Ramana Maharishi

This group of statements from such a holy man are so moving. I love his way of teaching with things that are familiar. The first example is "...trying to cover the whole world with leather...". This to me is tangeable. I can understand how ridiculus our attempts are to fix the world. We need to fix ourselves first. However he doesn't make it sound selfish.
In the part about Christian beliefs I completely understand. I have argued this with Father Mike more than once. I don't like going to confession. I just want to talk with God by my self. My best argument to Father is that he doesn't have enough time for my confession and that I will not die because God doesn't want me up there yapping all the time either. I know that God is within me. Every time I realize a lesson that has been perfectly planned by God and the result is within me to do, I am amazed.
His teaching about the dreamer frustrates me. I know that to be selfless even in this state is part of the plan but how can one guide a dream so well. Sometimes you can do things in your dreams but this concept is too much. I know it in the waking world but in my dream world all I want to do is get out sometimes.
Lastly I love his belief in silence. When I am strong enough to stay quiet in a situation I am so aware of everything. I believe that this is my biggest job. To learn to shut up. When I was a massage tech I spent alot of time being quiet and I have felt this flow of energy. Then I share with my client what was felt and they feel better but I don't because I now have felt their flow. I never liked trying to manage theirs or redirect it. If I could have figured out a way to keep the flow intact then I would probably still be doing massage today.

The Upanishads

It struck me that the 5th sentance referes to the Lord. I believe that this comes from the translator. If this book was written between 8000-5000 BCE then did the original writer call this higher power Lord?
This piece of The Upanishads brings to mind the Hymn that we sing in church about "Eye has not seen, Ear has not heard...". The similarities of baseline teachings is amazing. I wonder if the writers of the Bible (Christian) studied all of the religions they could and found a way to merge those ideas into one new text. Of course the names have changed and the stories are different but they all have the same feeling. This reading teaches me to trust in my inner moral code, "Don't be a slave to the senses." How does this feel? Does it feel good and pure? I am trying to teach this to my children and the concept of it is just not getting to them yet.
I believe that there is a group of papers written by Jesus. I believe that these writings say the exact idea as the last paragraph of this reading. God is within you and when that is truley realized one can be free.
My friend Desi always tells me to let go of my carnality and live in the spirit. She is so wise. I wonder what it would be like for all of humanity to live a greater portion of their life in the spirit. Would we have a better outcome or would we be like the Lemurians before they were stuck to the earth. These spirit beings were selfish because they didn't need any other for anything. What an interesting problem.

Chief Seattle

I have read parts of this speech before. This was a wise man. His complete acceptance of the future that awaits the original people of this country is inspring. How hard it must have been to believe that your time has come, to be ready to just be a part of this land.
I believe that the dust of the ancestors coveres every inch of this land. I have felt it and I have seen the men running through the hills after deer.
I know that what Chief Seattle said is true. The day and the night can not exist at the same time. However there comes a time when they both exist at the same time. We need to look for those times as an inspiration. In know that the white man that came here was fleeing religious persecutuion and in the next heart beat they were doing the same thing.
There was one thing that Chief Seattle got wrong. His people have combined and are becoming a great force in this country. They are reclaiming their finances and they are going to continue to aquire more land. There are laws that allow them to govern themselves exclusively and yet they also have a voice in the current government.
We could have learned how to be better people much faster than we have. God says to wait and be patient. Yet the forefathers of our government did not wait one minute to say that their way was the only one.
I don't blame the natives for doubting the goodness of God when his followers were so mean. If you slow down for one minute by a natural waterfall in Auburn you can see the women filling water baskets and bathing their babies.

sa-go-ye-wat-ha

After I read this I know that we all end up at the same place. With one creator and one purpose in life. That is to be good humans and enjoy the differences that we have and the similarities too. My family came to this country between the early 1900's and 1949. I am of British, Scotish and Irish descent. I have always regarded the native people of this country with great respect. I grew up next to a reservation in Arizona and I will never forget the first time I encountered an American Indian. I don't know if that title bothers them because I have never asked. I was about two years old. He was tall and beautiful. My father is also tall so to me he was just another fatherly man. The religion I was raised with taught tolerance and acceptance.

In my years of herbal studies I have come to respect the teachings of many Natives here. It seems to me that we all have a great deal to learn about the indigenous people of North America. The "White Man" didn't slow down for even a short time to understand that the way to enjoy the gifts that have been placed before them. The Great Creator is the same but the maltreatment of their clans was almost too much to comprehend.

I love that the Natives want to wait to see how the "neighbors" recieve the earlier teachings of the word of God. How many do you think acctually applied this to their lives and then hid it from their towns? The red man has more to offer than we could ever comprehend and their subtle way of warning is to be regarded as Holy.

I think that the Minister did not take their hands in farewell because he was hurt by the truth that had just been said.