Travis, You have hit on something I have been thinking a lot about lately – partly because of response I received offline about the Adam Lambert post you commented on. Some friends felt I was ‘feeding the beast’ by raising the issue, by contributing negativity to it – which I find is a common theme for those drawn to law of attracton/positivity type teachings. And I sensed others who commented felt it was too aggressive, that ‘passive resistance’ i.e. ahimsa, is the right approach. So it got me thinking about where I think the line actually is, what a useful response is, not just to this incident, but to all the social issues about which I care. And I came out very close to what you are describing here I think – a desire to act as a Warrior of Peace. I think for me this is partly a philosophical choice and partly a temperament one. I remember hearing Gangaji answer a question about passion and detachment, how to have them both. I will have to find the answer, as I know she said what I am thinking now quite beautifully.

If Gandhi had taken a neutral tone on the issue of the British occupation of India we likely never would have heard of the man, and India would still be a colony. Change takes a willingness to stand up for your beliefs. If you find the quote from Gangaji, I would be very interested to hear it.

Travis, sorry to post this here, but didn’t see an email, maybe I missed it. I just wanted to let you know there might be something up with your RSS feed. I clicked on the link to subscribe, and couldn’t, so then I did so manually from inside Google Reader, but the most recent post listed there was Nov. 2008….

On the journey to wholeness one has to be fearless and have a warrior’s determination, on this I have no doubt. My contention is, however, that the battle to be won is against the predisposition to create philosophies and hold onto beliefs. Peace is our true nature and needs no conceptual framework. When no other exists there can be no insult or hostility. Beliefs, philosophies and concepts of morality, no matter how virtuous, are still constructs of an identified mind. Bars of gold imprison as much as bars of iron. This is not to say that noble actions (such as Gandhi or MLK) should not occur -what good is a stone Budda? -but to hold one opinion against others misses the point I think.

My 2 cents worth.

Lisa, thanks for the heads up. I am wrestling with feedburner to get the situation fixed.

Steve, I don’t think the problem is with beliefs. I believe a ham sandwich is a healthier thing for my body to consume than a pillow. I think beliefs are fine, important necessary. I would agree that there is a problem created by holding onto beliefs, but not holding them. I subtle distinction but I think an important one.

Reality, as it is, is evolving. That inherently means that options are weighed against each other. I do believe that peace is our nature, and I do think that it is a good thing to hold that belief against the belief that might makes right.

I certainly have my own sandwich beliefs. My reference is solely concerning the seeking of beliefs to solve existential angst. To me that is looking in the wrong place. I have no arguement with a moral compass to deal with changing situations and I rest all my actions of a belief of harmlessness to all beings, but know that events will occur which will challange and even negate that philosophy. I am thinking of the ladies who came to your meeting with John directly from a meeting with Adya. Them seem to relish being ‘seekers’ but can they ever ‘find’? Christian, Buddist, Hindu and Moslem seem just like so many words to me.

Would love to hear you on the Podcasts and hope your computer gets well.

Peace.

Thanks Steve, the problem is not my computer, it’s doing fine. My issue is my body, it’s not healed enough yet from my recent surgery to take sitting at my desk very well.

They did seem to relish the self-image as seeker. I don’t think that’s a barrier at all, until that belief is held against incoming evidence without being checked for validity and usefulness.

Harmlessness is just as much just a word as Christian, Buddhist, Hindu and Muslim. Personally, I don’t think any belief at all is useful to ‘find.’ I am of the camp that believes that any step is a step away from that which we (who identify as having a spiritual bent) hope to ‘find.’ I am not of the camp that beliefs, and paths that use them, can’t lead one to ‘find.’ I am, however, of the camp that holds that using a belief to ‘find’, when it is successful, is so despite itself and is sort of a happenstance occurrence. Lastly, I am now, and have always firmly tried to be, in the camp that knows I could be wrong.