Be a spiritual rebel!

Here are some inspirational quotations about spiritual independence from Anthony de Mello, a Jesuit priest who was born in India and wonderfully melded the best of East and West.

In 1998, after his death, his writings were condemned by the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith and Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger, the current Pope.

To me that’s a high recommendation of de Mello. If you’re condemned by the Catholic Church, you must be doing something right spiritually.

I have two of his books. The quotations below are from “The Way to Love.” This is an official-looking de Mello website. More excerpts from his writings can be read here and here.

I love the guy. He energizes my inner rebel.
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“But you have also been programmed not to suspect, not to doubt, just to trust the assumptions that have been put into you by your tradition, your culture, your society, your religion.

And if you are not happy, you have been trained to blame yourself, not your programming, not your cultural and inherited ideas and beliefs.”
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“First, realize that you are surrounded by prison walls, that your mind has gone to sleep. It does not even occur to most people to see this, so they live and die as prison inmates.

Most people end up being conformists; they adapt to prison life. A few become reformers; they fight for better living conditions in the prison, better lighting, better ventilation.

Hardly anyone becomes a rebel, a revolutionary who breaks down the prison walls. You can only be a revolutionary when you see the prison walls in the first place.”
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“Your ego is a great technician. It cannot be creative. It goes in for methods and techniques and produces so-called holy people who are rigid, consistent, mechanical, lifeless, as intolerant of others as they are of themselves—violent people the very opposite of holiness and love.”
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“You can get someone to teach you things mechanical or scientific or mathematical like algebra or English or riding a cycle or operating a computer.

But in the things that really matter, life, love, reality, God, no one can teach you a thing. All they can do is give you formulas. And as soon as you have a formula, you have reality filtered through the mind of someone else.

If you take those formulas you will be imprisoned. You will wither and when you come to die you will not have known what it means to see for yourself, to learn.”
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“So, what can teachers do? They can bring to your notice what is unreal, they cannot show you Reality; they can destroy your formulas, they cannot make you see what the formula is pointing to; they can indicate your error, they cannot put you in possession of the Truth.

They can, at the most, point in the direction of Reality, they cannot tell you what to see. You will have to walk out there all alone and discover for yourself.”
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“You have lost the freedom to make a fool of yourself, to be laughed at and to be ridiculed, to do and say whatever feels right to you rather than what fits in with the image others have of you.”
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“Contrary to what your culture and religion have taught you, nothing, but absolutely nothing can make you happy. The moment you see that, you will stop moving from one job to another, one friend to another, one place, one spiritual technique, one guru to another.

None of these things can give you a single minute of happiness. They can only offer you a temporary thrill, a pleasure that initially grows in intensity, then turns into pain if you lose them and into boredom if you keep them.”
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“If we are dissatisfied, not with anything in particular but with everything, then I think we shall find that our discontent brings clarity. When we don’t accept or follow, but question, investigate, penetrate, there is an insight out of which come creativity, joy.

…The day you are discontented not because you want more of something but without knowing what it is you want; when you are sick at heart of everything that you have been pursuing so far and you are sick of the pursuit itself, then your heart will attain a great clarity, an insight that will cause you mysteriously to delight in everything and in nothing.”

Comments

[Stephen]

Has anybody who reads this blog ever been successful in meditating 2.5 hours for two years or more ?

Just curious if anyone has first hand knowledge of what happens..

[Stephen]

Opps, I meant to say 2.5 hours EVERYDAY for 2 or more years.

[Brian]

Stephen, I have the qualifications and first hand knowledge to reply to your question.

Short answer: not much.

I'd be glad to elaborate on this response when I have more time (I'm not off to meditate--need to go pick up some generator accessories).

[Stephen]

Yes, i'd like to here your elboration !

thanks

[Bob]

I have a family member almost begging me to return to the Catholic Church.

You know, I was raised Catholic, and for various reasons, became drawn to the inner path and meditation, and was involved with RSSB or Sant Mat for nearly 25 years.

Since I respect the person who is pleading for my return, I thought that I would check it out. After all, there have been some very progressive thinkers and theologians within the Catholic clergy since the dawn of Vatican 2, Thomas Berry, Bede Griffith, Tony De Mello, and Thomas Merton, to name a few. Plus, the interest in inter-religious dialogue and Eastern spiritual practice has been encouraging.

So I thought, what do I have to loose, I'll check it out!

Well, the other day, while roaming around a bookstore in Petaluma, I came across a book entitled, Catholicism for Dummies, that explains the basic articles of faith, doctrines, etc.

Interestingly, if this book is accurate, and I believe it is, the core of Catholic doctricnes on faith have not changed one iota from the pre-Vatican 2 Days. In fact, reading about this stuff was so frightful and "re-stimulating" to me, that I broke into a sweat.

Here are a few points mentioned.

- The Bible is the "inspired", error-free, and revealed word of God.

- Attending a vigil Mass on Saturday evening or going to Mass on Sunday is obligatory; failure to do so without a resaonable excuse, such as illness, is considered a grave sin.

- Unrepentant and unforgiven mortal sins (such as missing Mass), result in eternal punishment.

- The Catholic believer must trust that what's being taught is indeed the truth. After knowing what the church believes, the Catholic is then asked to believe all that they have been told.

- Regarding the Sanctity of the Church; individually, members of the church are capable of sinning, but as something founded by Christ himself to save souls, the Church as a whole can't sin.

- The Pope is infallible or incapable of error when he teaches doctrine on faith or morals. Infallible statements can never be be contradicted, rejected, or disputed.

- A human being is a union of body and soul, so death is just the momentary separation of body and soul until the end of the world, the Second Coming of Christ, the General Judgment, and the resurrection of the dead. The just go, body and soul, into heaven, and the damned go, body and soul, into hell.

and the list goes on.....

The Catholic Church is still very creepy and fear-based regardless of what the more liberal clergy may believe and write.

As Kramer and Alstad mentioned in Guru Papers, the Catholic Church will most likely move in a more conservative direction since the revisions desired by the more liberal-minded members would ultimately undermine the basic authority and credibility of the Church.

And, Almightly Rome, ain't going to go for that!

Bob

[colin Barton]

since we are dealing with the eternal in meditation our concept of time is warped. sometimes people get the sound and light right away, and others spend a lifetime in what feels like fruitless action. i have been meditating for 25 years in the san mat tradition. the coin of the kingdom is love. it is all love. results are almost meaningless. sometimes, however, expriences can act as an impetus to let you know you are in the right or wrong place.
those that need it get it.

colin

[tao]

I liked the last two quotes which says it all in a nushell:

"If we are dissatisfied, not with anything in particular but with everything, then I think we shall find that our discontent brings clarity. When we don’t accept or follow, but question, investigate, penetrate, there is an insight out of which come creativity, joy." -- and -- "..when you are are sick at heart of everything that you have been pursuing so far and you are sick of the pursuit itself, then your heart will attain a great clarity, an insight that will cause you mysteriously to delight in everything and in nothing."

in view of this, why is it that some commenters insist on posting various rigid assertions about their own particular spiritual paths, masters, meditations, and beliefs, with the assumption that the other readers should be following whatever spiritual path, teacher/master, meditation, or belief, that they themselves subscribe to ?

to put it in a simple phrase, the old saying "to each his own", says it best. everyone is just exactly where they need to be for that moment. no one needs to be told what is "the right path", "the right master", " the right belief", etc etc. everyone will come to there own conclusions, in their own way, and in their own time. if someone is seeking, then share....if they are not, then let them be. life is an evolving learning experience. it is an imposition to try to tell others how to think, or what they should believe, or who they should follow.

[Netemara]

Stephen, yes I have meditated for many years, too many to count for 2.5 hours a day or longer. I have written a book and used much of the exploration that occurred.

Netemara

[Netemara]

Endorsement inquiry Alert

Dear Reader,

This is not imperative but would be nice.

The first edit is back from the editor and Net would like to know if anyone (with verifiable credentials) is interested in providing her with an endorsement for the book—will need it within one week?

She can let ya read a chapter or two—will send via email. If interested please leave Net a message ttt and she will respond via direct email.

[email protected]

Serious posts only please.
Thank you

Netemara

PS: Brian too bad that priest is dead--I'd like to have him be a reader...

If anyone wants pass this note along please do. I need replies by Tuesday