Dear AQ readers and correspondents
As we approach the winter solstice on 21st December with the inner forces coming into balance in the laya state, it is the winter transition or pralaya at the trough of the annual cycle. Meanwhile on the outer plane, much of the other world rushes into celebrations of Christmas with its periodic Saturnalian excess.
Students of the perennial philosophy, who must live and work in both worlds, remembering they are in it but not of it, and like the earth they also strive to pass through the ‘laya’ into a new state.
We start this month’s AQ with an extract from Theosophy Watch on a simple meditation for transcending that which holds us back (on p 1), followed by the second excellent piece on chelaship (p 2).
There is much more besides, on “sleep paralysis” that affects perhaps as many as one in 20 people (p 5 – are you one?), on the ethical power of consumers, especially relevant at this time of year (p 6), on water found on the moon (p 7) and pictures of monsters of the oceans (p 8).
Wishing all our readers a fruitful New Year,
The AQ Editors
Realizing Buddha Nature
“The Self is the Friend of Self and Also Its Enemy” – W. Q. Judge
Esteemed Tibetan Buddhist Scholar and Teacher Anam Thubten Rinpoche’s Message of Infinite Love Resonates in Turbulent Times.
“If we are still wondering how to awaken, I suggest that we meditate now and then and focus on the following question:
‘What is holding me back from realizing my true nature, my Buddha Nature?’
Sandy Frazier
“This is a very powerful inquiry. I am sharing this based on my own meditation practice. This is one of my favorite meditations because it always takes me to the place where I cannot blame anybody or anything for my lack of awakening.
“When we open our hearts and let go of all of our theories and speculations, when we are not distracted even by spiritual fantasies, when we simply wholeheartedly and courageously inquire into what is holding us back, that is all that we need to do.
What’s Holding Us Back?
“Or we can just ask the truth, ‘What is holding me back from awakening right now?’ Either way we can’t find any answer because there is nobody there. There is nothing holding us back and that’s why we never really find any answers.
“Next we might ask, “If there are no obstacles holding me back, then why am I not awakened right now?” And when we look we realize that we are attached to our thoughts.
“That’s all that is happening. Samsara is nothing more than our identification with thoughts. That’s all there is. There is nothing there except thoughts.”
from “No Self, No Problem” by Anam Thubten, edited by Sharon Roe, published by Snow Lion Publications.
Curtsey of http://theosophywatch.com The Mystic Power posted on Dec 15, 2009 by theosophywatch
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