Sing along with a Ganesh Mantra recorded from a group in Brussels....

The Mantra of Ganesh invokes the Universal Aspect of dissolving obstacles in one's life, as expressed through the form of the Hindu Deity Ganesh. The mantra I attach here is from one of our groups here. This one was recorded in Brussels. Please enjoy it and may you dissolve your obstacles with it, it is free.

On Ego

This link will take you to a 4 minute audio clip on the subject matter of ego. It is an excerpt from a talk given near Cannes on October 9.

http://rapidshare.com/files/294668169/AONEGO.wav.html

On the Dharma

The term “Dharma” basically means THE UNIVERSAL TRUTH. Simultaneously it means more than that. The term also represents THAT WHICH WILL LEAD YOU TO THE EXPERIENCE OF UNIVERSAL TRUTH.

Therefore, we may ask, “What is the signature of Dharma, how do I recognize that I am facing a substantial expression of Dharma in a body of teachings and in a teacher?”

When you have a substantial encounter with Dharma, there should arise a process that makes tangibly clear to you the methods that you unconsciously use to create suffering for yourself. Tangible is key here. As this process unfolds for you, you should feel … AHA! A competent Dharma Teacher will have the power to initiate this process. YOU should have the power to implement on your path the instructions that will keep you from repeating the same mistakes that led you to suffer in the first place. YOU should have the power to listen and heed once you determined you are looking at a Wisdom Source.

As a result of a substantial Dharma Encounter, the level of your suffering should begin to diminish. The level of your well-being should increase. But also there should arise for you a daily program of practice that is both attitudinal and technical, as without you making the decision to work on yourself, nothing much will change for you. Even direct contact with the Most Radiant of Buddhas will not save you if you do not do your own work in a way that is steady, sincere and substantial. You must play your part and be responsible for your growth by watering the flowers in your garden daily and weeding and conditioning the soil.

Coming back to the methods we use to cause our own suffering. The most difficult part really consists in facing within ourselves our inner demons and shadows, those parts of our selfishness and ignorance that run as very strong and crystallized behavior patterns and may have done so for a long time. To deal with those ingrained behaviorisms is really difficult, we do not want to look at our deepest fears and greed, we do not want to know we are capable of mean or self-centered behavior. Yet a true Dharma Connection will take you to have a face-off with your inner demons and will invite you to dissolve these inner demons in the Void. To accept this as part of the work is only for the most courageous and many people who enter the journey may bail out when reaching this specific point and the mirror gets to be too close.

This brings us to the term The Void. A substantial expression of Dharma in teachings or teacher will have the capacity to take you to the experience of the Void … if … and only if … you cooperate with the process after having made the decision to work on yourself, be responsible for yourself, and implement the teachings in your life and not run away when those inner demons that I mentioned make themselves known to you in ways that you will find distinctly uncomfortable.

The experience of The Void is what will happen to you if all the ingredients of your spiritual practices come together just right and your efforts flower in that process that some people call The Great Work. And it is for that reason that a great wise man once said, “Don’t bother to start the Great Work if you don’t have what it takes of finish it.”

The Void or the Great Silence will unfold when the mind stops and for the first time insight into the nature of reality is gained. Please note the way I have phrased this. I did not say that YOU will gain insight into the nature of YOUR reality, even though English and most other languages would lend themselves to express it in this way. I did not express it in this way, because that is not what happens. When the normal mind process comes to cessation in the event of extremely deep meditation, whatever you consider to be your s e l f evaporates, because your known self is just an artificial construct that depends on the constant functioning of your mind, saying … I am this, I am that…. constantly.

When this normal routine process is suspended, Silence arises. When this Silence continues to deepen, it turns into Infinite Space. That Infinite Space of course was always there, but it now becomes revealed… revealed to who or what? Revealed to the space occupied by your body. It is revealed … to matter, which has been asleep, but now is transformed into Radiant Awakened Space. The arising of this experience in the disappearance of the experiencer… is the most precious of the precious. You cannot imagine it.

The above expresses as clearly and as best as I know to express what will happen if you have serious and receptive contact with a Dharma Source. May it become a tangible reality for you.

RAYLENE ON ALIGNMENT BETWEEN HEAVEN AND EARTH

On Compassion, Power and Wisdom (Talk during Mantra Workshop in Paris, October 4, 2009

A BRIEF YET IN-DEPTH ANALYSIS OF THE PROCESS OF ALLEVIATION OF SUFFERING FROM A SIMPLE POINT OF VIEW OF CLARITY

In order to be successful in providing alleviation of suffering, it becomes a necessity to provide the individual who suffers not only with instant relief, even though this is possible for adepts who have reached the level of significant cultivation, but more importantly it is imperative to show to the individual the methods by which s/he has created the suffering in the first place.

The suffering was created by attitudes and actions that are not in harmony with the Laws of the Universe. They are based on the Core Belief of Separation and the consequent fears and greed-oriented behavior typical for the scarcity consciousness we uphold when we believe us separate and therefore engage in competition with others for the assumedly limited resources we believe will bring us happiness.

Therefore, if we encounter a source capable of alleviating suffering, this source ideally will show to us all the methods that we engage in that produce the suffering. And this is exactly the point where things can become critical to the point of very critical. Because as the adept points out the erroneous behavior models and decisions that cause the suffering, even when the message is conveyed with skill, it still represents a form of criticism.

Basically, what the adept says, because you did not know better, you made this error of choice. It is natural that we do not like somebody telling us we made a mistake. It hurts. Just as it hurts when we go to a doctor who has to make an incision to free us from a malignant growth. The doctor will both cut and, if very competent, point to what caused the malignant growth to be there in the first place and suggest to us to avoid repeating the behavior that brought the growth into existence.

At this point the reactions of the patient will begin to display a vast spectrum of responses. On the one polarity of the spectrum we find a humble acceptance of the analysis of how the suffering was created and consequent sincere efforts of connecting the dots between decision and result, thereby not re-producing the same suffering. The patient here is mature and strong enough for the task at hand.

On the other polarity of the spectrum of response we find a denial and refusal, because the patient focuses on his wrong choices and because he thus highlights the feeling of being criticized, will react and fight the presentation of the valid diagnosis of his suffering. The patient here is not mature and strong enough for the task of self-correction.

When a person has made the decision of really looking for Spiritual Awakening AND is in contact with an Adept who operates on a substantial level of cultivation, there is really no guarantee as to how or when awakening experiences will take place. Not even with a Buddha or Christ there is that guarantee. But, you can be guaranteed that such closeness will show to us our inner demons and shadows, the parts about us we are least willing to face but are deeply responsible for our suffering. This process can be challenging and overwhelming.

And when an adept shows those parts to us, we know that the adept is not hoping for gratitude. He merely hopes that we do not kick him in the head as a method of paying for his attempts to help and heal, because he understands the truly complex nature of being in the business of soul surgery.