LOVE and ENLIGHTENMENT
for DUMMIES

. . . . . . .Love is MAGIC
. . . . .( but you already KNEW that )

. . . . . . . . We're going ahead with it anyway, aren't we. Just to prove that we're NOT the most enlightened persons in the world. In fact, from where I'm sitting, there are really only two things anybody needs to know about "enlightenment," and they are:

1) Love is the strongest magic in the universe, and

2) No Resistance

. . . . .As we proceed with this, it is important to me that you, the gentle reader, know that I consider you an equal. We are all equal in the universe, and we are all unique. And when we find ourselves loving this apparent contradiction, then we are well on the way to higher levels of being.

. . . . .A quick note to thank Thaddeus Golas for his short, yet powerful work The Lazy Man's Guide to Enlightenment. I found his work to be inspiring and hope that if he ever sees this chapter, he views it as an act of love.

. . . . . . . . . . . .I think that I shall never see
. . . . . . . . . . . .Resistance as resides in me.

. . . . .We resist everything, don't we? From the day we are born until the moment we "shuffle off this mortal coil," we seem to grow our greatest skills and our lowest acts through "resistance."

. . . . .It is through resistance that we learn and grow strong both physically and mentally. Resistance shapes us into the beings we are now and will become. Is it any wonder that, in UseNet, there is so much flaming? Resistance! Must we gape in awe when someone does something in an "obvious" attempt to make us angry? Resistance!

. . . . .All people everywhere share this one thing if nothing else: We resist. It seems natural to resist, to fight or flee (yes, running away is a form of resistance). Do we have to fight or flee? or is there another choice? an even "more human" choice?

. . . . .Are we not beings made mostly of water? Does water not flow the path of "least resistance?" Are we not beings of electricity? Electrical impulses are constantly being generated in us and flowing throughout our bodies. And like water, electricity follows the path of "least resistance."

. . . . .It is easy to "say" that the path to enlightenment is attained through "No Resistance," much easier to say than it is to do. And that's the trick, isn't it? Figuring out how to drain the glass of experience so that we can learn and practice this foreign idea of "No Resistance." Perhaps this is where "love" comes in?

. . . . .What precisely is it we hope to attain? What does "enlightenment" mean to you? Is it that "flash" we've heard so much about? You sit there trippin', and all of a sudden: WHAM . . . INSPIRATION -- nah . . . this is too . . . too . . . WHAM for our tastes. Too many stories of disappointment when the tripper comes back "down to Earth." If not this, then what? Perhaps a slow realization of something. Yes, a nice, slow sprinkle of starlike fairy dust, glittering soft like snowflakes, as if being awakened with a kiss. Ho-hum.

. . . . .Many years ago I had an opportunity to visit the great nutritionist Norman W. Desrosier before he died. One of his works, Attack On Starvation, is still being used as a textbook by many starvation fighters. Among my chief concerns was the raising of funds to support our work. When I asked Desrosier about this he said, "Much more important than raising money is finding ways of raising the consciousness-levels of the people." With that sentence Desrosier raised mine a little. So a handy construct that we can discard later might be some sort of scale that recognizes different levels of consciousness, awareness: 

     totally                             maximum 
     unaware <---|---|---|---|---|---> enlightenment
to coincide with: 
   maximum                                no
  resistance <---|---|---|---|---|---> resistance
and perhaps even with: 
        hate <---|---|---|---|---|---> love
Do you feel enlightened yet? Me neither. Lettuce go on.

. . . . .Stop me if you've heard this one: "To attain enlightenment, one must work very, very hard." Well, I'm sweatin' like a New York construction worker on a hot third of July; how about you?

There has to be less to it than this. This is WAY too complicated. 'Scuse me while I go back and reread some Golas.

. . . . .Thaddeus in chapter one, Who Are We, points out: "And that is all we have to do: Give full, permissive, loving attention to absolutely anything that we see in our minds, in our bodies, in our environment, in other people." You can test this. I am.

. . . . .I want to see if this would apply even to a seemingly ridiculous onset. I'm sitting in a chair on the porch. Six feet away at the top of the stairs leading to the porch is a "wet-floor" cone. This cone is "International Orange" in color and stands about two feet high. As I'm looking at this cone I begin an outpouring of love for it. It's really quite beautiful as it stands there regally, warning people that it rained last night and to be careful of the slippery porch. I continue to love the cone even more as I sense its love for others demonstrated by its warning.

. . . . .At some point I realize that it is, after all, just a wet-floor cone, an "inanimate" object incapable of feeling. So I begin to love the person who put the cone there. This person, although perhaps just performing a "duty," just a "job," is nonetheless to be venerated and loved for remembering to place that cone where it would remind people to be careful. Who can tell how many people have been saved from serious injury and pain, how many will be saved in the morning, in the coming year. And all because this diligent person placed a wet-floor cone on the wet porch. Wait a sec -- I placed that cone there.

. . . . .Oh well, love me, love my wet-floor cone. Makes me think of how so many people pass by so many wet-floor cones without being "consciously aware." Yet somewhere, deep in their minds, the cone registers and is not taken for granted. A part of them is reminded to "step carefully or I might slip and fall." Also brings to mind the purchaser, the maker and the inventor of the cone. Perhaps they deserve our attentive love as well?

. . . . .Then there is the fine line twixt love and hate. Now, I am going the other way. Instead of expanding, I'm now contracting. Damn wet-floor cone. There it sits, taking up space. A person could be standing there making a living. Sure, a live, albeit not-too-bright human being could stand there wearing a bright orange vest and saying over and over again, "Good morning. Be careful. The floor is wet. Good morning. Be careful...." But noOOOOooo. Some jerk had to invent a wet-floor cone and take jobs away from people! ( sigh )

"To love another person is to see the face of God."

This, from the musical Les Misérables (from Victor Hugo's work), can lead to a frightening corollary:

"To hate another person is to see the face of Evil."

So without resistance, we practice practice practice our love. The more we practice love, the more we will love automatically. If we turn on our loving feelings and pay attention to everything about ourselves and our lives, then why would we need enlightenment?

. . . . .Here's a little something for you from Thaddeus Golas and me. These are lazy, lazy reminders from two lazy, lazy people.

We are equal beings and the universe
is our relations with each other.

No resistance.

Love it the way it is.

Love as much as you can from
wherever you are.

Whether I am conscious of it or not, I am
one with the cause of all that exists.

There is nothing on Earth more important than
the love which conscious beings feel towards
each other, whether or not it is ever expressed.

Whether I feel it or not, I am one with
all the love in the universe.

Love is the only dimension that needs
to be changed.

Go beyond reason to love: it is safe.
It is the only safety.

All states of consciousness are
available right now.

Enlightenment doesn't care how
you get there.

Whatever you are doing, love yourself
for doing it.

There is nothing you need to do first
in order to be enlightened.

What did you think it was that needed
to be loved?

When you learn to love hell, you will
be in heaven.

Thank you, gentle readers, for
letting my consciousness be in this place.


ref: Amazon Books

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