Supporting Non-Duality and Awakening in Asheville and Beyond

November 2009 Blog Posts (16)

SNOWBIRDING ASHEVILLE

© Howard McQueen

November 30, 2009

Writing from Lake Rousseau, FL.

In mid-November, I pulled up stake living in Asheville and took

my truck, camper insert and boat on-the-road.

Last night was spent in an Econolodge,

with an outbreak of worries over

“will I ever find a place again to call home”.

Shortly after mid-day today, I signed a lease

and deployed my camper insert.

My residence is now standing on four legs,

Pointed… Continue

Added by Howard McQueen on November 30, 2009 at 11:00pm — No Comments

THE PRICE OF ADMISSION: A PRIVILEGE

Charlotte Joko Beck, in the book Everyday Zen is speaking about earning the integrity and wholeness of our lives every day, by every act we do, every word we say.

And she speaks the words:

"From the ordinary point of view, the price we must pay is enormous -- though seen clearly, it is no price at all, but a privilege. As our practice grows we comprehend this privilege more and more."

*** ***** ***

Added by Howard McQueen on November 28, 2009 at 8:00pm — 1 Comment

Nisargadatta Maharaj http://www.abideinself.com/

A cool free film about Nisargadatta Maharaj http://www.abideinself.com/

Added by Cullen Anderson on November 27, 2009 at 7:03am — No Comments

THE BLESSINGS IN FORGIVING

© 2009 Howard McQueen

(Revision 2 | 11.28.2009)

The deep wounded-ness

oozes its pain.

This viral infection in the human mind

gives rise to projections of blame,

and the courtroom drama unfolds.

Our parents, teachers, nuns, the Pope,

someone, Hell,

even the Omniscient One

must be brought to justice

for this hell-hole breeding ground

of pain and suffering.

The small, contracted me

hunkered down in survival… Continue

Added by Howard McQueen on November 26, 2009 at 11:30am — 1 Comment

Pay It Forward With A Smile and A Kindness

Pay it Forward ~ A Reminder

Hello Lovely People

Today, please have a think about you can do today that can help somebody else....

Even if it is just a simple smile, it can make such a difference to somebody who is feeling sad, or somebody who has forgotten how to smile.

See how many people you can smile at today, and see how many people smile back <3 Be The One That Makes A Difference <3

Have a… Continue

Added by Cullen Anderson on November 25, 2009 at 9:23am — 1 Comment

Happy Thanksgiving

I hope you all are enjoying the change of the seasons. As the leaves fall, the sky gets larger, the nights grow longer. The stars seem brighter and more prevalent, and the outside world becomes more still as the birds and insects disappear. An exciting change is in the air.

Thanksgiving is also upon us. This is one of my favorite holidays because it serves as a reminder to look at all there is to be grateful for. I am grateful for my family and friends, for their love and support. I… Continue

Added by Trey Carland on November 25, 2009 at 3:45am — No Comments

Quotes about JD Hazelworth's "That Which Always Is"

You cannot think your way into awareness. You are awareness. It just gets pointed out.

~ John Wheeler

So long as the play, the dream, seems real for the seeker, then the bottom line is that with some pointing to what is actually REAL, AND some pointing out what is NOT REAL, the suffering can end.

~Charlie Hayes

If I asked you, ‘What is wrong with right now, without thinking about it?’, what would you say? You have to pause for a moment and realise that if there… Continue

Added by Cullen Anderson on November 25, 2009 at 1:22am — No Comments

REBIRTHING: RESURRECTING SELF

© 2009 Howard McQueen

The Human experience can be seen as a cycle, or a series of cycles. To the extent that we become conscious of our cycles (like the seasons) we can honor our connection to ourselves and be in rhythm, rather than in opposition or resistance. Here is a first cut model for the human life cycle, narrowed in scope to a single incarnation.

Consciousness again chooses to inhabit form,

and there is movement towards being born.

The womb of an… Continue

Added by Howard McQueen on November 20, 2009 at 9:00am — No Comments

American Zen

AMERICAN ZEN

By Bill Walz

Zen is waking up out of the unconscious patterns of our lives and into heightened presence, awareness and clarity - then, living life right here as it is. Nothing special, and, oh, so special.

I teach and guide people in a way of living that draws on the wisdom and skills of Zen Buddhism, yet is thoroughly contemporary. I call it American Zen because America is the contemporary culture in which I live and teach. It could be European, or Asian… Continue

Added by Bill Walz on November 19, 2009 at 4:39pm — No Comments

WHAT WOULD OUR LIFE EXPERIENCE BE LIKE ...

(C) 2009 Howard McQueen

What would our life experience be like if we were to:

- Rest the mind and allow all of its manufacturing operations to wind down.

- Fully felt and acknowledged all the stored/stuck emotions we have hidden away.

- Treated our body as the sacred, organic vessel for the remainder of this brief incarnation.

What would our life experience be like?

Perhaps you would care to share you sense of these… Continue

Added by Howard McQueen on November 18, 2009 at 8:31am — No Comments

A Contemporary Buddhist Psychology

A CONTEMPORARY BUDDHIST PSYCHOLOGY

By Bill Walz

Western clinical psychology focuses on the personal experience and history of an individual. As such, it explores a person’s distortions and confusions in perceptions, thoughts, emotions and behavior. It examines a person’s sense of self in relationship to their internal mental experience and their social interactions. Collectively these experiences comprise the personal egoic identity, a person’s sense of self-in-the-world as a… Continue

Added by Bill Walz on November 17, 2009 at 9:55pm — 1 Comment

THE SOAP OPERA OF SEEKING

© 2009 Howard McQueen

Don’t worry over seeking absolute truths.

Better to cease cherishing the personally held opinions.

When your sensibilities are challenged and you are offended,

watch the courtroom dramas unfold.

Try dismissing the courtroom and go work in the garden.

The soap opera is energized when you feel injustice beginning to plot its revenge.

Fear, anger and grief are the combustible fuel for our journey.

Know you will… Continue

Added by Howard McQueen on November 17, 2009 at 11:22am — No Comments

CHOOSING TO BE VITAL OR STALE

© 2009 Howard McQueen

Do we choose to become vital

or do we choose to become stale?

Every day presents these choices.

Do we give in to the gravity of forced habit

or do we choose to skate out at the edge,

where the ice is thin.

Do we keep doggedly pursuing our single grains of treasure,

continue stroking that which brings us pleasure,

or do we surrender to the callings of our heart

and become pathless,

before we… Continue

Added by Howard McQueen on November 17, 2009 at 5:52am — 1 Comment

TIMELESS LOVE

© 2009 Howard McQueen

In the twelfth century on the Saharan caravan, I whispered

Horatio, I shall always love you.

And in the fifteenth century, on the Rialto bridge, I pressed my body into yours and whispered

Regina, I will adore you throughout eternity.

This love affair has been going on,

often ever so secretly,

for thousands of years.

And, here we are, finding ourselves again

as we progress… Continue

Added by Howard McQueen on November 11, 2009 at 8:00am — No Comments

RESCUING & REPARENTING THE INNER CHILD

© 2009 Howard McQueen

Can we find, in every moment of our life,

the sweet gratitude for just being alive

to experience whatever the moment brings?

Including, but clearly not limited to all the moments held in our past. Such as:

• the unconscious person who crashed their car into us

• the parent or guardian that sexually abused us

• the ex-spouse that mistreated and then abandoned us

• the young children that mocked and made fun of us… Continue

Added by Howard McQueen on November 6, 2009 at 8:30am — 2 Comments

... TULIP FIELDS OF ZANDILAND (Part 3)

Tulip Fields of Zandiland (Part 3) 11/02/09

(C) 2009 Howard McQueen

Decision made. Head towards the windmill.

The weather is like a perpetual early summer morning, the ground exudes a natural warmth. My feet and toes sink down into the loamy earth about three inches. After taking a few steps I look back and my initial indentations in the soil have almost disappeared. Mmmmm, more unusual terra behaviors. An inner voice says “you won’t be able to find you way back” and… Continue

Added by Howard McQueen on November 3, 2009 at 6:53pm — No Comments