Spiritual Teachings With Shunyamurti

Unconditional Love of the Self – 08.18.11

Excerpt:  “When we are sitting in silence we are in Holy Communion with the Self within that is recognized as Being reflected as the entire manifest cosmos.  And so there is nothing to do just be….  This is a dream and you are the dreamer and so everyone you meet in the dream is an aspect of your Self and so each of us here are reflections of different facets of our own Self….  And so by coming together as a community we discover all those aspects of the inner shadow that we can’t find because it’s repressed but our unconscious turns out to be the world itself and so it is not hidden at all….  And so when we come together in a spiritual community we are doing it in order to learn unconditional love of the Self.  Not the individual self but the one Self….  The worship of God is not the worship of an other it is the worship of the Self…”  Recorded on the evening of Thursday, August 18, 2011.

The Hero’s Journey – 08.18.11

Student Question:  I believe that the path to enlightenment must start with a personal individual choice.  In today’s world it is very difficult to follow that path because even though you have the purpose and the intention if you’re in an environment that is unsupportive, like for example ones family who may ignore the path, it takes you a lot of effort and it is very difficult to get there.  So the importance of being in a community like this is that you find like minded people that can reinforce that path.  Even though I can understand that we all have geniuses in all of us the challenge is to really believe it.  I think about how much other people’s thoughts can influence that, like I could fly but nobody believes I can so I can not.  So the question is how much can other people’s beliefs affect us?

Thing and Think - 08.18.11

Student Question:  Do thoughts really become things and how fast is the outcome?  Does it depend on how intense the thought is?

Consciousness Has an Immediate Effect – 08.18.11

Student Question:  Does the way that we think of others even when not expressed, have any effect on them?

Eye on the Prize – 18.08.11

Student Question:  We were talking about the lotus position and you mentioned that sitting in that position can activate sanskaras.  I have experienced this kind of thing in meditation and realized that even though my whole body would be still, I would continue to move my eyes when they are closed.  When I am able to keep my eyes still it seems to be a whole different thing.  Could you speak about that because it seems like there is a connection between eyes moving and a chattering mind?

Alluring Images – 08.18.11

Student Question:  I have these beautiful images coming up in meditation and although I feel peaceful, I wonder if these images are appearing as a distraction to pull me away from the stillness?

Fixing the Ego? – 08.18.11

Student Question:  In your teaching you mentioned that the ego had characteristics such as greed, hatred and selfishness embedded in it.  When I think of the word embedded it makes me think of something that is set in stone; it’s not moving.  So then I thought, “what’s the point of wasting any time trying to fix the ego?”  Is it even possible to fix?  I know it’s kind of a literal thing.  It kind of makes sense to steer around it and go straight for the Self.  So is the idea of fixing the ego even worth the time?

Pain and Suffering – 08.18.11

Student Question:  What is pain and its purpose or meaning, and is pain always the same as suffering?  What is the difference?

A Wandering Mind? – 08.11.11

Student Question:  Do you have any advice to help me mediate longer when my mind wanders off?