BARAKA AND THE QUATSI's

If you haven't see these movies yet, they are a must see for any spiritual traveler. The first is a 1992 movie by Ron Fricke that's a visual and as a result, an emotional journey from start to finish. Here's a brief definition of the word Baraka and it's origin according to Wikipedia:

Barakah

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

 

In Islam, Barakah (Arabic: بركة : also Baraka‎) is the beneficent force from God that flows through the physical and spiritual spheres as prosperity, protection, and happiness. Baraka is the continuity of spiritual presence and revelation that begins with God and flows through that and those closest to God. Baraka can be found within physical objects, places, and people, as chosen by God. This force begins by flowing directly from God into creation that is worthy of baraka. These creations endowed with baraka can then transmit the flow of baraka to the other creations of God through physical proximity or through the adherence to the spiritual practices of the Prophet Muhammad. God is the sole source of baraka and has the power to grant and withhold baraka.

Baraka is a prominent concept in Islamic mysticism, particularly Sufism. It pervades Sufi texts, beliefs, practices, and spirituality. Sufism is a movement within Islam that emphasizes the importance of esoteric knowledge and the spiritual union with God through the heart. Baraka symbolizes this connection between the divine and the worldly through God's direct and intentional blessing of those that are most reflective of Him and his teachings.

Baraka is not a state, it is a flow of blessings and grace. It flows from God to those that are closest to God, such as saints and prophets. Those that have received baraka are thought to have the abilities to perform miracles (karamat), such as thought-reading, healing the sick, flying, and reviving the dead. However, according to Abd al-Karīm ibn Hawāzin Qushayri, a prominent Sufi mystic, the use of these miracles and the actual possession of these abilities are not indicative of a saint's status, however, the performance of these miracles by prophets is important to establish credentials.

Below is the trailer for the film:

In addition to this great film please check out Powaqqatsi:

Koyaanisqatsi:

And finally Naqoyqatsi:

WHAT MAKES A WISE MAN?

One of my favorite stories tells of a great teacher who once visited a hermit who lived alone on an island. The great teacher rowed across the water and met with the hermit who was waiting for him on the shore. The great teacher was invited to have tea with the hermit. While having tea, the hermit began chanting the one and only mantra he knew and had been meditating on for many years.

At one point, the great teacher stopped the hermit in the middle of his chant. He pointed out to the hermit that he was pronouncing his mantra wrong. He informed the hermit that if he was able to correct the mistake, he might be able to make great strides in his practice, lamenting that the hermit might have been further along in his practice if only he'd pronounced it correctly in the first place.

The hermit was extremely grateful for the great teacher having corrected his mistake. He recited the mantra again with the great teacher correcting him until he got it right. The two eventually finished their tea and the great teacher excused himself. He returned to his boat and bid the hermit farewell as he set off for the mainland feeling he'd successfully imparted his great wisdom on the hermit.

As he rowed toward the mainland, the great teacher suddenly looked up to see the hermit running across the top of the water to meet his boat. The hermit stopped at his boat with a big smile. He apologized for taking more of the great teacher's time as he stood on the surface of the water next to the floating boat. He then asked the great teacher one more time what the correct pronunciation of his mantra was, adding that he wanted to make sure he got it right so as to make the best of his future practice. 

Dumbfounded, the great teacher recited the proper pronunciation. The hermit then thanked the great teacher with a low bow before playfully skipping back across the top of the water to the shore, turning and waving to the still awestruck man in the boat.

My point is, this practice is yours and the only way it's going to work is if it means something to you at a core level. Use your 'great teacher'; your guru as a sign post, as a resource. Beyond that, YOU are the only one who can feel what you truly feel and think the thoughts you think. It's your journey. It's your quest. It's you who is the savior of your soul. You are the guardian of your true spirit, the light within.

There are a great many people who see the world in a multitude of ways and you are one of them. No one see's the world the way you do. What sets you apart from your 'teacher'? You do. An insight is an insight and does not need to come from anywhere but within you. I submit to you that if you successfully open your own consciousness to be aware of goings-on outside of your selfish bubble, teachers can be found in many more places than a church or monastery.

The benefit of you tailoring your practice to your own feelings and inspirations (an extension of your spirit's will) is that there are no rules for you to follow. There are no precepts, but the ones you decide to follow. Well, no rules except one. If it makes you happy, if it puts you in touch with joy, if it keeps you in a world where there's no difference between tears of joy and tears of sorrow then keep doing it...

This man is a good resource. His name is Thich Nhat Hanh. He wrote a book that I once read called 'No Death, No Fear'. He sees life in a unique way and I found the video below to be a perfect example of that. 

Enjoy!

WHAT IS REAL?

I came across this very cool video of holographic technology. It shows someone manipulating 3D shapes like balls and cubes; rolling them on pieces of paper, stacking the cubes etc. Check it out...

Now here's the million dollar question. Is it real? For that matter what is real? Because we can see it, does that mean it's real? Because we can only see it, is it any less 'real' than those things that we are able to detect with more than one sense? You may say that everything in this world is real, but most of it you can't smell, touch, taste, hear or see and even if you can see it, none of our other senses can sense whatever it is.

So if our sight is the only sense that is able to sense what's in front of us, is it real? The next big question is, if none of our senses can sense a thing of this world, does it exist? It's the old Buddhist philosophical question, 'If a tree falls in the forest and nobody is around to hear or see it, does it exist?' Take that further. Is what is around the corner and out of our view still there? Even further, does the world still exist when we close our eyes?

Of course you say. I can still hear the birds outside (or traffic, depending on where you live). I can still feel the floor beneath me. I can smell the baking coming from the shop down the street. So it's definitely real. Right? So what if we take those away? What if we subject ourselves to sensory deprivation? If we deliberately cut out as many things that trigger our senses then what's left. What's real?

What's real is what you give meaning and attention to in any given moment. A flower is not a flower until we make it so. Without the name we've all agreed to call it and our individual experience with this particular thing, what is it?

Similarly, without the name they've agreed to give you and the individual experiences that you believe define you, what or who are you? In this world, this dimension, this experience we're having, we are essentially defined by everything we've done to create the life we have now combined with the various experiences we've had along the way, like rocks in the stream that caused us to change our course.

So year after year of adding the things of this world to your life and changing course more times than can be counted, where have you ended up? Certainly not feeling like the real thing that you are which is pure energy, light and part of the essence that makes up everything in the universe.

I once live in a very noisy downtown environment. I used to walk a friend's dog occasionally. The dog was normally very obedient, very loving and always attentive. But, every time I would take her out for a walk in downtown she would be the exact opposite. She was hard to control, extremely nervous and fearful. I realized after paying attention to her reactions outside vs. inside, that her senses were being bombarded, thus creating a completely different dog on our walks. The most telling thing, however, was when I would walk out of downtown to a peaceful park. She instantly would go back to being calm, loving and obedient. Even with squirrels, other dogs, distractions etc., she was back to being her attentive loving self again.

So I began looking at myself in the same way. I started observing the sheer number of stresses I had willingly added to my life over the years. Where I chose to live, the career I chose, the car I drove, where I chose to drive, where I chose to walk, the tv shows I watched, the radio I listened to, the type of music I listened to, the clothes I chose to wear to express to the world who I wanted them to see etc. All the things I added to my life in order to define myself as a 'real' person and most importantly understanding that if I had chosen certain things to this point, then I could certainly choose other things from this moment on. So I started looking at how I felt as a good gauge. Observing myself as I watched 'Disco' the dog.

I decided that if FEELING BAD upset the balance in any way, I got rid of what was causing it or changed it. Day after day, step by step chipping away at the matrix my choices had created. I canceled cable, stopped listening to mainstream radio (listening to music that neither sticks in my head nor is attached to selling me something or gossiping/judging others), stopped going to the movies, stopped going to malls, stopped going to bars and restaurants, took public transit more, gave myself more time to get places so I'm not feeling pressed, took walks alone in peaceful environments, reminded myself to look up, breathe and so much more on a daily basis. All just different choices leading to different results that literally changes the future!

Without as many distractions, I then subjected my SELF to as much sensory deprivation as possible. However you decide to do this, it's up to you. For me, I've found lying down works best, but not if I'm feeling sleepy. There's no reason you need to listen to those who say you need to sit this way or that or breathe in a certain way or visualize anything at all. In fact this is the exact opposite. You don't want to have any preconceived notions or expectations. You want to be available for what comes naturally.

Rather than setting out to achieve something by doing this, your goal is to pear down to nothing and ALLOW whatever comes to come. I would (and still do) cover my eyes with a sleep shade and put noise cancelling headphones on with generic music that won't cause thoughts or emotions to arise. In fact, I created my own meditation music with programs available to everyone for free and would more than recommend trying it. The key is to make it as generic as possible, even if it's one note for 10 minutes. Your goal is to derail your mind from it's habitual patterns.

I would suggest starting with ten minutes so you don't fall asleep (also, if you do tend to fall asleep then sit up). The more you practice, the better you'll get. The main purpose of this is to wipe your mind of thoughts, stop you from listening to anything your mind can identify with, stop you from seeing things that have meaning attached to them and to literally focus on nothing. If a thought comes, you recognize it and let it go. Like a sign on the highway that comes and goes to a route you've no intention of taking. It comes and goes, then back to nothing. 

I'll talk more next time on breathing and how important it is to life. That may sound silly, but we've forgotten to breathe. Let me just say this. Getting to nothing also involves the ability to ALLOW your body to take in and process oxygen and expel carbon dioxide. Naturally and without you trying. Early on, let's just say that every time you feel yourself being swept away by your mind, take a breath, stretch tall to allow your spine to stretch and your nervous system (the source and transit system of your energy) to flow unimpeded, and relax the tension from your body until you can't feel any of it.

So now let me ask this. Once you wipe your mind of thoughts, can't see or hear anything that means anything to you, and have relaxed every part of your body so you can't feel it, what will be? What will you be? What will you see in your minds eye? For that matter without thoughts, sounds and visions that create obstacles to your true self what thoughts will come when they come? 

Will they have anything to do with the YOU you thought you were? For me, after a few years of daily sessions, my thoughts were becoming more profound and epiphanies about life and the universe and my place in it were coming every time. My view of the world changed and the things I focused on changed. By wiping clean the cluttered chalk-board of my life, what was left over was so much more PURE and I knew it had come from within me without external influence.

Make this your intention and you WILL change what you've convinced yourself is real. As a result your life will change to reflect those new thoughts and realizations. I guarantee it. Once this happens, you'll find and be able to maintain your connection to the source of creative energy in the universe. At this point, even if you've never written or painted or made music, photographed or created anything before, you will FEEL the connection you have lost (but know is there) and you will be urged to express that creativity in ways you never though possible.

Make it a point to see as many creations as you can that help you realize that whatever it is, it was created with a divine connection, a link to the creative force that connects everything and KNOW you are a part of this force. 

Without fear, make it your intention to allow this connection to once again be felt.