Tag: individuation

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The Tyranny of (the) Now…and other Spiritual Concepts

As many of you know, I’ve been reporting on the existential controls that can, and do, exist with non-dual teachers/teachings.

These controls have a surreptitious way of being masked and hidden especially under the cloak of numerous spiritual concepts.

As the Zen saying goes “Though gold dust is precious, when it gets in the eyes, it obstructs the sight.”

Born out of (the) fading patriarchal non-duality there have been many spiritual concepts that have ensured the silencing of those who have been harmed by certain authoritarian-leaning spiritual groups.

Concepts such as using one’s own discernment derided as ‘judgement’…feeling the forbidden anger at deliberate abuse (sexual or otherwise) and facing the love-and-light crowd…pre-mature forgiveness where there has been zero accountability…and the list goes on….and on.

It is in situations of harm at the hands of teachers, that there is often gaslighting….using the very teachings themselves (especially with regard to stories)… to ensure the truth never gets told.

However, there are very few spiritual concepts as potent and as radically dogmatic as the ‘tyranny of The Now’ (a perfection of descriptive words attributable to the great poet David Whyte) in silencing those who have an important ‘story-to-tell.’

Some stories need to be told…especially stories that reveal abuse at the hands of spiritual teachers.“There is no greater agony than bearing an untold story inside you.” ~ Maya Angelou 

There was/is the absolute necessity of telling-the-facts-of-a-story (some describe this with, yet another, spiritual concept of ‘blame’) …a process needed for removing the mantle of victimhood (there are indeed victims)…and of coming into a birthright of genuine authenticity.

I like what David Whyte has to say about this ‘tyranny of the now’ stuff:

“Maturity is the ability to live fully and equally in multiple contexts; most especially, the ability to courageously inhabit the past, the present, and the future all at once; the wisdom that comes from maturity is recognized through a disciplined refusal to choose between or isolate three powerful dynamics shaping human identity: what has already happened, what is happening now and what is about to occur. 

Immaturity is shown by making false choices: living only in the past, or only in the present, or only in the future, or even, living only two out of the three.” ~ David Whyte

  • -Presence is available in an important recounting (most especially of harm and abuse) and healing of the past; 
  • Presence is available in this here-now…and 
  • Presence is necessarily available in the planning-for-a-future.
  • In all 3-timelines Presence is the common denominator…in all time-space(s). And, for Humans, healing in all three is necessary. 

“The victim who is able to articulate the situation of the victim has ceased to be a victim: he or she has become a threat.” ~James Baldwin

In an on-line conversation with spiritual teacher Rita Friedman she responded to the very beginning of my recounting the harm by saying:

“Those caught within this particular out-of-integrity drama (https://integrityintruth.com/clarification-of-videos/), will have reckoning, trust me. 

You may be one of those vehicles for reckoning but if there is you, there are others as well, and that is a strong karmic push that will occur.

Even if you never said a word, it would…and will…occur. But I suspect that it is there so that you can burn off the mantle of victimhood.

You are doing what you are designed to do as part of that burn off.” ~Rita Friedman

And THAT may be precisely why there are so many spiritual concepts around our precious individuation…it’s a potential threat against what is commonly known as ‘patriarchal, radical non-duality.’ 

The following link describes the existential danger of radical non-duality: https://integrityintruth.com/the-existential-danger-of-radical-non-duality/

Timelines do not wield a stronger power over the Power-of-Presence. Attention is our super-power.

Thank you for reading…Warmly,

-Leslie@ integrityintruth.com

(Image: Presence, courtesy Bing Images)

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The Existential Danger of Radical Non-Duality

There was never a time when I was comfortable with teachings espousing the unreality of the body and the world. 

While I understand the dogmatic reason(ing) behind such, I always deeply felt that our bodies and the World were the most efficacious routes to The Divine. Each and every sense a Divine Portal into our inherent birthright of a natural connection with God, Source, Spirit…call it what you will…and The Universe. 

Additionally…and, most especially, the denial of the body and of a world led to a nihilistic view that SO easily covered for, not only the potential for harm, but for the actuality of disregard and abuse.

And, by extension, there were the very real dangers of becoming an automaton by statements such as ‘thoughts and emotions are unreal.’

If one needs to say anything about a body/ and world it would be more accurate to say “You’re not the body and you’re not NOT the body” and “The world is real but, like everything, impermanent.” 

Was the necessity to abandon everything, literally, what was ‘intended’ by The Universe for us to realize our rightful and Holy place in the Grande scheme of things? 

Is this what was/is truly meant by Love?…or was/is The Totality beckoning each of us to claim our rightful place in this Divine Inheritance?

Is there anything that is not held in the deepest embrace of this All?

Even though I never embraced this ‘duality of radical non-duality’ I none-the-less fell victim (yes, there are victims as long as anything is excluded) to the necessitation of lies/deceptions in the upholding of such a structure of radical division. Talk about salt in the wound. 

I became the inadvertent holder for the deceptions of that out-of-balance dogma…a dogma upheld by numerous non-dual teachers, institutions and supporting organizations. https://integrityintruth.com/systemic-collusion-in-the-non-dual-field/

During my time with that radical non-dual teaching I let go of family, friends, education, likes and preferences, things that I love, my own creativity…and essentially my Life…my sacred Life — which is All of it.

Then…after “falling through the cracks” (Russell Smith) those same teachers manipulated the rest of this Life with existential controls involving siddis (occult powers).

Many contemporary teachers borrow heavily on teachings removed in time, space and culture. 

The classic Rumi poem “Out beyond ideas of right and wrong there is a Field…” contains beautiful and sacred words which are often taken out of time/space and cultural context and unfortunately used to justify and hijack moral authority in order to cover where there has been actual harm.

Furthermore, if someone has the courage to speak up when/where there has been harm those very teachings are used to scapegoat and gaslight the one reporting on the harm.

The destruction of a Life that has been ripped apart by such radical dogmatic delusion is extreme and total. It may be the reason why so many felt they would…and, literally, had to…remain at SAT for life.

In that regard…and with reference to ancient teachings: not all egos need to be killed.  Not all egos need eradicating.  Not all egos even need diminishing. 

The damage from such delusion cannot be overstated. 

Some egos actually need building UP to realize a ‘transcendent’ and all-inclusive Freedom. 

It was several years after having been at SAT…and dedicated to the teachings and teachers… that Nome, all of a sudden declared that his teaching was “radical non-duality.”

My original resonance with the all-inclusive Pantheon of ALL Truth teachings…and the broad-based inclusiveness of all major traditions…was what originally resonated with me.

I had no clue what was meant by “radical non-duality” except that it’s radical in the embrace of denialism (duality) and harm.