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It Offers 94 modern parables, models and metaphors, which enable all to understand and employ the highest spiritual truths in the most down to earth ways. It is a great gift to yourself and for your friends and family. We are presenting you here the: 1. Introduction 2. Sample Chapters from this book 3. Table of Contents So that you can decide whether you are interested in purchasing it. When you are ready hit your back button and order. Click below to be taken directly to the samples: v Introduction v The Sheepish Lion v The Bird on a Branch v The Blind Village and the Elephant v The River Grasses v The Dissatisfied Student v The First Grader v Develop a Laser Power Mind v Table of Contents ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ INTRODUCTION «A PICTURE IS WORTH A THOUSAND WORDS». This saying seems to be true. Our minds remember images much more easily than concepts. For this reason, I decided to create this collection of models, examples, images and parables which I hope will stick in our minds more effectively and more deeply, so as to help us remember these simple but very elusive spiritual truths. Such truths are conveyed more effectively through such means, because they are more easily understood, come to the mind when needed, and offer the opportunity to each one to understand the same truth in his own way and on his own level. Each model, or parable, is like a multifaceted crystal, the rays of which impinge on each observer in different colors and intensities, depending on his or her point of perspective. Each observer, as he looks more deeply at the crystal, discovers more and more facets which he had previously not noticed. The same is true for these models and examples. They are excellent subjects for contemplation, meditation or deeper thought. Each of you can discover your own ramifications and extensions of these models, as well as create your own models, which help you comprehend your self and the world around you. I would be happy to receive from any of you such models. No model however is perfect. The truth which we are all trying to comprehend is beyond time and space and, thus, transcends all our efforts to understand it. Thus each and every model will, at some point, contradict itself and fail to perfectly describe the ultimate reality, since that reality is beyond words and description. Each model, however, is like a step in an ascending ladder towards the truth. Stepping on each step allows us to approach the truth, which is like the roof of the home we are climbing to stand on. Once we arrive at the roof we need to let go of all the steps of the ladder, so that we can actually stand on the roof. Thus, although each model falls short in some ways to bring us to the ultimate truth, it does act as a very useful step for our ascension. Some of these examples have been inspired by teachings I have heard from others. Most of them, however, have come in moments of meditation, or in the process of creative expression, such as writing or speaking. In none of these cases, however, do I believe that we, personalities, are the source of these ideas or mental connections. I imagine that we are simply holes in the curtain of matter through which light, love, wisdom, and creativity are flowing forth from the One Universal Divine Consciousness. We are the instruments. He is the Musician. I would like to express my deepest gratitude to William Reid for his selfless offering of his talent, love, time and energy in creating these wonderful illustrations which beautify the book and increase the effectiveness of the mental images created. I would also like to express deep gratitude to all those immortal souls who, by their presence in my life, have given me the opportunity and stimulus to search for ways of communicating truth in ever simpler and more effective ways. I have gained much more than I have given. I hope that this book will be useful and enlightening for you. You may also realize that your children may find many of the models very helpful in their search for understanding the world around them. The truth is simple. Life is simple, We are one. There is only one Being. He creates, lives in, and expresses himself through all the beings and forms which we see. MAY THIS TRUTH GUIDE YOUR LIFE, To Index ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE SHEEPISH LION Once there was a great lioness who went hunting with her new born cub. It happened that while attacking and chasing a flock of sheep, the she-lion made a wrong move, fell of a cliff and died. The cub was left in the midst of the sheep and grew up with them. As the years passed, the cub became a full-grown lion, but it was instinctually conditioned like a sheep. It made a bleating sound, bah-bah and was afraid of all other animals, just as the sheep. One day a lion attacked the flock and, in the chase, was shocked to see the ridiculous sight of a lion running away with the other sheep crying in fear. He caught up to the sheepish lion and stopped him, asking, «What are you doing? Why are you acting in this ridiculous way? You a great - powerful lion acting like a lowly powerless sheep? What has come over you? You should be ashamed of yourself». The sheepish lion explained that he was a sheep, and that his parents had taught him to fear and bleat and run in horror from the lions who were powerful and to be feared. He then took the sheepish lion down to the river and showed him his face, so that he could see that he was like the lion and not like the sheep. The lion then woke up from his ignorance and discovered his previously ignored inner courage, strength and majesty. We are like the sheepish lion. The sheep represent our human nature - our personality which always moans, fears, complains, worries and has anxiety about everything. The Lion is the Spiritual part of us which is all-powerful and indestructible. Great spiritual teachers and saints come to tell us the truth of our «LION NATURE», our as yet untapped spiritual powers and greatness which are within us. We too must awaken to the spiritual qualities which are lying within, so that we may overcome fear - which is simply a result of our mistaken identity. To Index ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE BIRD ON THE BRANCH Once a tired bird rested on a branch for support. He enjoyed the view from the branch and the safety it offered him from dangerous animals. Just as he was used to that branch and the support and safety which it offered, a strong wind started blowing and the branch started swaying back and forth, with such great intensity, that it seemed that it was going to break. But the bird was not in the least worried for it knew two important truths. One was that even without the branch he was able to fly and thus remain safe through the power of his own two wings. The second was that there were many other branches upon which he could temporarily rest. This small example represents the ideal relationship between man and his possessions, relationships and social and professional positions. Man has the right to enjoy these possessions, relationships and present positions. He can enjoy their support and comfort and whatever they have to offer him in his development. But he need not fear when they seem to waver under him and appear to be disappearing. For they are all in a state of change and can disappear at any time. His real strength dose not lie in those external ephemeral things, but rather on his two internal wings, LOVE and WISDOM. These must become his security base, his source of enjoyment and happiness. When a man develops real unconditional love and wisdom and the knowledge of truth of the ONE CONSCIOUSNESS which is pervading himself and all beings, unhappiness and fear will be unknown to him. Let us enjoy this material world and not be suppressed by it because of our fear and dependence upon it. When we are dependent on someone or something we eventually become their slave and loose our freedom. To Index ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE BLIND VILLAGE AND THE ELEPHANT Once there was a village of blind people. In this village lived a blind king, five blind wise men and the rest of the villagers who also could not see. One day an elephant came trotting heavily into the village, and stood in the village square. All the villagers were quite alarmed and anxious to find out what was this thunderous entity which had entered their village. The king ordered the five wise men to investigate the phenomenon and to report their findings. Each of the five wise men approached the elephant from a different angle. The first came up the elephant's side, and, after feeling it, reported that it was a huge walking, pulsating wall which had come into the village. The second wise man got hold of one of its legs and said it was not a wall but a walking tree trunk, which had come to visit them. The third came upon the tail and rejected the first two opinions, announcing that the truth was that it was a snake. The fourth having grabbed the ear, stated that the truth was that it was a large walking leaf. The fifth who happened to catch hold of the trunk claimed that all previous statements were wrong and that the reality was that it was a large moving house. The wise men and their followers came into intense conflict concerning the reality of what had walked into their village. The blind village represents the present state of spiritual blindness affecting all of humanity. The five wise men represent the various major religions, who, approaching the unseen God from various angles, have experienced God in different ways. In our blind state, we argue about what the reality of God is, when there is ONLY ONE GOD, which is in reality the essence of all beings and things which exist. Why then do we need to fight and argue between ourselves? Each religion is a valid path to the same One God. All are correct. All need to be respected. Each individual may choose the religious path which suits him and move efficiently forward, with love for God and all beings in his heart. Let us not be blind to the truth of God?s omnipresence even in those who have differing beliefs. Let us open our eyes and see the oneness of all beings. To Index ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE RIVER GRASSES Have you ever sat by a river and watched the hypnotizingly graceful movement of the river grasses which surrender themselves completely to the flow of the river? At one end they are firmly attached to a rock or to the riverbed. If they were not securely attached in this way, they would be carried away by the current and would perish. The rest of the grass has absolutely no resistance and is thus free to flow in an infinite variety of movements caused by the river?s ever-changing flow pattern. A similar type of event may be seen while observing various sea grasses, which are attached to the bottom of the sea and move with the gentle currents and tides. These movements are sometimes less obvious and less varied. We have something to learn from these grasses. We can learn the delicate balance between discipline and freedom, between routine and diversity, between control and surrender, between tradition and change. Obviously, too much of any of these opposite qualities will create problems. On the one hand we need to have discipline, routine, control and tradition to give us a security base, a moral base, a sense of inner strength and stability in facing the ever-changing circumstances of life. Spiritual disciplines such as prayer, concentration, meditation, proper diet, self analysis, exercises and breathing techniques help to create that centered feeling of an inner stability and inner security. Then we can feel free to allow ourselves to flow with life, trusting God, life, others and our own selves; free from the fear of being harmed, overcome or swept off our feet. The greater our connection with our inner security base, the more spontaneous and free we can allow ourselves to be. Each of us will have to find his own way of connecting himself to the spiritual rock within him, so that he may adjust and cope in a more relaxed way with the ever changing situations and tests of life. Be disciplined and flow. To Index ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE DISSATISFIED STUDENT Once there was a spiritual aspirant who was not satisfied by the techniques which his teacher had given him. He went to the teacher and complained, « I have been practicing these techniques for ten years now and I am not yet enlightened. You must teach me something else so that I can proceed more quickly». The teacher smiled calmly and told him to come with him to the river. The student was excited, because now he would be taught the "technique" which would enlighten him. When they arrived the teacher said, «Now I want you to put your face very close to the water and look deep into the river». When the student did this, the teacher placed both of his hands on the student's head and submerged it into the water, holding it under the water for almost a minute. The student struggled to be released but the teacher's grasp was firm. Finally, at the last moment, the teacher released the student's head and he came up gasping for air. The student looked wildly at the teacher wondering why he had done this. With the same calm smile the teacher asked, «What were you thinking about down there?» The student blurted out, «About getting free, of course, so that I could breath». The teacher asked, «you had no other thoughts? No other desires?» «No», answered the student, «how could I, I just wanted desperately to get free, to live». «Yes», answered the teacher, «you see, when you desire enlightenment this desperately, and have no other desires, then you will become enlightened». From this story, we understand that our growth is not dependent upon the techniques we use, or system which we follow, but upon the degree of our desire to really free our selves from our ignorance and limitations. To Index ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ THE FIRST GRADER Many people believe that they must be dissatisfied with themselves, or that they must reject themselves, or feel guilt in order to have a motive for self-improvement or growth. They wonder, «If I accept and love myself as I am, what motive will I have for continuing to change, to grow or improve?» Perhaps the example of the child in grade school will help us to understand that this is not true. No child in the first grades of grade school rejects himself because he is not in a higher grade, or because he does not know as much, or is not as capable as those children in the higher grades. He accept himself as he is, and is happy with himself and his present abilities and knowledge. Yet no child would accept remaining in the same grade next year, or year after year. There is no conflict in him between accepting, and feeling comfortable with his temporarily limited abilities and lower grade, and his need to continue growing. It is natural both to accept and love himself at his present stage of education and simultaneously to attend to his learning and growth process, so that next year he is able to do even more and be an even more perfect and capable person. Growth is a natural instinct, a natural need. It has been discovered by scientists that when a person learns something new, this creates the excretion of endomorphins and other positively reinforcing chemicals in the brain. Learning brings pleasure, when it is natural and from within, and not connected to fear of rejection and failure. But there are yet other motives for action and growth, and these are love and the need for creativity. Man needs to give love and to create, just as he needs to sleep and eat. There are basic needs, even if they are higher on the need-hierarchy scale. Thus, even if one does not have self rejection or dissatisfaction as a motivating force, he will always have love and creativity as motivating forces to grow, create and produce. So feel free to grow in a natural way. Feel free to love and accept yourself as you are. We are all in the first grade of the school of spiritual growth. To Index ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ DEVELOP LASER POWER The common mind is like a 60 watt light bulb. It gives off a pleasant, not very powerful light, which is able to light up a small room, so that we can see well enough to function. Its light is confined to the small room and does not penetrate the walls to light up what is behind them. Nor can it sufficiently light up a larger room. Our mind is like a 60 watt light bulb whose, light is pretty much confined to the small room called our superficial, personal, conscious reality. It does not have the power to penetrate to the depths of things, beyond social preconceptions and misconceptions. It is limited by childhood programming and automatic emotional mechanisms, which keep the mind on the surface of things - superficial. The light of the 60 watt bulb is scattered in many directions and radiates at many different wave lengths and frequencies. If we could take this 60 watts and direct all the energy in the same direction and make all the rays move at the same frequency, we would have a laser which could burn a hole through the wall (of illusion) and expose the reality behind it. Meditation is the process by which we can turn our 60 watt ordinary mind into a laser mind, which will then be able to penetrate to the source of problems and solve them easily. It will be able to burn through the veil of childhood programming and help us to see the truth about ourselves, others and the world around us. Twenty minutes a day is not much of an investment for obtaining a laser mind, whose clarity and power can offer you a happier, more fulfilling life, as well as spiritual evolution and finally enlightenment. It's your choice. Even if you had all the money in the world you could not buy such a laser, nor can you steal it. Nor can anyone else build it for you. Only you can build it in your own mind. To Index Table of Contents 1. The Sheepish Lion .. 9 2. The Great Magician Creates World Peace .. 10 3. The Symphony Of Life ..12 4. The Bird On The Branch ..13 5. The Blind Village And The Elephant .. 14 6. River Grasses .. 16 7. Protecting Your Spiritual Sapling .. 17 8. Connected Containers .. 19 9. The Pressure Cooker .. 20 10. Spiritual Weight Lifting .. 22 11. The Wish-Fulfilling Tree .. 24 12. The Wealthy Merchant .. 26 13. Nature Is The Best Teacher .. 28 14. Pruning The Garden Of The Soul .. 29 15. The Dissatisfied Student .. 30 16. The First Grader .. 32 17. The Car And The Driver .. 34 18. Develop Laser Power .. 36 19. The Flame Of Resurrection .. 37 20. The Caterpillar And The Butterfly .. 39 21. The Sun Shines On All Equally .. 40 22. Purifying Gold .. 42 23. The Billiard Balls .. 43 24. The Ocean And The Waves .. 44 25. The Underground Lake And Its Wells .. 45 26. Ice - Water ? Steam .. 47 27. Heat In The Iron Ball .. 49 28. The One Light .. 50 29. The Apartment Building 51 30. Thorns, Turtles And Elephants .. 52 31. Sex, Erotas And Love .. 54 32. The Flow Of Life .. 56 33. The King And Five Wives .. 57 34. Be A Tree .. 59 35. The Half Finished Painting .. 61 36. The Personality's Broken Legs .. 62 37. Magnetize Your Personality .. 64 38. A Dog Tied To The Tree .. 65 39. The School Of Life .. 67 40. A Fire In The Bedroom .. 68 41. The Waking Dream .. 70 42. The One Center .. 71 43. The Cassette Player And The Cassette .. 73 44. The Movie Of Life .. 74 45. The Circle Of Life .. 76 46. The River Of Life .. 78 47. Writing On Water .. 80 48. The Electric Current .. 81 49. Why Do You Stop At The Red Light? .. 83 50. The Mind Is Like A Plastic .. 84 51. The Cosmic Bank Account .. 85 52. You Have A Divine Mission .. 86 53. You Are A Child Of The Universe .. 87 54. Why Does Sunlight Make Us Happy? .. 89 55. There Is Only One Lover, One Beloved And One Love .. 90 56. Happiness .. 92 57. Yourself Is All Your Can Be .. 93 58. What Makes You Happy? .. 95 59. Don't Fool Yourself .. 96 60. We Cannot See The Wind. .. 97 61. Five Fingers .. 98 62. Can We Believe Our Eyes? .. 99 63. The Child And The Monk .. 101 64. The Two Little Angels .. 102 65. Gossip .. 103 66. The Trapped Bird .. 104 67. Buds-Flowers-Fruits-Seeds .. 106 68. The Butter In The Milk .. 108 69. The Coconut And Its Shadow .. 109 70. Spiritual Well Diggers .. 110 71. How The Monkeys Learned Wash Their Potatoes .. 111 72. Your Bananas .. 113 73. A Solution For A Tightly Knit Mind .. 115 74. You Are Not Somebody - You Are Nobody And Everybody .. 117 75. The Seven Centers Of Consciousness .. 119 76. Our Personality Filters .. 121 78. Unity Is The Answer .. 123 79. The Hierarchy Of Needs .. 124 80. For A Moment You Are God .. 126 81. The Circle Of Tendencies .. 129 82. Overthrow The Dictator .. 131 83. Our Five Bodies .. 133 84. What Can A Barrel Of 60 Billion Cells Do? .. 134 85. The Spiritual Teacher .. 136 86. The Web Of Attachment .. 137 87. Box Analysis .. 139 88. The Energy Box .. 141 89. How We Value Ourselves .. 143 90. A Natural Meditation .. 145 91. Kathen And Tailor .. 148 92. Kathen And The Great Wave .. 152 93. An Angel Comes To Earth .. 154 94. Evolution Of Squirrel .. 159 |