Dealing with demons 1

Before I discovered Buddhism, I encountered a viciously destructive demon within the spiritual zone. Without experience, I had to use rightness and hope to survive these damaging attacks. I had no idea how to stop them, deal with them, or prevent them from harming my present life or future. I simply snarled back, defending my right to stay true and just, whatever rubbish they filled me with. I simply rejected these pollutive poisons and fought back, further damaging myself but staying 'right' minded.

It was a relief to hear Geshe Michael Roach address the problem of demons during one of the karma course classes offered by ACI. Although it is not an everyday problem for me, it does recur from time to time. It was useful to hear the stance of Buddhism and learn how one should react when a demon surfaces. Although the illustration given referred to the original ACI class group, it could be reflected into any group of Buddhist or truth/life students.

I am improving, but am not yet perfected at recognizing the onset of a demonic attack. Once I do recognize such, I am currently able to ride it out below the pollutive poisons and simply wait until the rubbish fades away like clouds drifted from the sky above. I no longer try to fight back and demand justice and naturalness, but wait where such lies until it can fill every area of life once more.

Food & sex

If food and sex are the two main causes for people craving continuation of samsara, it would be advisable to check one's attitude in relation to these factors. This can help establish how one's practice is progressing, by observing the difference attitudes across the years of practice.

Taking 'food': over the years I have changed m diet regularly. Most changes have been steps in the direction of health, such as eating 95% home-made from-scratch foods and becoming a vegetarian. However, I still seem to put a greater emphasis on taste than health, so there is still much work to do. I need to get to the stage where I can eat only healthy and natural foods and not mourn for the delicious flavors and meals I used to enjoy before I can say I have been successful here.

Taking 'sex': my attitudes ranged through early interest and curiosity, youthful experimentation and anything-goes thrills, middle-aged love-centering, to my current attitude of limitation to its use only for affection and health. I can say that I am over the 'thrill-needing' stage and can currently take it or leave it, providing I can use it on necessary occasion for health purposes - which I am currently developing alternatives for.

It looks like I need to put in more work on detachment from food…

SHORT BREAK

Just a quick message to any regular readers or BITW -

I have not vanished, died, stopped writing, or had all my fingers chopped off -

I am just taking a 1-2 week break from most of my blogs in order to focus on other matters such as editing my 11th book and will be back with new posts shortly!

Meditating on cosmic consciousness 2

I am currently exploring the connection between cosmic consciousness and material matters...

If you believe in the cosmic consciousness running like one bicycle wheel with the other wheel made up of the material, physical universe, and the two operating along the path of 'big-bang - big-crunch' on constant repeat, then you can contemplate the possibility of déjà vu stemming from a former happening having happened in a former universe to a former you, rather than it stemming from dreamtime-gained spiritual precognition.

Which leads which? Is it a parallel movement, or does one start the other shifting? Does the material shift between each of the two sequences of big bang and big crunch produce a likeness within the cosmic consciousness, or vice versa? If the mobility of the cosmic consciousness directs the cause of the material universe, then this could be the 'reason' for the big bang and big crunch changing over that scientists cannot locate.

If this is the process involved, then the Buddhist acknowledgment of no-self and cosmic unity would appear to be that which turns the physical and spiritual expansion into the return to unity, both within the levels of mind and the physical planetary systems.

(There is obviously much more analytical meditation for me to do, but these are my current areas of investigation.)

Meditating on cosmic consciousness 1

Although I cannot perform analytical meditation in the traditional seated position, which I use only for centering meditation, I often spend pre/post sleep time in 'beditation' or turn from daytime mindfulness to auto-mindedness in order to contemplate, analyze, understand, and experience. My latest topic is cosmic consciousness.

In order to understand where I am at, I need to explain that my view of the mind levels includes the thought-creating-mind, emotion-creating-mind, sensing-empathetic-mind, knowing-wisdom-mind, and inner divinity. From these, the first 2-3 come into the category of personal 'self' mind and the latter 2-3 of accessing a 'universal' or cosmic mind.

After having read, studied, and learnt about various Buddhist beliefs pertaining to karmic residue, kilesa eradication, spiritual communication, and the universal principle, my own 'pondering-wandering's can flow. I am currently exploring the connection between cosmic consciousness and material matters…