Thank you for the links — someone else introduced me to this music some time back, and I’m sure my readers will appreciate learning about it =)

You have brought up some very interesting observations. Perhaps the most powerful words you wrote were when you noticed your desire to try to change things, to be right. This is a potent force in most of us, but we’re usually largely unaware of its mechanisms. In a subtle way, when we attempt to ‘right’ the world, we’re actually waging a form of violence, and continuing the very effects we’re attempting to do away with.

Our culture, just as ourselves, appears to our thinking mind to be dualistic. But when we look very carefully, we have trouble finding dualism anywhere. Indeed, we can come to a direct experience of the world being perfect and non-dual in every moment — even the most terrible and ‘dual’ portions of it. The magic happens when we see this, and discover that change happens more effectively if we don’t desire change — there are ways to enact change which don’t entail violence, but these ways are invisible to our usual method of thinking and doing.

The paradox is that we have to give up our efforts at change in order to see real change occur. This happens first in ourselves, where years of trying to ‘right’ our emotions, our mental state, or our perspectives, dissolve in a moment of clarity when we discover that we’re already perfect. From there, a new definition of change arises, and real, physical change follows in its wake. Having created that change in ourselves, it naturally follows out to change the world around us.

But this is so difficult for us to believe. Attending to our own awakening seems selfish, and it is so much easier to look outward and observe the inadequacies we sense all around us. Bravo for turning your gaze toward your own observations of the world.

Sweetwater,
Kenton

Thank you, this post and comments really stunned me with their brilliance and clarity.

I find the non-dualism and dualism issues quite scary – and unsure how to deal with the choices I have in life…

Quoting you:

“It’s easy for us to forget that most of what we call ‘life’ is just a bunch of people playing by rules that they’ve made up. The numbers are so huge that we can think we’re insignificant, but everyone else is thinking that, too, and almost every one of those people is adopting a mind-set that creates a conflict-based human condition.”

Question:

If we want to work and live in society, don´t we have to learn and live by those rules…or atleast pretend to play along?

Should we run away and work on ourselves before joining the community so we become part of the solution instead of the problem?

Society works from a dualistic mind state…if we don´t accept that then we make ourselves suffer (right?). Everything can and do change…but the change has to come from within – otherwise it´s forced…and while the dharma and truth of these messages ring clear and strong for me…I cannot really force them upon another human being… Well, alot of questions bubble up within me…wanting to act like the messiah and point out whats wrong with the world and move towards a better tomorrow – but I think I´m beginning to realize thats exactly the issue… judgeing bad and good – wanting to be right.

I´ll probably return to this post and try to chisel out my thoughts some more later on…
Really, really good stuff…

Thank you.

—–
P.S. Want to recommend a link to a great musician called Mason Jennings.
http://www.masonjennings.com/music – try the “Boneclouds” album and “Be Here Now” song. Brilliant…and very Zen.
Hope you don´t mind Kenton…just remove it if you don´t think it´s ok…just wanted to share something i thought other might enjoy.
D.S.

Kenton