Please do what you can to help our brothers and sisters caught in the devastation of Hurricane Sandy:
Text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation.
Thank you . . . with love,
Michael Turner
Dear Friends:
Please do what you can to help our brothers and sisters caught in the devastation of Hurricane Sandy: Text the word REDCROSS to 90999 to make a $10 donation. Thank you . . . with love, Michael Turner
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Dear Friends in Spirit,
I hope you are all having a wonderful day. I just spent a couple of days with my father, who came to visit me here in Sparks, NV. I am reminded of how I not only love him as my father, but how much I like him as my friend, and what a wise man he is. My dad is a brilliant, intuitive, kind man - a truly great father - the best friend I could ever ask for - and I am SO lucky to be his son. Please take a moment and remember how much you love your father, and how much he loves you. Call him, text him, email him, send him a prayer - tell him you love him. Also, I want to wish you all a HAPPY HALLOWEEN! Hope you're all having fun with your families and friends. All my Love, Gratitude and Blessings in Naam Eternal, Michael Turner http://spiritualfreedomsatsang.org/michaels-blog.html RISE ABOVE PROBLEMS
"If we can let individuals know that there is a way to rise above the problems at hand in a state of consciousness and not be affected emotionally, then the perspective and perception that is developed by the individual, subjectively and objectively, can lead him into a much richer and fuller life and without the factor of guilt that's impressed upon us, not only by the ways of society and man's religions, but by the materialistic world." - Darwin Gross. "Gems of Soul". Pg. 30 (originally from a talk in Portland, OR - 1973) Have a beautiful, blessed day! Michael Turner http://spiritualfreedomsatsang.org/michaels-blog.html MAIN TEACHING
"The main teaching of the Way of Shabda is that if the chela faithfully practices the spiritual exercises, he will enter the kingdom of heaven while still living in the physical body." - Sri Darwin Gross. "Gems of Soul". Pg. 51. Excerpted from his article, "The Science of Total Awareness", published in 1975. ********************************* And again, please send your love and prayers to all in the path of Hurricane Sandy. Yours in Divine Spirit, Michael Turner http://spiritualfreedomsatsang.org/michaels-blog.html October 28, 2012
Dear Friends, I would like us all to take a moment and place our attention within on the Shabda Spiritual Current. Let IT fill our hearts, minds, bodies and souls with ITs Wave of Eternal Golden Divine Love. Be present in that Love. Become that Love. Now, let us turn our attention to the eastern Caribbean and eastern coast of the United States which has been impacted - or is about to be impacted - by Hurricane Sandy. Let that Spiritual Love filling us flow through us and toward that entire region. Let us ask God to please bless everyone in the path of this Hurricane, to comfort them and guide them, to fill their hearts with Divine Hope, Love and Peace. Thank you. May God's Blessings and Eternal Spirit fill each and every one of you. All my Love in Naam Eternal, Michael Turner http://spiritualfreedomsatsang.org/michaels-blog.html "The purpose of Soul Travel is to reach God, or that state of religious awareness which many saints and holy men were reported to have reached. The results serve mankind and help build a more positive civilizaiton. However, it mainly proves survival of the self, that part of man called Soul. The goal of the (Surat Shabda) chela is to reach that heavenly state which we know as the Absolute or God-Center.
Since Soul Travel is an individual matter, the indiivual must learn for himself. At first he will need a spiritual teacher. Later, he can continue alone. The teacher will allow the chela (Surat Shabda follower) to try his spiritual wings under his guidance, until the chela can use the spirit body (called the Atma Sarup) with relative ease." - Darwin Gross - 1978. "Gems of Soul". Pg. 148 ********************** May the Blessings Be! Michael Turner http://spiritualfreedomsatsang.org/michaels-blog.html Contemplating our discussion about the Friend, I opened a book of stories and poems by Rumi - the master proponent of the Friend. And I came across this:
************************************* THE VISIONS OF DAQUQI Husam, tell about the visions of Daquqi, who said, "I have traveled East and West not knowing which way I was going, following the moon, lost inside God." Someone asked, "Why do you go barefoot over the stones and thorns?" "What," he answered. "What." A bewildered lover doesn't walk on feet. He or she walks on love. There are no "long" or "short" trips for those. No time. The body learned from the spirit how to travel. A saint's body moves in the unconditioned way, though it seems to be in conditionedness. Daquqi said, "One day I was going alone looking to see in people the shining of the Friend, so I would recognize the ocean in a drop, the sun in a bright speck. I came to the shore at twilight and saw seven candles. I hurried along the beach toward them. the light of each lifted into the sky. I was amazed. My amazement was amazed. Waves of bewilderment broke over my head. What are these candles that no one seems to see? In the presence of such lights people were looking for lamps to buy! Then the seven became one, in the middle of the sky's rim. Then that fanned out to seven again. There were connections between the candles that cannot be said. I saw, but I cannot say. I ran closer. I fell. I say there awhile. I got up and ran again. I had no head and no feet. They became seven men, and then seven trees, so dense with leaves and fruit that no limbs were visible. Flashes of light spurted from each fruit like juice! And most marvelous of all was that hundreds of thousands of people were passing beside the trees, risking their lives, sacrificing everything to find some scrap of shade. They made peculiar parasols out of pieces of wood. They tried anything. And no one saw the trees with their tremendous shade! The caravans had no food, and yet food was dropping all about them. If anyone had said, 'Look! Over here!' they would have thought him insane, or drunk. How can this happen? Or am I dreaming? I walk up to the trees. I eat the fruit. I might as well believe. And still I see people searching so desperately for an unripe grape, with these vineyards around them, heavy with perfect bunches. Then the seven trees became one, and then seven again. At every second they were both seven and one. They were doing the ritual prayer, kneeling and bowing, without knees or waists! Then they were seven men seated in meditation for the sake of the one reality. I came closer and waved. They called, 'O Daquqi, the glory and the crown!' 'How do they know my name?' I thought. 'They've never seem ne till now.' Immediately they knew my thought, and smiled at each other. 'Honored one, is this still hidden from you? How can anything be hidden from one so dissolved in God?' 'If this is the spirit-reality,' I said to myself, 'how is it we're speaking words and saying names?' One of the seven answered, 'Names, sometimes the names slip away, bit it's not forgetfullness. It's our being so absorbed. Then they all said to me, 'Would you lead us in prayer?' I am still in some temporal confusion that will be solved by companionship with you. Through compansionship with the ground a grapevine grows. It opens into the earth's darkeness and flies. It becomes selfless in the presence of its origin and learns what it really is.' They nodded, as though saying, 'Whenever your'e ready.' That nodding was a flame in my heart. I was freed from hourly time, from sequence and relation." Everyone has a stable and a trainer appointed to him or her. IF yo ubreak away the trainer comes and gets you. You think you're making choices, but the trainer is actually leading you around. You like to deny that you have a keeper. You way "It's my powerful animal urges." - Rumi. "The Essential Rumi: Translations by Coleman Barkes with John Moyne." Pp. 262-265 ****************************** Peace and Love in Naam Eternal Michael Turner http://spiritualfreedomsatsang.org/michaels-blog.html October 25, 2012
I was reflecting this morning on our talk yesterday about how a True Shabda Teacher or Master is a true Friend. And it led me to think about my experience with my Teacher, Sri Darwin Gross. One of the things I love about him is that he didn't - and doesn't - impose his will upon me. He didn't tell me to do this or that, or threaten me with dire consequences if I disobeyed him. He simply offered suggestions based upon his life and meditation experience, and then stepped back and gave me the space and freedom to learn on my own. There were times I soared, and times I stumbled - I had periods of amazing spiritual clarity and bliss followed by periods of cloudiness and doubt. And when I reached out for help, Darwin was always there. He listened to me, and then offered gentle suggestions about how I could fine-tune my meditation and life - and he was always there to hold my hand as I took another step on my inner trek. There was never a time when he was away or did not respond. No matter how far within I traveled, he was there beside me. I had no fear within, because I knew he was always there. And no matter what problems I had in my outer life, he was there as well - to comfort me and console me, giving me the gift of Divine Love and Spiritual Peace. One of the things that gave me comfort about Darwin, was that he never put on airs of spiritual superiority. He never preened or posed or tried to dress or act "spiritual". There was no pretense about him. He was a real human being, living a real life, dealing with the real problems life provides. Darwin had physical ailments. He had relationship issues - and even went through the pains of divorce - just as I had. This in its own way gave me comfort, because I knew that he could relate to my problems in life and wouldn't judge me or condemn me when I was out of harmony with Spirit. He would just say, "Michael, I know how you feel. I've been there. And what I found is that if you place your attention here, it will bring you back into harmony and alignment with the Spiritual Current, and you will feel better and live better. And you know what? It worked. Darji's humanness was an incredible gift, and an essential part of my gradual unfoldment into Soul consciousness and God. Sri Darwin Gross was - and is - my best friend. And for that I am eternally grateful. Thank you . . . with love. Michael Turner http://spiritualfreedomsatsang.org/michaels-blog.html As I sat down this afternoon to read "Philosophy of the Masters", I was drawn to this passage by Sawan Singh:
"IT is said in the scriptures that Akal Purush (the Immortal One) is without form. He sees without eyes, works without hands, walks without feet and hears without ears. He is present everywhere but is not visible. He is beyond the reach of intellect or imagination, for they fucntion within human limitations. How is one to meditate on Him and to become acquainted with Him? For, in actual fact, one can love only one's fellow human beings?" - Sawan Singh. "Philosophy of the Masters: Series V". Pg. 171. This raises an excellent question. How can we love that which we have not seen? We can love an idea of it, a construct of our theory and philosophy. We can love how the idea makes us feel. We can mock up an image and convey upon that image whatever attributes make sense to us. But we are still loving an idea or an imaginary or emotional construct of the thing, but not the thing itself. This very question applies to our quest for God. For until we have actually seen IT and directly experienced IT for ourselves, we are only loving a mental or emotional construct. What Sawan Singh teaches us - as do Kirpal Singh, Darwin Gross, etc. - is that we can only truly love that which we have directly experienced - that which we can touch, and hear with our own ears, and see with our own eyes. This can be an object, a pet or a human being. Since humans are the highest rung on the evolutionary ladder, the highest creature we can love as human beings is another human being. It is for this reason that God expresses ITSelf to us in the form of human beings - as human teachers. IT inhabits human bodies - and has done so since we first became self-aware - so as to be with us in human form. This gives us something tangible upon which to focus our attention. We can know this person - ask them questions, hear their voices, see them as they speak. If we have questions about our meditations, or inner experiences, or just lives in general, they can answer them. Like learning guitar from a teacher and not a book, they can gently nudge us towards fine-tuning our practice. And this is not just some holier than thou Guru or Teacher who is inaccessible, who we put on a pedestal and revere from afar. This person, this teacher is - on the outside - an average man or woman just like any of us. They are a friend we are comfortable with, who we can relax and spend time with - sharing our hopes and dreams, our woes and fears. Being with this Friend is so natural, we may not even initially notice that we are being transported within. Over time, as we become more and more comfortable with the Friend, emotions and thoughts and questions fall away, and we become souls in communion with each other - and with Shabda. This is something worth contemplating. Let's take a break now to meditate and proceed with our day. We will convene here tomorrow to continue our discussion. All my love in Naam, Michael Turner http://spiritualfreedomsatsang.org/michaels-blog.html Tuesday, October 23, 2012
Continuing with Sawan Singh, let us take a moment to read what he has to say about the three fundamental practices of Surat Shabda Meditation. Please read this over a couple of times, and then close your eyes and bring Sawan's comments and wisdom into your meditation. All my Love and Blessings in Eternal Shabda, Michael Turner http://spiritualfreedomsatsang.org/michaels-blog.html **************************************************** "THREE PRACTICES ACCORDING TO THE TEACHINGS OF THE SAINTS 1. Simran (repetition and remembrance); 2. Dhyan (contemplation); and 3. Dhun and Shabd (listening to the Sound Current) Our mind is engrossed in the external universe and in thinking of and contemplating on worldly matters. When we try to turn our attention within ourselves, we remember our family, friends, home and so forth, and this creates a disturbance. So with a view to diverting the attention from them and connecting it with the Lord, a seeker has to repeat the Names and contemplate on that for which is acceptable to the Lord. Saints teach us to do Simran with the tongue of the soul (the mind) and to contemplate with the eye of the soul (the third eye). By these two practices, the mind calms down a little. Shabd is then to be heard through the ear of the soul (the inner ear). This Spiritual Sound is reverberating in all, to whatever Dharma (religions) or race they may belong. Through this practice, the mind becomes absolutely still. There is a mutual attraction between the soul and the Sound, as both derive consciousness from the same source. The Shabd-Dhun-waves of the Lord’s Ocean pull the drop (soul) and absorb it. After the merging of the soul, the mind – which is deriving life from the soul – cannot move and, consequently, becomes perfectly still. All these three practices are described in detail by the Sat Guru during the initiation of the seeker. Through contemplation, the attention, which is spread out, gathers behind the eyes at its own centre. From this point, with the help of Shabd Dhun (Spiritual Melody), it progresses towards its own Home wherefrom the Shabd Dhun emanates and merges therein. Thus the soul attains true salvation.” - Sawan Singh. "Philosophy of the Masters: Series V – My Submission". Pp. 1xxxvii – xc. |
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