While retreats can be many things, and can provide many different benefits to people, I often find that it is the little comments by guy up front that really makes or break my experience. One simple change in wording of an oft repeated phrase or instruction can make all the difference.
While Hale Dwoskin, the head honcho of the Sedona Method and heir to Sedona Method creator Lester Levenson, is many things to many people, one thing he is for certain is a master at leading a group. He can often find just that perfect turn….
Leo over at Zen Habits wrote a post yesterday on the Law of Attraction, basically giving it a big thumbs down. Leo took a very interesting position: a very rational, western scientific perspective on accomplishing things in life.
My first response was to smile and laugh. I mean, for a site called Zen Habits, you would think there would be a little, well, Zen in his response. But no matter. I left a longish comment for him …
Hello and welcome. We all desire, at our deepest level, to live from consciousness. It is our greatest source of happiness and peace. It is the source of all life. In fact, it is who we are.
This retreat has been amazing. While the Sedona Method in general seems more like a personal growth, self-help course with some spirituality tossed in, the “advanced” retreat is completely focused on what Hale refers to as “the realization of what you are” but in other spiritual circles would be called awakening. Personally, I love the term awakening, as it captures the flavor of the experiential side of things. It feels as if one is awakening from a dream. The dream of a separate self called “me.”
Let me share with you a few gems from the past 2 days:
If there is no separate individual, then there is no one who can or has done anything. No doer. Just bodies in motion. Therefore, I’ve never done anything, and no one else has ever done anything.
As you look within at various aspects of what you are, you discover that quite often you arrive at “I don’t know.” This not knowing IS what you are.
The ultimate knowingness is not knowing.
Lester Levenson, the creator of the Sedona Method, used to say, “Miracles are the world’s shortcut.” And Hale added to that, “And so what? It isn’t about miracles.”
I realized that as much as I’ve wanted to know the structure of the world, the underlying principles that govern it, the rules for how it works, I never will. It is all a great mystery. I don’t know. And what a relief!
Manifestation is all the rage in the spiritual world thanks to the Secret. But here are some questions to ask: if my thoughts create my experience, did I choose which thoughts to think? Did I create the “good” thoughts? Or did the thoughts just arise spontaneously in my mind? Did I think about what I wanted and then make it happen, or did I simply have a thought about what was going to happen anyway and merely watched it play out?
One of the “problems” with most methods is that people are always trying to change things. People especially want to get rid of their feelings. But what does someone who has realized the truth do when they are sad? They cry. What do they do when they are joyous? They laugh. There is no need to do anything with our feelings. Just feel them.
That’s all for today. I hope you all are doing well. I’m having a wonderful time. I’m mellow and tired. Until next time. Namaste.
While talking with one of my roommates this morning, the following words came quite spontaneously out of my mouth:
The whole point of spirituality is to clear out the garbage that keeps you from knowing the truth of what you are so that beingness, which is what you are and synonymous with love, can express itself fully in the world through you.
He liked it so much that it seemed a bit obvious to share it with you. I’m quite certain there is more that could be said on the subject, but the above works well for me right now. It seems to be the real bottom line to all of the things we do that we call spirituality. And that pretty much sums up day 3 at the retreat. Until next time…. Namaste.
What a day! I started the morning feeling incredibly resistant and, well, basically angry at everything. I have no clue where that came from, but there it was. It was a wonderful experience, because I have talked to many people at retreats who have gotten angry, had wild fits of rage hit them, etc., but I’ve never felt that myself.
What did I do with that, you might ask? Well, basically nothing. Just let it run its course. And as I did so, I was gifted with some great insights. One was how much Hale was annoying me. And as I looked into it, I discovered why: he is so different from Adyashanti.
Yes, I was guilty of comparing gurus! I had gotten so used to Adya’s style, his gentleness, his passive approach to people, that Hale’s more assertive style was irksome. Not that Hale is a jerk (too many of those already in the world), but he does like to challenge you to see past what you believe. So, thankfully, I saw past that one.
As the day progressed, I was treated to a wonderful insight that helped it all to melt. It went like this: someone (Sailor Bob?) said that the only difference between someone who is awake and someone who isn’t is that the one who is awake sees no differences. As that thought percolated through my awareness, it dawned on me that Hale must be awake. And the person sitting in front of me must be awake. And the person behind me. Everyone in the room. And so must “I”. Everywhere I turn must be awakeness because if there are no differences, then one awakened being means all are awake. Or better to say, awakeness is everywhere….
Greetings from Sedona, Arizona. It is beautiful, it is hot, the hiking is superb and the food excellent. Yes, I am here to attend a 9 day Sedona Method retreat, but being in Sedona is part of the experience. I came early this time, so I had a day and a half to enjoy this marvelous town. I’ve been to Sedona 14 times in 12 years, both for retreats and pleasure. One of my favorite places in the world.
Last night the retreat began. The supposedly “advanced” 9 day retreat is a mixture of Advaita-style non-duality teachings (think Nisargadatta Maharaj and Adyashanti) with a touch of personal development and a pinch of basic Sedona Method. It is very different, though, from what other teachers do for a non-dual type retreat in that our “guru” for the 9 days, Hale Dwoskin, actively yet gentle engages people directly to see past their limited sense of self or “me-ness” as he would say.
It was very obvious that for a lot of people in the audience (160 attendees, by the way), these ideas, while not complete new, were a bit difficult to understand. Hale’s intro left a lot of people scratching their heads. Even those of us who knew all about it were forced to wonder. As my friend Kerry put it, “Even though I did this same retreat 15 months ago, I am still wondering what we are going to be doing here for 9 days.” …
I’m sitting at the “luxurious” Springfield-Branson National Airport (what a “national” airport is, I don’t really know) waiting on my delayed flight to Dallas and then on to Phoenix. Hopefully, I will be relaxing in gorgeous Sedona, Arizona by the time the sun goes down. It will be toasty warm in Sedona, 102ºF (39ºC), but dry as a bone. Phoenix is a lung searing 112ºF (44ºC) today. Ouch!
Why am I going to Sedona, you ask? To attend my 7th Sedona Method retreat. This one is 9 days long and supposedly “advanced.” There will be lots of good spiritual inquiry involved, which is always nice. Following this 9 day retreat will be the first “Level 2 Coaching Training” that Hale (Mr. Sedona Method) has offered, which I will of course be attending. It should be both fun and very educational.
My plan is to do frequent reports on my experiences at the retreat, hopefully in the form of short, daily articles. We shall see. But my reports to you will definitely be frequent. The retreat starts Saturday evening, so look for my first report on Sunday.
My friend Davidya reminded me about my favorite guru, Puppetji, in a response to my article on the Law of Attraction. I love Puppetji.
The following video is Puppetji on The Secret. Always remember to take time to laugh. God always laughs at us. It’s her job. Enjoy, and watch some other Puppetji videos when you have time.
We always want someone else to change so that we will feel good. But has it ever struck you that even if your wife changes or your husband changes, what does that do to you? You’re just as vulnerable as before; you’re just as idiotic as before; you’re just as asleep as before. You are the one who needs to change, who needs to take medicine. You keep insisting, “I feel good because the world is right.” Wrong! The world is right because I feel good. That’s what all the mystics are saying.
When I ride on a roller coaster, I love to ride in the front seat. Everything seems to happen right now when you sit in the front. I put my arms up, of course, no holding on, no matter what the coaster does. Upside down, slammed to the side, you name it. It’s just more fun to be on the leading edge of the experience, arms up, come what may.
I realized recently that this same attitude is very important to take with life in general. Especially with thoughts and feelings. We usually “ride” our thoughts and feelings, especially our unpleasant feelings, in the back seat, as far from the leading edge as possible. We hope that the unpleasant ones will simply go away, and if we sit far enough away from them, maybe they will. But they never do. All feelings will keep returning until they are experienced fully….
I recently re-discovered a fantastic book edited by Marcus Borg entitled Jesus and Buddha: The Parallel Sayings. Borg, a prominent Jesus scholar and member of the Jesus Seminar, has written a number of books over the years that have done much to bring awareness to the ideas and methods of modern Jesus scholarship. If you read any of his works, or others of the Jesus Seminar, you will quickly discover that Jesus may not be the same guy they speak about in church each Sunday (especially here in the Bible Belt).
My intent for this article is less to do a book review and more to share some of the sayings that Marcus Borg highlights as parallel between Jesus and the Buddha. But before I do, let me highlight something remarkable that Borg has to say about these two religious figures, something I have never heard stated quite so perfectly…
It has taken me a few days longer than I expected to finish a video post as my response to the question “What am I?” I hope it was worth the wait. Unlike prior videos I’ve done, this one is short, to the point, and of much better quality. I’m having fun with some new lighting and video editing software. I hope you enjoy the video. As always, be sure to leave your responses in the comments.
What am I? To my mind, that is the question that all spiritual seekers need to answer. Ramana Maharshi, one of the greatest sages of the twentieth century, emphasized over and over again that answering this question was, in effect, the only point to spirituality. “Find out who you are!” he would say.
So, before I write an article on this question and my experience of it, I’m curious to hear from you first. If you stop for a moment, and ask this question of yourself, what answer do you get? Do you get an answer? What is your experience when you ask this question? …
I had a client once who asked me to explain further a comment I made to him during one of our sessions:
When you can for just this moment, just for this one moment, completely, utterly totally, beyond accept, love your experience right now, then you have the power to do something about it.
I have seen, in many contexts, the idea of accepting, allowing or welcoming one’s experience. It seems to me that this is a crucial step to letting go or healing any issue. But these terms, welcome, allow, accept, really don’t go far enough in my experience. They do help, but they don’t have the force, the utter radicalness that brings incredible freedom and power. The more radical approach for me is to love my experience.
Let’s say that you experience a bit of hardship or unpleasantness, something like a break-up in a relationship. You are experiencing sadness, unhappiness, a sense of loss and rejection. The question I would often ask a client is “Could you accept or welcome the sense of rejection or loss?” This question helps the client to get in touch with the feeling, to experience it more fully. From there, it is possible to feel a spontaneous release or freedom around the feeling. And that is very good….
I’ve never been a big fan of affirmations. Many spiritual people are, and I respect that, but I’m just not certain they work. The first time I ever tried doing affirmations, probably 15 or more years ago, I felt, well, incredibly fake telling myself something that just didn’t seem true to me. As they say around here, you can dress a pig in a bonnet, but you still got a pig. So, I rarely if ever used them.
Of course, affirmations are probably the most ridiculed aspect of the entire self-help movement. Remember Stuart Smalley? I loved Al Franken standing in front of the mirror on Saturday Night Live and saying, “I’m good enough, I’m smart enough, and dog gone it, people like me!” There seems to be a almost cultural bias against affirmations. So, maybe it isn’t just me….
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We always want someone else to change so that we will feel good. But has it ever struck you that even if your wife changes or your husband changes, what does that do to you? You’re just as vulnerable as before; you’re just as idiotic as before; you’re just as asleep as before. You are the one who needs to change, who needs to take medicine. You keep insisting, “I feel good because the world is right.” Wrong! The world is right because I feel good. That’s what all the mystics are saying.
Each of the myriad things has its merit,
expressed according to function and place.
Phenomena exist; box and lid fit.
Principle responds; arrow points meet.
Hearing the words, understand the meaning;
don’t set up standards of your own.
If you don’t understand the Way right before you,
how will you know the path as you walk?
Progress is not a matter of far or near,
but if you are confused, mountains and rivers block your way.
I respectfully urge you who study the mystery,
do not pass your days and nights in vain.
There is nothing better than to know that you don’t know.
Not knowing, yet thinking you know—
This is sickness.
Only when you are sick of being sick
Can you be cured.
The sage’s not being sick
Is because he is sick of sickness.
Therefore he is not sick.
. Borg, a prominent Jesus scholar and member of the 
