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Walking the Labyrinth
WALKING THE LABYRINTH;
a personal journey of self growth

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Walking the labyrinth takes me to my centre, to awareness …

Am I happy?
Do I accept myself fully for who and what I am?
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What is this self which I refer to as 'I'
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Centria : Full Moon
Centria posted a reply to the conversation "1. Explorations of Self - 2" ()
HummingBird : Joy
HummingBird posted a reply to the conversation "1. Explorations of Self - 2" ()
Centria : Full Moon
Centria posted a reply to the conversation "1. Explorations of Self - 2" ()
HummingBird : Joy
HummingBird posted a reply to the conversation "1. Explorations of Self - 2" ()
HummingBird : Joy
HummingBird posted a reply to the conversation "1. Explorations of Self - 2" ()
Nicole : wakingdreamer
Nicole posted a reply to the conversation "1. Explorations of Self - 2" ()
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HummingBird : Joy
HummingBird oh Meenakshi, I missed your post until now! I'm afraid I dont always remember to look at the grapevine for some reason - maybe because it doesnt send notifications. I'm glad you pointed out the triple one membership moment! Mmm maybe The Dark Side was new at that time - can't remember well. The pod is always growing! Love (5 months ago)
Meenakshi : Connection
Meenakshi Ah! Is the dark side new? HummingBird, did you see : 111 members. (8 months ago)
HummingBird : Joy
HummingBird Meenakshi, every now and then I realise I have left something out and I pop it in. I'd love members to share ideas of how it can improve and grow! (8 months ago)
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  HummingBird : Joy

1. Explorations of Self - 2

HummingBird said Jul 20, 2:56 AM:
 

What is this self which I refer to as ‘I’?
What is the ego?
Is the ego, self?
Is self constant and unchanging?


———–
continued from Explorations of Self - 1
 
  Bhatta : Gaia Child

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

Bhatta said Jul 27, 4:57 AM:
 

THE moon shines in my body, but my blind eyes cannot see it:
The moon is within me, and so is the sun.
The unstruck drum of Eternity is sounded within me; but my deaf ears cannot hear it.

So long as man clamours for the I and the Mine, his works are as naught:
When all love of the I and the Mine is dead, then the work of the Lord is done.
For work has no other aim than the getting of knowledge:
When that comes, then work is put away.

The flower blooms for the fruit: when the fruit comes, the flower withers.
The musk is in the deer, but it seeks it not within itself: it wanders in quest of grass.

(The Songs of Kabir, tr. by Rabindranath Tagore, intro. by Evelyn Underhill, [1915], at sacred-texts.com)
  jagadish : swimmer

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

jagadish said Jul 27, 5:18 AM:
 

” So long as man clamours for the I and the Mine, his works are as naught:
When all love of the I and the Mine is dead, then the work of the Lord is done. ”
….nice !thank you Bhattaji for sharing
0xxx0
-jagadish
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

HummingBird said Jul 27, 8:01 AM:
 
THE moon shines in my body, but my blind eyes cannot see it:
The moon is within me, and so is the sun.
The unstruck drum of Eternity is sounded within me; but my deaf ears cannot hear it.
music, thank you

love
  Bhatta : Gaia Explorer

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

Bhatta said Jul 28, 7:10 AM:
 

TELL me, Brother, how can I renounce Maya?
When I gave up the tying of ribbons, still I tied my garment about me:
When I gave up tying my garment, still I covered my body in its folds.
So, when I give up passion, I see that anger remains;
And when I renounce anger, greed is with me still;
And when greed is vanquished, pride and vainglory remain;
When the mind is detached and casts Maya away, still it clings to the letter.
Kabîr says, “Listen to me, dear Sadhu! the true path is rarely found.”

The Songs of Kabir, tr. by Rabindranath Tagore, intro. by Evelyn Underhill, [1915], at sacred-texts.com
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

HummingBird said Jul 28, 7:45 AM:
 

I'm visualising a powerful wrestler, attempting to wrestle with Maya while the wise one looks on patiently with ancient smiling eyes waiting for him to tire so he will be ready to learn
  Bhatta : Gaia Child

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

Bhatta said Jul 28, 8:22 AM:
 

Yes Anna, “the grass grows by itself”
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

HummingBird said Jul 30, 10:08 AM:
 

how wonderful
  Siona : Synchronicity Coordinator

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

Siona said Jul 31, 9:58 AM:
 

When I consider this question, emptiness comes up, and I want to hold this emptiness rather than fill it in with words. I'd like to think I could use language to hold the container for that formlessness, but I'm not sure–it seems too fragile an approach. I'd rather move that sense of self, to show how it flows and lives and changes moment to moment to moment.

Bhatta: The moon is within me, and so is the sun. That poem is perfect. Thank you.
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

HummingBird said Jul 31, 11:05 AM:
 

these lines are inspiring me to see the moon in me and the sun - and me in the moon and also the sun… a beautiful fleeting glimpse of oneness.
  Jyoti : Spiritual Seeker

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

Jyoti said Jul 31, 1:39 PM:
 

How do I reach my true self?
How do I connect with my soul?
How do I leave ego behind?
I peel away layer after layer and leave behind superficiality and materialism, but still there is maya and ego, the “I”
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

HummingBird said Jul 31, 2:27 PM:
 
“Whenever I climb I am followed by a dog called 'Ego'.” Friedrich Nietzsche

Kala the questions you ask are so integral to the path. We are fortunate that there are teachers from all the different paths who do what they can to guide us. My sense is we cannot run away from ego. In a sense it's like trying to run away from our own shadow. I sense the route of Compassion is a seemingly unobvious but sure route to penetrate the delusion of ego. Coupling the practice of Compassion with Mediation can also be helpful. May I share one of my favorite poems with you-

Call Me by My True Names

Do not say that I'll depart tomorrow
because even today I still arrive.

Look deeply: I arrive in every second
to be a bud on a spring branch,
to be a tiny bird, with wings still fragile,
learning to sing in my new nest,
to be a caterpillar in the heart of a flower,
to be a jewel hiding itself in a stone.

I still arrive, in order to laugh and to cry,
in order to fear and to hope.
The rhythm of my heart is the birth and
death of all that are alive.

I am the mayfly metamorphosing on the surface of the river,
and I am the bird which, when spring comes, arrives in time
to eat the mayfly.

I am the frog swimming happily in the clear pond,
and I am also the grass-snake who, approaching in silence,
feeds itself on the frog.

I am the child in Uganda, all skin and bones,
my legs as thin as bamboo sticks,
and I am the arms merchant, selling deadly weapons to Uganda.

I am the twelve-year-old girl, refugee on a small boat,
who throws herself into the ocean after being raped by a sea pirate,
and I am the pirate, my heart not yet capable of seeing and
loving.

I am a member of the politburo, with plenty of power in my hands,
and I am the man who has to pay his “debt of blood” to, my people,
dying slowly in a forced labor camp.

My joy is like spring, so warm it makes flowers bloom in all walks of life.
My pain if like a river of tears, so full it fills the four oceans.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can hear all my cries and laughs at once,
so I can see that my joy and pain are one.

Please call me by my true names,
so I can wake up,
and so the door of my heart can be left open,
the door of compassion.

Thich Nhat Hanh

  Bhatta : Gaia Child

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

Bhatta said Aug 3, 5:34 AM:
 

Thou hast made me endless, such is thy pleasure.
This frail vessel thou emptiest again and again, and fillest it ever with fresh life.

This little flute of a reed thou hast carried over hills and dales,
and hast breathed through it melodies eternally new.

At the immortal touch of thy hands
my little heart loses its limits in joy and gives birth to utterance ineffable.

Thy infinite gifts come to me only on these very small hands of mine.
Ages pass, and still thou pourest, and still there is room to fill.

Rabindra Nath Tagore
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

HummingBird said Aug 4, 3:22 AM:
 

ooh, beautiful! Thank you, Bhatta
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

HummingBird said Yesterday, 6:06 AM:
 

On the previous thread

Bhatta said


For me, the definitions have kept changing with time, age, and experience….

I'm wondering where 'you all' are now

 
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

HummingBird said Yesterday, 5:46 AM:
 

When I look inside I see no 'I'.
There is bliss and wispy obscurations…
 
  Gien : yogic musician

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

Gien said Yesterday, 8:57 AM:
 

For all thoughts the source is the 'I' thought
The mind will merge only by Self-enquiry 'Who am I?'
The thought 'Who am l?'
will destroy all other thoughts and finally kill itself also

If other thoughts arise,
without trying to complete them,
one must enquire to whom did this thought arise
What does it matter how many thoughts arise?
As each thought arises
one must be watchful and ask
“to whom is this thought occurring?”
The answer will be 'to me'

If you enquire 'Who am I?'
the mind will return to its source
(or where it issued from)
The thought which arose will also submerge
As you practise like this more and more,
the power of the mind to remain as its source is increased

Ramana Maharshi
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self

HummingBird said Today, 12:44 AM:
 

this is a wonderful quotation. Gien
  Meenakshi : Connection

Re: 1. Explorations of Self - 2

Meenakshi said Yesterday, 7:43 PM:
 

Just exploring around Anna's questions in the first post:

What is this self which I refer to as ‘I’?
When I say 'I' I am joyfully stretching to take a look at mySelf.

What is the ego?
A land in which we waander, playing hide and seek with Self, a foggy place where we chase  a tail, going round and round, and crying out loud when we grab it, unknowing that it is all one body!

Is the ego, self?

Is there any NotSelf?

Is self constant and unchanging?

It is all movements and changes in one point of being.
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self - 2

HummingBird said Today, 12:48 AM:
 

Mata I can see the chasing of the tale, I mean tail!
  Nicole : wakingdreamer

Re: 1. Explorations of Self - 2

Nicole said Today, 2:25 AM:
 

Kathy's blogs about self and awareness have inspired me deeply

for example 
Who writes your blogs?
love 

Nicole
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self - 2

HummingBird said Today, 5:59 AM:
 

thank you for taking 'me' to Kathy's blog, Nicole!
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self - 2

HummingBird said Today, 6:10 AM:
 

I am the Autumn leaf falling from the tree
 
  Centria : Full Moon

Re: 1. Explorations of Self - 2

Centria said Today, 10:47 AM:
 

these thoughts come through~~there are so many different ways to think about the self.

There is the True Self that is no-thing, awareness itself!  (that which does not think about the self!)

There is the self that is everything, all autumn leaves and snow and chickadees and thoughts and anger and love and beauty and ugliness and labyrinths.

There is the self that realizes it's everything
And the self that realizes it's nothing.

Holding both palms up with nothing in one hand and everything in the other hand…that's the self today.

(Thanks Nicole for the mention of that blog about who is writing the blogs…)
  HummingBird : Joy

Re: 1. Explorations of Self - 2

HummingBird said Today, 11:14 AM:
 

Inspiring, Centria!
All and nothing…

Look what I found -

Saladin's Begging Bowl

Of these two thousand “I” and “We” people,
which am I?

Don't try to keep me from asking!
Listen, when I'm this out of control!
But don't put anything breakable in my way!

There is an original inside me.
What's here is a mirror for that, for you.

If you are joyful, I am.
If you grieve, or if you're bitter, or graceful,
I take on those qualities.

Like the shadow of a cypress tree in the medow,
like the shadow of a rose, I live
close to the rose.

If I separated myself from you,
I would turn entirely thorn.

Every second, I drink another cup of my own blood-wine.
Every instant, I break an empty cup against your door.

I reach out, wanting you to tear me open.

Saladin's generosity lights a candle in my chest.
Who am I then?

His empty begging bowl.

———
The Essential Rumi, translated by Coleman Barks with John Moyne
Source
  Centria : Full Moon

Re: 1. Explorations of Self - 2

Centria said Today, 11:17 AM:
 

Oh, beautiful Rumi!  Thank you for this poem today, whoever “you” may be, my very self.