Im making a bit of a habit of using my zaads blog as a bit of a scrap book.  Every so often we come across those things which resonate deeply, i just feel as if this is a good place to share those things.  It can be anything, but in this case it was a writen passage by the super talented artist Alex Grey.


I acknowledge the privilege of being alive in a human body at this moment, endowed with senses, memories, emotions, thoughts, and the space of mind in its wisdom aspect.
It is the prayer of my innermost being to realize my supreme identity in the liberated play of consciousness, the Vast Expanse. Now is the moment, Here is the place of Liberation.

Witness the contents of mind, the visions and sounds, the thoughts, as clouds passing through the vast expanse - the sky-like nature of mind. The rootedness of Being is in emptiness, clarity and awareness: unborn, unspoilt, stainlessly pure.

The infinite vibratory levels, the dimensions of interconnectedness are without end. There is nothing independent. All beings and things are residents in your awareness.

I subject my awareness to the perfection of being, the perfection of wisdom and perfection of love, all of these being co-present in the Vast Expanse. I share this panorama of Being and appreciate all I can share it with...the seamless interweaving of consciousness with each moment.

Create perfection wherever you go with your awareness. That is why this teaching is admired by artists--they sense the correctness of the response to life as creative. Life is infinite creative play. Enjoyment and participation in this creative play is the artists profound joy. We co-author every moment with universal creativity.

To bare our souls is all we ask, to give all we have to life and the beings surrounding us. Here the nature spirits are intense and we appreciate them, make offerings to them--these nature spirits who call us here--sealing our fate with each other, celebrating our love.

I am an intersecting kaleidoscope of Being in a rainbow refractive wave pattern: a corpuscle of light on the ocean...the transparency of my body with the rocks...sometimes the only way to summarize my feelings is to draw--to collapse the frenzy in my limbs enough to make a mark out of profound appreciation for my existence.

Share your presence with others, no boundaries, completely openly lovingly. Love is what makes us alive, that is why we feel so alive when we love. Service is being available to love. Life is the combustion of love. That we love ourselves here, that is the true magnificence in the mountains of being. We are constantly drawing the line between love and not love--enter into the Non-duality Zone, and all judgements dissolve in the Vast Expanse.

It's as though we are co-conspirators of consciousness--everyone, everywhere, everywhen, mixing up our openable minds. It's as though we could gather clouds in the sky and people into our lives. Like an eruption of consciousness, we discover the most important force is love. Experience yourself as the Source and appreciate every moment as perfection. Sunrise--Sunset. Thank you, Thank you, Creator, profound unstoppable connectedness of all beings, pattern to everything, most radical no-thing, the Vast Expanse.

By John McConnell

Four billion years ago
Our lonely Earth
Set sail on cosmic seas
Guided by an unseen hand
Of nature, God or chance.

As life evolved
Through endles eco-cycles
Man was born, destined
To destroy or enrich
the Precious Ship.

And now his hand
Has seized the tiller
But his ear has not
Yet caught the Captain's
Quiet command.

The sails are down, the ship becalmed,
Its fragil life at stake.
No longer do we ride the gentle swells of
Silent seas and breathe
The fragrant air.

Broken are the rhythms
Of our cyclic plants
And other living things.

But now the Captain speaks again
Our quiet thoughts at last reveal his voice.

"Hoist the sails, Earth Man.
Set them for celestial winds.
Hold the tiler firm,
The course ahead is clear."

Be He nature, God or chance
His voice is heard
And we shall heed
The Captain's quiet command.

Im not a particularly religious person, i think that we need to create a new story as a context for our lives to fill in the spiritual void left by our modern age of science and enlightenment.  However i do feel that religion has a huge amount to give.  This declaration i just came across, i think realy shows that and is a great bit of inspiration.
 

THE PURPOSE DRIVEN DECLARATION

Today I am stepping across the line. I'm tired of waffling and I'm finished with wavering, I've made my choice, the verdict is in, and my decision is irrevocable. I'm going God's way. There's no turning back now!

I will live the rest of my life serving God's purposes with God's people on God's planet for God's glory. I will use my life to celebrate his presence, cultivate his character, participate in his family, demonstrate his love, and communicate his Word. 

Since my past has been forgiven, and I have a purpose for living, and a home awaiting in heaven,  I refuse to waste any more time or energy on shallow living, petty thinking, trivial talking, thoughtless doing, useless regretting, hurtful resenting, or faithless worrying. Instead I will magnify God, grow to maturity, serve in ministry, and fulfill my mission in the membership of his family.

Because this life is preparation for the next, I will value worship over wealth, "we" over "me,"  character over comfort, service over status, and people over possessions, position, and pleasures. I know what matters most, and I'll give it all I've got. I'll do the best I can with what I have for Jesus Christ today.

I won't be captivated by culture, manipulated by critics, motivated by praise, frustrated by problems, debilitated by temptation, or intimidated by the devil. I'll keep running my race with my eyes on the goal, not the sidelines or those running by me. When times get tough, and I get tired, I won't back up, back off, back down, back out, or backslide. I'll just keep moving forward by God's grace. I'm Spirit-led, purpose driven, and mission-focused, so I cannot be bought, I will not be compromised, and I shall not quit until I finish the race.

I'm a trophy of God's amazing grace, so I will be gracious to everyone, grateful for every day, and generous with everything God entrusts to me.

To my Lord and Savior Jesus Christ, I say, "However, whenever, wherever, and whatever you ask me to do, my answer in advance is yes!  Wherever you lead and whatever the cost I'm ready. Anytime. Anywhere. Anyway.  Whatever it takes, Lord; whatever it takes!  I want to be used by you in such a way, that on that final day I'll hear you say, 'Well done, thou good and faithful one. Come on in, and let the eternal party begin!'"

The previous week before coming to the last class was very busy and i had spent most of it , unfortunatley, in ego trying to get my college project handed in on the day before the class.

However, during the class a recognition hit me.   All of what we, as a human family, have created, all of the great things we have achieved, have been done with the breaks on!  I really feel that the evolutionary perspective and Andrews teachings point to a whole new spiritual culture of positivity and creativity where the forces of ego, which create so much inertia, are constantly suppressed instead of cultivated and encouraged, as in todays society.  It all depends on the leading edge to make it happen.  So learning about the 5 tenets describing how to strive for a wholy positive relationship to life was very exciting.

My time on the course has been very enjoyable and has encouraged me to ask myself some fundamental questions regarding why i am how i am.  I shouldn't just accept that this is just how i am, but to choose and push myself to be somthing else (more engaged and expressive).

Thankyou Patric and all of the other participants, heres to an enlightened future for all!

During our dialogue during this weeks class i felt the authentic self arising in me again and again when i felt so inspired and connected to the things people were saying and the people themselves.  I also felt the ego again and again stoping me from taking the risk of jumping in to the group.  Its completely irrational!  The great thing i learnt in the class this week was that we have the power of choice over these two opposite forces within ourselves.  We can go in to the ground of being and emerge into the most authentic, life embracing part of ourselves.  We can objectify the ego and see its fear as needless and irrational and put our attention on to the other bit.

By the end of the class i felt as if i broke out of the ego and was able to contribute to the group my experience.  This felt like evolution in real time, i identified the two oposite forces within myself, i then discovered the power of choice between the two and was able by the end to choose.

In class 3 we turned our attention to the ground of all being.  We learnt that this is the place where all of our thoughts and feelings arise from and how during meditation we can actually rest in this place, free from attachment to them.  We had 2 sessions of meditation during the class, the first was guided by Andrew Cohen and was around ten minutes long.  At times i was able to fully focus on Andrews words which deepened the experience of the ground of being but at various points in the silences i would drift into a stream of thought without knowing.  As soon as i realised that i had done this, i realised my attachment to it and tried to let go of the thought and quieten the mind again, although it wasn't and isn't that easy every time.  I think it is easier to stop the thought stream early before it develops into a full torrent of internal dialogue, so becoming more sensitive to the breaking of the silence in the ground might be evolution.

The second meditation of the night was silent and was about 20 - 30 minutes long.  This was very powerfull as it always seems to be with more people.  Again i did slip in to thought now and then but tried to drop it once i had realised.

I did have quite an extreme meditation the night before.  I wasn't having the best meditation ever, i drifted off to sleep a few times, then the third time i woke up, i did in to full awareness and i had a powerfull sense of the limitless and infinite empty ground.  I tried to stay in that place for as long as i could but the experience was so powerfull that i could feel my heart beating hard and fast and my adrenelin pumping in to my body so i managed to stay there for only for a few minutes.

See you Wednesday!

So, heres class 2 and heres to the revolution!


During class 2 we discussed how individuals within our culture, in the most part, don't see themselves from an evolutionary perspective.  Our media culture is so fragmented that we struggle to understand that we are actually a part of this process and not just a spectator, that this process is not just here for our own individual amusement or entertainment (although it does both amuse and entertain!).  We saw how this is the cause of so many of the problems we have in the world today.  The evolutionary perspective seems to be the healthiest perspective we could possibly have in our relationship to life.  We can see from this perspective that we really were all there 14 billion years ago, together as one.  And we see how this moment is so unique; we see that we are the universe becoming ever more aware of itself.  My individual enlightenment isn't me becoming more aware of myself, it's literally the universe becoming more aware of itself!  My realisation of this is identical yours as it is to anybody else who discovers this truth, so the universe is slowly becoming more and more aware of its singular self through the many of us.

The industries and institutions that we have built have not come from an evolutionary perspective; if they had they would contribute to the growth of life all around them and become a part of nature.  As they are now they degrade and destroy life so that they can grow.  Now that we have this perspective it seems we are left with the challenge of completely re-organising and re-prioritising both on an individual level and from the wider human family level...  Am I being overdramatic, or on the global level, is a complete re-organisation needed?  Is there a more evolutionary way?  Maybe a combination?  I'm really interested in what a globally enlightened culture would look like.  Obviously most of us would be at at least a worldcentric perspective and would be wonderfully enlightened, but what do you think it would actually look like?  Maybe that's just too much of a massive question to even answer.

I had to stretch myself to understand the video from Andrew Cohen, saying that the world isn't out there but is actually within consciousness.  It reminded me of the ‘if a tree falls in the forest and there is nobody around to hear it, does it make a sound?' riddle (I think that's how it goes anyway?!).  Material reality existed before there was consciousness to perceive it, but it still existed, or have I missed the point?

Looking forward to the next class!

I started a new course a few weeks ago on Evolutionary Enlightenment.  The class is held at the Window, which is London's center for the EnlightenNext organisation.  We've been asked to write a short summary after each class, we're about to go in to the third class on wednesday so i'l post a few blogs on the first two classes to get my blog well under way... So, here goes, class 1:

The first thing that struck me during the class was when Patrick, our course leader, described how the company helping EnlightenNext through its restructuring and branding were so amazed at how quickly this transformation had happened that they would like to use EnlightenNext as a case study to help other companies through the same transition.  This helped me to understand how these teachings can actually help in the ‘real world'.  Barriers between people are melted and a more cohesive whole is created.  With a realisation like this it is very exiting to think of the potential of teachings like this.

My own understanding of the basics of the teachings were definitely deepened during the class.  It is an amazing discovery to find within your own self a part of you that is completely equal and the same as each and every other person on the planet (and even beyond!) regardless of surface difference like age, race or religion.  Another interesting point that has recently come to light for me and that was further explained in the class was how emotions, thoughts and feelings are actually objects in consciousness, and that they can be seen and observed from this perspective.

I feel as if I should be more vocal when we are discussing, as it is the creation of a field of consciousness between us that is the ultimate goal of the teaching and not simply the individual's enlightenment.

As you might have read from my main page, a big passion of mine is the on going development of the Total Theatre of the Future, check out the link to see a dissertation i wrote on the subject.  If you dont fancy wading through 32 pages during your hard earned lunch break (i dont blame you!), heres the short version:  In bring together seperate art forms, like music, drama, dance, architecture, poetry and painting 150 years ago, Richard Wagner was able to create the most powerfull performances of his day.  I argue that Wagner's 'Total work of art' as he called it, was a precursor to the Total Theatre of the Future.  I argue that the movement this theatre emearges and takes form from will be dance culture (or rave / club culture).  I also argue that the Total Theatre will play a part in changing our narrow perspective on life to one that includes all of time and space.  It wont tell stories like the theatres and cinemas of today tell.  It will literaly tell the story of creation, the story of life itself, from the big bang to our moment and into the unlimited potential of our collective future.  It will be a sublimely emotional and breathtaking experience.  I finnish my dissertation with this: 

150 years ago Wagner's dream was to bring together separate arts to create an art form that would inspire awe in people's hearts.  Around 50 years later Wassily Kandinski said, "And so the arts are encroaching one upon another, and from a proper use of this encroachment will rise the art that is truly monumental."  This monumental art could become a shrine to humanities greatest and highest ideals.  "Let us now extend everything we do to be part of a grand collaboration - with one's self, ones tools, other humans..." Alan Kay

I am a member of a multi-media performance group called, for the moment, Neosonic.  Here is our 2006 promo.  We have performed in London a few times, in New York once and if you like, you can watch the video of our latest performance in Frankfurt.  I'll try and keep posting whenever new things are happening.  Stay tuned!