Email Feb 14 2006
Dialogue with John
Date: 14 Feb 2006
Subject: More mutterings

"Of the making of books there is no end, and much knowledge is a
weariness of the flesh." Ecclesiastes XII, King James translation
Although, I must confess, I have amassed a library of four or five
hundred spiritual texts, which I will be shortly selling off one-by-one once
they are catalogued.
I have, blessed be, finally reached a time in my life when I no longer
find
books helpful. I am still reading current neuroscience and
consciousness
research because I want to write an article on how the human body
transforms
light into de-light -- and a short booklet on 'The Well-Tempered
Human: Harmless Exercises to Increase Your Bliss Tolerance" (Working
title). Then I think I'm just going to sing Songs of the Moment and
twang on
my Armenian Baby-Soothing 48-string lyre for the rest of this amazing
planetary tour.
An explanation of how to create your own instant song can be found
at:
http://www.raysender.com/momentmusic.html
Happy happies,

R

-=-=-=-=-=

On 2/15/06 5:46 AM, John wrote:
Everyone assumes I am an astute Buddhist with great knowledge of the
Buddha's teachings, just because I have stumbled onto some attainment.
Attainment, bliss, nirvana, does not come from books!!!!
The only use I have for books is that 1), they may give me some insights
into experiences I have already had, and 2), they can at times inspire.
But... Generally I think they are potentially counter-productive. I'm
smart enough right now... (Not saying that I am especially smart, or dumb
for that matter)
I know very little about Buddhism actually. I have a copy (3 thick books)
of the discourses of the Buddha. I haven't read a single page yet. Maybe
someday I will.
Just joining in with your rant, sitting here at about 35 or 40 renas...

John

P.S. Who was it that said "all knowledge can be found within". Maybe if I
read some more books I'd know.
-=-=-=-=-=-=

Hallo John!

Once again I'm struck with the parallels between our paths, and also VERY impressed with how you've been able
to balance a homesteader's life with 5 kids with intense meditative absorption.
Your ongoing love affair with the sun touches me deeply, because I've been
writing love songs to her again recently. But the strange thing is that I've
basically avoided my summertime bliss-outs in my hammock chair, although the
weather has been a sun yogi's dream come true. I really don't understand
why, except that I know that sun yoga ALWAYS works for me but not
necessarily for others, so I've been focusing on my "Enlightenment Access To
Which Is Denied No One" project via the new Thwizzler gadget - see:
www.raysender.com/thwizzler.html
It's very interesting to 'thwizzle' people's faces and note the wide variety
of responses, all the way from "No! Don't do that! I hate being tickled!"
to a sheer bliss/laughter response to all levels of non-sensitivity.
The Thwizzler evolved from imagining the Buddha sitting in meditation for
hours under the bodhi tree. "What about the flies?" I asked myself. "What
about the mosquitos? Was malaria ubiquitous among all the forest sadhus?"
I then thought, 'Well, maybe he broke a small twig from the bodhi tree, put
the stem in his mouth and 'thwizzled' it up and down with his teeth to keep
the flies from flying up his nose.
Another solution would be to comb his hair over his face -- something I saw
recently in a series of news articles about 'the boy buddha' in India - a
youngster who decided to sit in meditation inside a tree until he achieved
enlightenment. This caused enough of a stir that busloads of people started
arriving for his darshan, so finally he disappeared, leaving word that he
was going to the forest for seven years - along. Smart kid!
I now 'thwizzle' my facial nerves for about a minute before meditating
because it sensitizes things to the point that just breathing becomes a
higher bliss state. Occasionally it triggers a full-body spasm or convulsion
that I think relates to Wilhelm Reich's orgasm reflex, so I'm re-reading his
books after a 40+ year lapse. I also think it ties into why Quakers were
nicknamed 'Quakers' and Shakers 'Shakers.' More about this as I learn more.
Two nights ago I smoked a fingernail's amount of salvia d. and then
Thwizzled myself - ohmygod... it was as if the Great Self was observing my
dissolution into unbelievable bliss and then thought, "Ah, he's cleansed
himself to the point where I can actually deign to descend into him."
I basically tickled myself to death. Now to see if I can get someone else to
duplicate this experience, but I'll have to write it up first.
Hope you have made great progress - or better yet, as the head lama says to
his disciple: "Are you satisfied with your practice?"
If the disciple says "Yes," the assumption is that he has tasted nirvana and
the lama these days hands him a recording of other disciples' reports from
the edge of emptiness to see how his experiences correlate. Inasmuch as
there are no words from this level, it's all a guessing game anyway.
Judy and I attended a day event at Spirit Rock with B. Alan Wallace, a
Tibetan Buddhist scholar who travels with H.H. the Big Deal as his
translator (as if he needs one). He's a very charming mid-40-old, be-fudded
(PhD) by Stanford with a few books to his credit. His latest one is quite
good for those looking for a cogent entry to meditation -- and beyond also,
inasmuch as he does deal with the higher absorptions. "The Attention Revolution: Unlocking the Power of the
Focused Mind" by B. Alan Wallace.
Wallace has his own Santa Barbara Institute for Consciousness Studies and is on
the edge of the Buddhism-Western Science research currently being carried
forth in various places. Very affable, relaxed and energetic soul with no particular
hang-ups I could spot. He's also very responsive to e-mails, so I've been
carrying on with him a little bit. He's been putting on 2 - 3 day retreats
here and there, but none near enough to me to tempt me. Hopefully his first
Spirit Rock experience was enjoyable enough to bring him back.
Pranams to She Who Manifests First from the Void, Creates All Universes,
and Cleans Up Last.

Your brother-in-the-Self,

Ramon