Month: August 2014

“Even while in Satsang, there is a kind of warfare going on in the disciple or devotee. There is this contraction. But he is continually being drawn out of that, by the force and very condition of Satsang, into the company of Truth. The Truth draws him, even though he continues to contract. And the result of that tension is a dredging up in him of the perception of his own activity, on many, many levels. It must take place on every level.

While talking with one of you today, I used the simile of a well. When a man first comes to Satsang, he is like a dark, deep well. Way up a the top, the light comes in around the edges, but it is black, unconscious below! When the light of the Truth shines down into it, all of these weirdo, slithering things come climbing up the sides. All the hidden, slimy activity begins to be disturbed, awakened, and moved into the light. Just so, every moment in Satsang increases the necessity for responsibility in the disciple, because the force of Satsang isn’t merely a good feeling, a consolation, something smiling, happy and pleasant. It is not magic. It is a living force, the force of Truth. This force moves into the “well,” into the human function, this circuit of descending and ascending life, and brings up the chronic patterns of ordinary and unconscious life, revealing them at the level of the actual conditions of life. In the midst of this real process the subtle tendencies of life are revealed as desires, as incredible compulsions, which, even if they were known before, now seem to become worse. The intensification of everything is the activity of Satsang. And what is there to be intensified in the usual man, except this negative pattern, this contraction? So, of course, there are difficulties. Real spiritual life requires everything of a person. Spiritual life is a crisis!

One who lives in Satsang experiences many revelations of his state. Dreams become intensified. There may be spontaneous physical movements, changes in the physical body. Life may become burdensome at times, thoughts seem to become endless. The individual may become disgusted with his own game. But the whole effect of this communication of Truth over against his own tendencies is to bring about a consciousness of his own activity or contraction on every level. Where this begins to occur, all of the hidden qualities can escape into the light and be merged in the light of consciousness.”

– Adi Da, The Method of the Siddhas, Talks with Franklin Jones on the spiritual technique of the Saviors of mankind

“Satsang literally means true or right relationship. It is commonly used to refer to the practice of spending time in the company of holy or wise persons”

“Real thinking does not happen of itself. That which is often called thinking and which does happen of itself is really no more than a stream of psychical impressions. Most of so-called thinking is of this sort and much of it is sheer waste of psychical energy. It is, in fact, the kind of thinking that is the “slayer of the Real,” and must be mastered just as carefully as the more external kind of impressionism. It is not the kind of thought that deepens the roots of consciousness. True thinking calls for directed effort and often a considerable application of the will. But with practice, less and less consciously directed will is required and, in time, directed thought becomes a habit.

This kind of thought becomes established in the deeper roots of consciousness and then it, also, may become spontaneous and carry inspirational value.”

– Franklin Merrell-Wolff

“Most of spirituality is about this extraordinarily rare thing, it’s about telling the truth – that’s what it’s about. not to be satisfied with belief, not to take something on anybody else’s word for it… but to really look and tell yourself the truth. It’s a very, very difficult thing for a human being to do. It’s not easy. When it comes to the really fundamental aspects of life, truth-telling, and doing it consistently in a very deep way, is a very challenging thing to do.”

– Adyashanti

“A free mind is one that failed so dismally in living up to its flattering self-images that it gave them up entirely.”

– Vernon Howard

 

“A leap of faith is letting go into the unknown, to Truth, without knowing what Truth is. You cannot know what Truth is, so faith consists in letting go of knowing or even trying to know.”

– James Wood