We’ll begin the class discussing this heartfelt question from Betty:

Dear Tom, This is a very hard thing to talk about it and only knowing that this is anonymous makes me ask the question. Being plain or homely when you are a woman is very painful in today’s world .I guess it has always been but it is worse now. I try to let all the taunts go, because they are only an attack on the false self. It is hard when you are a woman, and maybe only a woman can understand. Any thoughts from you or maybe a lady colleague ?

This question has so many possible connections. Let’s explore them in a spontaneous, unscripted discussion. Meet friendly people all over the world.

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