I think this is a cool blog!!!!!

black swan flying

Fossil spiders trapped in amber

These are spiders from millions of years ago

Google Earth: Picture of College Campus

Mathru Sri Sarada and Lakshmana Swami New Years

2010 is at the bottom! I think these are really beautiful and instructive. Sri Lakshmana swami Realized the Self in the presence of Sri Ramana Maharshi, and Mathru Sri Sarada Realized the Self in the presence of Sri Lakshmana Swami in 1978. They are both jnanis or Self-Realized sages that are fully enlightened, wise and instructive.

Me and Nome in dialogue (pics)

Dialogue between me and my teacher on August 2nd, 2009. It might be worth sharing, I thought

Me: As you are talking I get more of a sense of being all expansive, and just a lot of the things you are saying I have more of a direct experience as you are talking about them. And when I’m doing inquiry outside of here, it tends to be more of a mental exercise, and not getting to the more direct experience of what you are describing as how going into the, looking for the individual I, I only would find the real Self. But here in this room, I have more of an intuitive, visceral, sense of kind of not being an individual and being kind of all expansive. So, I guess it’s just a matter of getting to that experience as I’m walking around (laugh), and doing other things in the world.
Master Nome: What you are describing, is one among several reasons why scriptures and sages advise to keep holy company.
Me: Definitely.
Master Nome: That being understood, why do you say you are walking around? (smile) Isn’t that just the body? Indeed, how do you tell when you are in the room or out of the room? Obviously on a sensory level there are the walls etc. (gesturing to back of satsang hall). How do you know when you are in here, in the temple, and when you are outside it? Such as, lets say you have one foot out the door (gesturing, smiling), but one step Is still inside.Are you in or out (smiling with laughter)?
Me: (laughing) Well as you said, as far as the room goes, it would be on the sensory level telling whether I’m in or outside the room based on where the walls are.
Master Nome: Yes, and when you take your senses to be the determinance of reality, or define yourself in terms of them, you are on the outside even if you are on the inside aren’t you? (smiling, laughing). But if you transcend the senses everything is within.
Me: It seems like I was having some luck in here of transcending the senses, so I guess I really was somewhat within the temple. (laughing). But when I’m literally outside the temple, I’m also metaphorically outside the temple. (laughing everyone including Nome laughs with me)
Master Nome: That’s what I’m addressing. Being inside and outside the temple physically, is not of so much great significance. But when you take your senses to be determining what is real, and define yourself in terms of the senses, such as being a body, that really constitutes the externalized mind. A mind that ceases to believe in it’s own imaginings is the introverted mind.
Me: I suppose that would also apply to as you said, keeping holy company. Would it apply to that also? Because I definitely get something more direct in your presence.
Master Nome: How do you determine what is company or presence? (smiling). If neither you nor I are bodies, what then? (smiling, laughing)
Me: I guess by the level that I’ve transcended the senses, would be the level that I’m in holy company.
Master Nome: That’s correct, if you go beyond the senses entirely, and abandon the imaginings of your own mind, you are in holy company always. (smiling).
Me: Awesome! The main way I’m attempting to keep that holy company as we discussed on Friday, kind of focusing on eliminating things that are non-eternal, which would be perception, thought. What I was noticing while I was doing that while you were just sitting, is that most of the rest of the room including the other people in the room, kind of dissolved to some degree, and there was a white glowing light in this area (motioning to where Nome is sitting). But your presence was still very much there. And I felt like I was getting more of a direct experience of who you really are, which isn’t the form in eliminating the non-eternal.
Master Nome: Go on discerning. Make the discrimination deeper and deeper. Even light, just like darkness comes and goes. Something does not come and go. That something is the Reality, the true Existence. In practice, be sure to discern and to dissolve, completely destroy (gestures), the vasanas or mental tendencies. The tendencies to misidentify in particular ways, become attached in particular ways. In other words confusing your Being for some object including the body. Confusing your Bliss for some object, comes out as attachment. And confusing your own Consciousness with thought, which is delusion. (smiles at me)
Me: I’ve still between Friday and now had a tendency out in the world. You know, pretty constantly I’m focusing on this stuff, but still sometimes I get out in the realm of attachment and the things that kind of come from that. I would say attachment to the body is kind of the central one, and the fear that comes from that as far as the body being in a precarious position because it isn’t eternal.
Master Nome: So, to cease to misidentify with the body is to free yourself of a very precarious situation (smiles at me).
Me: Definitely!
Master Nome: Where the idea of embodiement is no more, and even the notion I subsides, there is no fear. (grins at me)
Me: So it seems like, whenever I’m getting out of that, to eliminate the non-eternal, and when I’m asking “Who am I?” I’m looking for the fact that this sense of individuality is not really real and I’ll notice that it doesn’t really have any form, and really what I am is everything, kind of all expansive and not this particularized entity that I somehow find myself taking myself to be on a regular basis. (laugh).
Master Nome: Alright, so the ignorance seems habitual, but a habit must be conjured up and adhered to by someone, otherwise it is insubstantial and really nothing. You are the responsible party (laugh). Which means that you can attain liberation then, freedom is within your grasp. The liberation is only from imagined bondage, but when imagining it, it seems solid, it seems real. If you find yourself slipping into it, dreaming up the old dreams of delusion again. Alright, when you finally discern it, ‘oh this is illusion again’, trace your way back inward, you will only be stronger for it.
Me: And by tracing is again, I think I come away everytime I talk to you, or get a letter/e-mail from you, I try to come away with methods. So different aspects, finding the source of happiness within if I’m wandering out, or eliminating the non-eternal or this kind of inward search for ‘Who am I?”, which seems to be dissolving, as much as possible, taking myself to be an individual, or to be that entity that is kind of based on thought.
Master Nome: Alright, it may seem at this point to be different methods, or different aspects of the same method. In the end you find that there is only one Inquiry, the mind made various interpretations along the way.
Me: OK, makes sense.

Apartment Panoramas

I discovered the program autostitch allows for creating panoramas. These are panoramas of my apartment. Autostitch is easy to use by the way. Expect there are more of these coming.

Pretty picture

Ulladu Narpadu (40 verses on What is)

My teacher's translation. Parenthesis mean alternative words that could be used.

brackets mean words inserted to make it intelligible in English.

The 2nd prayer... (this is maybe one of my favs even in the Osborne translation)

"For those who have taken refuge, out of fear of death, in the Conqueror of death, The "I" thought (notion) is the first to attain death. Thereafter, in them [who] are naturally (by their own nature) immortal,How again can there be space for the thought of death?

Verse 1.By all, an original (first) cause (original essence) of the universe (world) and of the "I"It is said, the Lord (who is the powerful Master), someone with boundless power.Variegated here (in this) (In this picture here), the seeing one (the seer) and the seen, and The screen, and the Light, only (also) He, the One, became.

2. With naming the individual, the world, and the Supreme SelfPrinciples (verities), all suppositions (doctrines) begin.(Or: Naming the individual, the world, and the Supreme Self is inherent in suppositions.)This triad is so long as the "I"-notion will exist (be).The best of all is abidance void of the "I"-notion ("I"-assumption).

3. True or false, this is consciousness or inert,Suffering or happiness, thus to no purpose (vain) is the dispute (quarrel).The world is not seen, no "I"-belief (no going toward the "I") (clear ascertainment of no "I")Abidance without differentiation (without doubt), the Absolute (the Supreme) is aggreable for (dear to) all.

5. The body is of the nature of the five-fold sheaths (lit.: Which five-fold sheaths forming the nature is the body.)Without that does the world shine?Without the five-fold body, that, this here (now),Who at all see the world? Let them speak.

6. [Of] the form of sound and others is the entire world. The existence of sound and others is a mode of the senses made to appear (brought to light).The existence of the senses in the mind's power (control) is.Full of the mind (Composed of the mind) is that world, we say. (or: Full of the mind, therefore, the world is, we say.)

7. With the idea (thought, intelligence, mind) rises, with the thought (mind) sets.The world. Therefore, of the mind's (thought's) light is this.The abode (glory, splendor, light) [in which] the mind and world are born and decay (are destroyed, perish) is the perfect fullness,The real thing (the true Reality), devoid of birth and decay (destruction, perishing), the One.

8. Let them be spiritual practices for the vision (darshanam) of Truth,Worship (plural) of the Supreme with name and form.Abidance in the true Reality, the Attainment of that Self-Being (or: Abidance in the True Reality, the attainment of the state ((conviction)) of That is the Self),Alone is the vision of Truth (true vision). Thsu know (understand).

9.All dualities [and] all triads,[On] some thing (Reality) depending (on some thing taking support), shine.(All dualities and triads shine for some thing ((some reality)) that is the support ((for some thing upon which they depend)))[When] that is traced (sought), all are loosed and dropped.For them who see the Truth (Being), there is no movement ever (at any time).(Not to them who see the Truth is there movement ever.)

10. How can knowledge shine if there is not ignorance?Without knowledge, does ignorance shine?And "Whose are the two?" thus. Inquiring into the source (root),Abidance in one's own (true) nature is the Knowledge of the Supreme Truth.

11. Can that knowledge that does not know the one who knows oneself (the Self)Be Knowledge of the Supreme Truth?(or: Can that knowledge which is of one who does not know the Self ((oneself)))(or: Can that knowledge that does not know the Self, the one who knows,)Of knowing and of knowledge (or: the to be known), the support, oneself,The one who knows shall destroy the two.

12. Sleep is not knowledge. Perceiving (sensing, seizing, grasping, taking into the mind) is not knowledge.One does not grasp (seize, perceive) anything in true Knowledge.Different from teh categories of sleep and perceiving is Consciousness alone (indeed); Knowledge shines forth [and is] not a void.

13. The truth is the Consciousness-Self. Various (manifold) forms of ConsciousnessAre not established (accomplished) apart (different).True Consciousness is not divided.(lit, The Truth is he Consciousness-Self. It is various ((manifold)) forms of Consciousness that are established (as) apart ((different)) [yet] true Cosnciousness is not divided.(or: The Truth is the Consciousness-Self. Various ((manifoled)) forms of Consciousness are not established as apart [or] divided [from] the true Consciousness.)Can the change (transformation, modification) of ornaments exist trulyWithout the gold, seperately (apart), here in this world?

14. "That" and "you" have "us" for a firm basis. Upon the destruction of that "us" from (by means of) the knowledge of the root (source), Without the "that," "you," and "us" notion, the One State (Abidance, Stand) shines, the innate Self shall be.

15. The past (the having been, the gone) and the future (the to become) are the present (being) in [their] own time. Relinquishing the Truth of what is presently existing (the present), Will it not be laughable, repeatedly thinking over (discussion) [what is] gone [and] will be, Like counting without the number one, in the world?

16. Where shines (appears) talk of space (direction) and time without us? The play of space and time, here, is if we are the body. Nowhere we shine (appear) at no time we shine (appear), But we everywhere and always shine.

17. In the body being the Self, the wise (the knower) and the ignorant (the unintelligent) are alike (the same). (or: In the state of the body-self, the wise and the ignorant are the same). For the one, in the body, in the heart, the Self illumines, Including (encompassing, spreading over) the body and the universe, the Perfect Fullness. For the other, the Self is discernible as only the body (the Self is only the measure of the body).

18. For the ignorant and for the wise, the universe is (exists). For the former, the seen universe, indeed (alone), is the real (the true). For the other, the seen the resting place has become; the One, The Real (the Truth), the completely Full, shines as formless. (or: For the other, the One that has become the resting place of the seen, The Real, the completely Full, the Formless, shines.)

19. The talk (controversy) of fate and of effort (striving) shall be for Them who do not know the root of these two. For those who know well the root thing of fate and effort, There are not, indeed, fate or one's own activity (free will).

20. That seeing of the Lord [that is] the seer Not seeing, that shall be mental seeing. Not other than the seer is the Supreme, indeed. Of Him The seeing is in one's own source (root) the absorption (lit. having been aborbed, dissolved) and abidance.

21. See the Self, see the Supreme; Thus, the Agama (the scripture's) declaration. This is not an easy bhava (state, meditation, contemplation). (or: This is easy, not a way of thinking.) If the SElf is not, indeed, the seen, how can there be talk of the Lord? (how to seek the Lord?) Oneself becoming His food is that seeing (is seeing Him).

22. In the mind, the Light the Supreme grants (gives) (lit., having given), Oneself (Himself) within the mind (or: interior to the mind), He shines hidden. The mind is to be turned back within (interior to) the mind, here. From the union (absorption) is the seeing (wisdom) of the Lord, not otherwise.

23. The body does not say "I," thus. In deep sleep, Non one says, "I did not exist," thus. Upon the rise of that (which), all arise. Of that "I," with the mind (intelligence), investigate (make clear) the birth place.

28. Just as in a well of water into [which one] has dived deeply, just so, withinOne must dive (plunge) with intellect highly (extraordinarily) sharp,Prana and speech to be controlled (lit., having controlled), inquiring (reflecting on); One shall find the nature of the root one's own ego.

35. The Knowledge of the established Truth (Being) alone is accomplishment.Comparable to (resembling) a dream, indeed, are other accomplishments.The dream of one who is awakened, how can it now be true?Does one who abides in Truth (Being) again approach illusion.

Arunachala

In Google Earth! I've been really into this sage named Ramana Maharshi. He lived here by this hill named Arunachala, which he considered his guru.

A picture of me.

I had just written my spiritual teacher my madness and felt really intensely illumined and went to a Holloween party. A friend took my picture. I thought the smile says it all.

Picture of Spiritual Teacher:

300th post!

Sivam Sundaram

The wife of the Zamindar of Peddapavani, a frequent
visitor to the Ashram, came with her children last month.
She stayed for a month and went away a couple of days
ago. One evening, after Veda Parayana, she approached
Bhagavan and said, “Sometime back Bhagavan gave me
darshan in my dream and gave me upadesa. After that, I
realised my Self, but it is not steady. What should I do?”
Bhagavan: (amused) “Where has it gone without being
steady? Who is it that is not steady?”
Zamindarini: “That (realisation) is not steady.”
Bhagavan: “Where has it gone without being steady.”
Zamindarini: “That experience which I had does not
remain steady because of bodily ailment and family worries.”

Bhagavan: “I see. Say so. Those that come, come. Those
that go, go. We remain as we are.”
Zamindarini: “You must bestow on me the strength to
remain as I am.”
Bhagavan: “You have realised the Self, have you not? If
that is so, all the others disappear of their own accord.”
Zamindarini: “But they have not disappeared.”
Bhagavan (smiling): “I see. They will disappear. Vasanas
have for a long time built their nests within. If we realise
that they are there, they will disappear gradually.”
Zamindarini: “Bhagavan must bestow on me the
strength to make them disappear.”
Bhagavan: “We will see.”
The next day about the same time she stood humbly in
the presence of Bhagavan and said, “Bhagavan, it is not
possible for a married woman to stay on in the presence of
the Guru for any length of time, can she?”
Bhagavan: “The Guru is where one is.”
Zamindarini: (still unconvinced) “Should one look upon
the whole world as Brahman or should one look upon one’s
own Self as the most important?”
Bhagavan: “We exist. And the world is Brahman itself.
What then is there to look upon as Brahman?”
She was taken aback and stood still. Whereupon
Bhagavan looked at her compassionately and explained
further: “As you know we undoubtedly exist. The world also
exists as Brahman. That being so, what is there that one
could see as Brahman? We should make our vision as the
all-pervading Brahman. Ancients say, ‘Drishtim jnanamayim
kritva pasyeth brahmamayam jagat’. The world is as we see it. If
we see it as material, it is material. If we see it as Brahman, it
is Brahman. That is why we must change our outlook. Can
you see the picture in a film without the screen? If we remain
as we are, everything adjusts itself to that attitude.”

Overjoyed at this and fully satisfied, she came out and
sat on the step on the verandah which is opposite to
Bhagavan’s couch. Bhagavan was sitting on the couch in his
characteristic pose, silent as usual and with a smile on his
face. Looking at the radiant face of Bhagavan, she said
involuntarily, “Ah! How beautiful Bhagavan is!” A devotee
who heard the exclamation approached Bhagavan and said,
“She is saying how beautiful Bhagavan is.” With a slight nod
of his head Bhagavan said, “Sivam Sundaram”

It's red and sparkly and other 'pics'

It's red and sparkly and other 'pics

Saints and halos.

I've had as I've mentioned this suspicion that Barack Obama is a jnani, fully enlightened. I thought this was noteable, I saw this on Google video. I thought it was a joke, about his perceived greatness by many people. But then when I clicked on this link, it was a normal Obama video. It just so happened in the link, the seal was in the right location to 'appear' as a halo. Compare to halo of st. Catherine of siena

Pretty

Someone else dialoguing with my sat-guru!

N.: Do you really think happiness will come to you, let alone
permanently, through bodily sensations?
Q.: Well, that has not been my experience, but I have postulated
that many times.
N.: So, you have experimented quite a bit, all these years,
with an uncountable number of sensations, and they have not
made you happy. You can use the encyclopedia of your own
experience to point you in the better direction. Do you know the
purpose of life? Your life is not purposeless.
Q.: The thing that comes closest in my story is justice.
N.: What do you mean by justice?
Q.: Fairness, opportunity, no starvation, people have a place
to sleep, some kind of security.
N.: These are all noble ideals. Where does their nobility stem
from?
16
Q.: I read them in a book.
N.: Where did the book writer get them from? (laughter)
Q.: Dr. [Martin] Luther King.
N.: Where did he get them from?
Q.: He said he got it from God, but I do not know that to be
the truth.
N.: You just like the fruit of it, but you are not sure of the
root, is that it?
Q.: Yes. The just always felt to me the purpose and great
highness. I do not know that to be the truth.
N.: What is true?
Q.: Real. It is an impact of what is happening. I am not sure
I can explain it.
N.: Perhaps, you should find out more about that. What is
real? What is true?
Q.: Going back to sensations, that has been my measurement.
N.: Your senses perceive such a small amount. How could
you find what is true and real in that way?
Q.: Very little. I have not always known that. I was brought
up in a very narrow thinking type of mode, strong suppression
of emotions, and all that kind of stuff.
N.: All that is ancient history. You can not use that as an
excuse for the present state of mind.
Q.: No, I do not want to do that. I am just telling you where
I came from.
N.: Finding out what is true, what is real, is essential and has
a lot to do with the ultimate or highest purpose of life. It has a
lot to do with the source of all the things that are good, beautiful
and virtuous, some of which you were describing. They have
a source. Some call that source God, some call it the Self, and
some call it Brahman. There are many other terms for it as well.
17
If you find out deeply within yourself, in full experience, what
that source is, you will be fulfilling the purpose of life and you
will find a happiness that never comes to an end.
I will give you a hint that is quite common in Advaita
Vedanta teaching to finding out what is true. The first consideration
regarding what is true, what is real, is that it is always, eternal,
ever-existent. If something comes and goes, it is considered
unreal. Only that which endures, without a moment's interruption—
and is consequently beginningless and endless—is real.
The only thing that is regarded as true about you is, likewise, that
which is all the time, without a beginning or birth, and without
an end or death. What comes and goes is just accidental and
not true about you at all.
Not one of your sensations endures forever. They are very
short-lived. What you have known through them is not at all the
truth. If you want to know the truth, find that which is existent
always, never interrupted, and not sporadic. How can you find
that which exists always? Start with your own existence.
Q.: Is that the body?
N.: No. The body comes and goes. It has a birth and a death,
and you are aware of it only in the waking state. It is not constant.
You need to look for that which is constant, uninterrupted,
and ever-existent. What has a beginning and an end is not
true even in the middle; it is just a false appearance. What is
truly real exists always and never becomes unreal even for a
moment. Search your experience, outwardly, inwardly, and in
any direction you like, and see if you can find that which always
exists. Once you have found that, you will also have found the
source of happiness that is perpetual, and this inquiry, this
Knowledge, this Vedanta, will become very important to you.
Then you will dive in to know that Existence first hand, permanently,
and you will be at the very root of all that is good, true,
and beautiful.
Q.: Thank you.
Om, shanti, shanti, shanti
Om, Om, Om (Silence)

Galaxy zoo

Fall

Picture a friend took in St. Louis. I thought it was pretty.

My main focus.

because of whatever reason, asperger's syndrome, mental health issues what have you. My primary focus becamse spirituality, correspondence with a guru, Self-inquiry. Any time my attention veers away from this, i start getting really deep into suffering. So it keeps my attention on this, almost to the exclusion of all else. that's my experience.

Siva Lingam

Krishnamurti dream

In my dream last night I was at SAT temple, and [Nome] was out,and in his place Jiddu Krishnamurti visited and gave satsang,I was sitting back with my mom, and sister, my dad was somewhere,and on the right side I saw an apparition of a young Krishnamurti.I told my mom and sister, they didn't seem to believe me or see it'simportance. Then I got so deep into peace, I felt I could die.But was o.k. from grace. And then Krishnamurti afterwards cameto where I was sitting and shook my hand. I stood by him excitedly and my sister and mom. And felt that presence of the Selfin his presence. I told my dad again about the apparition of theyoung Krishnamurti. He didn't seem to believe me. Krishnamurtithen stared at me, then at my dad and suddenly in front of my dadturned into this shrunken, disturbing shape and was looking at mydad. It was then that I remembered that Krishnamurti had diedin 1986. I told my family that, and then they seemed to seethe supernatural significance of what I was experiencing.

Size Scale Lyrics (attempt)

Someone asked me to write lyrics on this topic, here it is.

In a state of Blissful harmony, everything from the galactic to the atom.
Many levels of meaning that unfold in the course of perception.
If a year were a second, the dinosaurs went extinct 2 years ago.
If the Earth were indeed a globe. The sun is a 36 yard diameter fire ball.
If a light year were an hours drive, the earth (microscopic) is 5 feet from a marble Sol
If an angstrom were a millimter, a cell would be the size of a building.
Each protein molecule the size of a fist. DNA the thickness of a rope.
Walking along a silicon wafer, or along a microscope slide.
All of this arose to me, Who am I? Where did I come from? Pure Blissful
Consciousness left over, it doesn't admit of space, and even less so time.
Resting in that, it fills my whole Being.
If a year were a second, animal life arose 19 years ago.
If the Earth were indeed a globe. It is 2 miles from the Sun, 30 feet from the moon.
If a light year were an hour's drive, the nearest star (a marble) would be the thickness of Oregon away.
If an angstrom were a millimeter, an atom would be a salt grain, a mosquito 60 miles long.
Each cell the size of a building, each protein molecule the size of a fist, racing and zooming,
doing various tasks. Some run the metabolism factory the mitochondria, some make
other proteins using the Bible Genome, their holy scripture. A whole civilization within the mosquito,
within the spider, within the cat, within the human. Down to the atom, size of a grain
of sand.
For whom did this arise? And what is my real nature? Is there something objective apart?
Are there other people? Is there a universe? Do I really exist? And who am I?
Each of these things arise and disappear in my awareness. All the products of my thinking,
all the perceptions, all the colors. All the experiences, they came and they went.
All the friends. All those I disliked. My various moods, modes, flavors, experiences.
Levels of meaning like a cacoon within me, they unfold and all the tendencies to worry,
dissolve as the deeper meaning unfolds into the butterfly of a deeper awareness.
If when a year is a second, the Big Bang occured 540 years ago. The Universe started.
If when the Earth is indeed a globe, Jupiter fills the space of a living room. Where would I sit?
If when a light year is an hour's drive, I have to travel around the world to reach a Betelgeuse
the size of a house. Is it worth it?
If when an angstrom is a millimeter, a strand of hair is a 10 city blocks thick. Each cell,
protein clearly visible along this huge structure a hair.
So then, you tell me what is real?

Every blog needs Starry, starry night

Brilliantly they put this up as the astronomy picture for the day, it was just asking to be commandeered or appropriated.

Guru's latest response

Dear Kassy,

Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Namaste. Thank you for your numerous recent messages.

Your messages express both worthwhile spiritual reflection and

repetitive patterns of thought. They do not have equal validity. One

reflects that which is true and profound, while the other is mere repetition

of imagination given undue emphasis. The latter is based on egoism and

non-comprehension of the source of happiness and lends itself to worldly

craving and fear. The former is of the nature of sattva and points in the

right direction, which is the nirguna (quality-less) Truth. Examine the play

of your mind, discern, and direct accordingly.

At the root of your ideas are the definitions that are

misidentifications. The root of all misidentifications is the assumption of

individuality, or ego. Inquire to become free of all of them.

The abandonment of misidentifications reveals the true Self. Such is

inquiry.

The Self is actionless. It remains so regardless of the activity or

inactivity of the body. Likewise is the Bliss of the Self.

That which is vast, eternal, deep, infinite, utterly beyond the

personality and its concerns, bliss itself, illimitable Consciousness,

formless, constant, imperishable, and nondual, and so knowing which there is

nothing else to experience, is ever cherished by the wise. Focused on that,

devoted to that, inquiring to know that, finding the utter insignificance of

all else in light of that, with that as their support, delighting in that,

absorbed in that, the wise realize that to be the sole-existent Reality and

remain completely content, as peace in the perfect fullness.

Ever yours in Truth,

Nome

Balisong

I was learning Filipino Martial arts for a while, and one of the weapons used is a

Balisong.

Om

Nome's September Responses

Dear Kassy,

Namaste. Thank you for your message.

Though the Maharshi's body had tremors, I have not seen anywhere or
heard from anyone that they were due to Parkinson's disease. Nowhere is it
reported that Sri Bhagavan ever said that the diseases of his body were due
to the karma of others, though there are a few writers who have made such
comments. No, the PD and its symptoms are not due to you. It is far more
likely, according to one of the prevailing medical theories, that exposure
to agricultural toxins at an earlier time in life is the causal factor for
the degeneration and destruction of certain neurons thought to be the case
in patients with PD, and all of that precedes by a considerable time the
appearance of symptoms that can be diagnosed, much less observable by you.
So, abandon such ideas, and continue to inquire to find that which is
blissfully immortal.

Ever yours in Truth,

Nome

Dear Kassy,

Namaste. The satsang hall has changed over the years, and, of
course, when it was located in different places prior to 1989. The
Maharshi's picture has always graced the satsang hall. For example, in 1978,
there was the Maharshi's picture and Nataraja murti (statue), though the
murti was much smaller. The Siva linga (stone symbol) that is now in the
inner shrine used to be under the arches on the north side of the satsang
hall. At the same time (mid 1990's), the wooden lingam that now is in front
of the murti of Ardhanarisvara in the satsang hall was below the picture of
Sri Ramana in the inner shrine. There have been other changes, too. The
manifested is subject to change, yet the Truth remains timelessly the same.

Ever yours in Truth.

Nome

Dear Kassy,

Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Namaste. It is good that you are striving to overcome the vasanas
mentioned by you. Those tendencies that one has repeated frequently and with
much emphasis may require perseverance to transcend, but, upon their
dissolution, are found to have consisted of mere imagination. Inquire.

Since this is the second time in recent messages that you have
referred to a site that engages in defamation (i.e., intentionally
expressing falsehoods ((lies)) with malice), you may find it useful to read
certain entries included in the "archives" article in the 4th quarter issue
of Reflections. This is mentioned solely for its potential usefulness in
application in your own spiritual practice. The issue will be out by the end
of this month. The printed version is given to SAT members, and the
electronic version usually appears on the SAT website fairly soon thereafter
for free to those interested anywhere. One or two of the letters included in
that article relate to peaceful detachment toward what certain individuals
may think of one, the delusive nature of the formation of opinions about
others, what makes for gullibility when exposed to such propaganda, and
several other related ignorant tendencies that pertain specifically to the
issue raised by you. Even the example set of unmoved transcendence in such a
case of intended "persecution" may also present further insight for you
about the cessation of the craving for acceptance and its concomitant fear
of rejection. Therefore, reading such when it becomes available may be of
some benefit. Of course, no attempt is made in those letters to contradict
the falsehoods, for spiritual reasons explained in those letters; moreover,
in a pragmatic sense, anyone can easily come to the SAT temple, listen to
the teachings, experience all that occurs here, read books and satsang
transcripts, listen to or watch recordings, speak with Nome directly,
meditate here, find out who participates in what here and join in or not as
he chooses, coming and going as he pleases, and plainly observe the facts
for himself rather than be under the influence of that deceit, so there is
no need for a response to it. Such would be superfluous and effort wasted
over what is trite and meaningless.
As for David Godman, as I am sure is the experience of others, too,
there is deep respect and appreciation for the wonderful service he has done
and is doing, and with his co-writers/translators, especially the many fine
publications that he has brought forth.
The apparent permanence and consistence of the illusory phenomena
within a state are according to that state and may be contradicted by the
experience within another state. That which is alone continuously existent,
free of change or diminution, regardless of state, is the Self, and that
alone is real. If you cease to regard as real or as the Self anything that
appears within a state of mind, including the notion of the assumed
individual "I" to conceive or perceive anything else, the Knowledge of the
Self will be clear.
May your inquiry be steady and deep so that this blissful Knowledge
is ever shining within you.

Ever yours in Truth,

Nome

Dear Kassy,

Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Namaste. Thank you for your recent messages.

If you perceive the needlessness of the ignorance that is the cause
of what you may find deplorable, you will be endowed with compassion rather
than be swept up in anger, hatred, etc., which are rooted in delusion.
Furthermore, by the realization of the divine Self within you, you will see
the same Self in all and everywhere.

It is also quite useful to not employ the mind in sweeping
generalizations of people, such as the formation of opinions about them. Are
all people of a certain category conceived in the mind like that? Has one
even met all of them, let alone been able to know them? Even simple
questions can unravel the absurd tendencies of manifested ignorance.

The craving for acceptance and the fear of rejection are two sides
of the same erroneous concept regarding the source of happiness.

However you practice, for final Realization, you must know yourself.
How else is one to know the Self except by constant profound inquiry? If you
find various methods of meditation helpful to acquire concentration, then
use the concentration thus gained to dive into Self-inquiry. The inquiry,
though, is always available and does not depend on any preliminary method.
Self-Knowledge alone is Liberation from all of the imagined bondage.

May you continuing earnest efforts bear the fruit of steady
Knowledge of the Self, so that you abide in lasting peace and bliss.

Ever yours in Truth,

Nome

Dear Kassy,

Omm Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Namaste. Thank you for your messages.

Concentration is a mode of mind that derives its intensity from the
luminous Self, yet is placed within the context of thought or mental
attention. The concentration may be external, that is upon some object or
the breath, or internal, upon some mental conception or mental image, such
being of a spiritual character. The value of such lies in the abeyance of
other thoughts, though temporary, and the faith in the spiritual ideal
contemplated. Dharana (concentration) is not an end in itself, and the yogis
say that one should proceed to dhyana (meditation). Such should involve the
dissolution of the mind or the transcendence of thought. This, also, is not
the end, but one should then enter into samadhi, your questions about which
were answered previously. The highest and nonobjective form of meditation is
Atma-vicara (Self-inquiry), which reveals sahaja samadhi or sahaja sthiti,
absorption or steady abidance in the Innate as the Innate, which is
Self-Knowledge. Such inquiry and Knowledge are jnana. The inquiry, thus, is
not a mere shift of attention, or the repetition of a mental mode, but a
profound questioning of your very identity to inwardly discern your Being as
it truly is. Such inquiry is inherently mind-transcendent.

You may find it helpful to refer again to the previous comments in
several messages about happiness, detachment, and viewing things in
proportion. Otherwise, as you can observe with some reflection, an idea such
as a desire seems to occupy your entire experience, just as, if one places
the small tip of his smallest finger before his eye, it seems to occupy the
entire scene and blocks out the view of all else, for example large
mountains, the sky, the stars, etc. It is perfectly alright to read and
reflect upon the same passages again and again until the inner comprehension
dawns. Some books, such as Self-Knowledge, are intended for such use.

From another angle of vision, from what you have been relating in
your messages, you can see how even one idea can continually rise and appear
so important when you project even a drop of that which is of the Self upon
it: happiness, identity, and reality. If, with wise discrimination, the same
importance were placed upon Self-Realization, for the sake of the direct
experience of that full happiness, true identity, and absolute Reality, how
focused, intense and consuming would your spiritual practice become?

A tendency many times repeated may require sustained effort to be
destroyed. Such effort should be perseverance in knowledge in the form of
profound inquiry.

From still another perspective, if you are destined to be married or
have a companion in the future, all the anxious thought and craving
concerning it will amount to so much wasted time and purposeless suffering.
If you are destined to live singly, all that anxious thought and craving
will be a waste of precious time that could be spent more joyfully and
wisely. Either way, the depth and purpose of life is to be found and
fulfilled within.

Find within yourself that which is perfectly full regardless of
whether you are alone or in the company of others.

If the inner understanding is clarified, and thus one is endowed
with inquiry and detachment that blossom as Knowledge, the actions will
become harmonious of themselves.

Humility is essential.
It is natural for anyone who
Abides as the Self,
Inquires to know the Self,
Comprehends the vastness of Brahman,
Knows the Truth,
Perceives the magnitude and depth of the great sages,
Considers the significance of immortality,
Sees the approach of death,
Notices the fragility and precariousness of life,
Contemplates upon God,
Observes the play of his own mind,
Discerns the insignificance of his own thoughts,
Considers the immensity of this mere, entire universe,
Recognizes the smallness of his transient body,
Feels the fullness of love,
Experiences the magnificent perfection that is always,
Or who has found Grace.

Ever yours in Truth,

Nome

Dear Kassy,

Om Namo Bhagavate Sri Ramanaya

Thank you for your several messages.

You need not have any worry concerning whether or not it is
appropriate to write what you have written to me. If such writing benefits
your practice, perhaps as a means for gaining better perspective, use it.
The explicit details represent no harm.

Some of what you have written is, indeed, pointing in the right
direction. Yet, better than guessing, even intelligently, at the state of a
jnani, how the jnani views such-and-such, what the Self may be, what
Self-Realization may be, etc. is to experientially inquire and directly
realize. For otherwise, whether cloudier or clearer, it remains an idea, and
the Truth of Absolute Being, the self-luminous infinite Consciousness, and
the perfect fullness of Bliss are undoubtedly transcendent of any idea.

In your messages, you expressed how you have been engaging in
somewhat of a debate on certain websites. At some time, you may wish to
consider the value of such. Whether your viewpoint or that of another
prevails in such a debate, ask yourself what purpose it serves. Is this the
best use of your time and effort? If you are inspired, is this the best way
to share what you have found? Does such debate help your practice or deepen
your experience at all?

From your fears regarding bodily discomfort, pain, etc., as
described by you, you can discern the need for actual, deep, thorough
inquiry to liberate yourself from suffering. An intellectual grasp of ideas
thought to correspond to the real essential teaching does not have the
capacity to reveal that freedom, to unveil the innate Bliss, or bestow
lasting peace. Therefore, more profoundly assimilate what has been said and
written, in satsang, correspondence, and in sacred books, by persevering
inquiry that uproots the misidentifications by which you falsely define
yourself. Self-critical examination of your mind (not egotistical
self-judgment that depresses) is helpful, just as the humility that is
natural for anyone who is aware of the scope of That is superior to futile
confidence rooted in the ego's assertion. Therefore, joyfully and ardently
seek to know your Self, which is utterly free of the ego-notion
(individuality) and far, far beyond the tiny concerns of the phantom-like
personality and the illusory moods and modes of an unreal mind.

May you be ever happy at heart, discovering how imagined your
pseudo-bondage is and finding the purpose of life fulfilled within you---
the immortal Bliss of the illimitable Self.

Ever yours in Truth,

Nome

Dear Kassy,

Namaste. Concepts of destiny and individual free will are

entertained only so long as the individual to which either pertain is

assumed to exist. In Self-Knowledge, both ideas are absent, for the ego does

not exist. Self-inquiry reveals this Knowledge. The unreal ego has no part

in it, for the nature of the inquiry is of the Knowledge essence. If one

asks about the "I" that seems as if implicit in the inquiry, the answer is

found in the Maharshi's analogy of the stick used to turn the burning pyre.

Therefore, inquire into the nature of the inquirer.

Ever yours in Truth,

Nome

Mandala One; Being

mandala one
Being

The Self is just Being
It is not being this or that.
It is just Being.
Self-REalization is just Being.
It is not being this or that.
It is just Being.
Being knows no alternative.
The Self is just Being.

Being never changes its nature.
That which truly is never ceases to be.
That which ceases never actually is.
That which truly exists never changes.
That which changes never truly exists.
That which is changeless is without destruction.
The indestrutable is only
That which is without creation.
The unborn is the undying.
The unchanging is alone being.
Being never changes its nature.

The Self ever is
Just as it is.
There is no time
When Being is altered.
There is no time
When you are not the Self.
Primordial Being eternally is,
Is what you are even now.
Immutable Being is peace iteslef,
For there is no time
When Being is altered.
Just as it is,
The Self ever is.

Being alone knows itself,
The "I"-less "I" realized as "I,"
Forever undefined, the only Existence,
The only Knowledge,
The only Knower.
Thus is Brahman, Absolute Reality,
Always Present, unmarred perfection,
The unformed Void, attributeless Being,
Ever itself just as it is.
The only identity, the only reality,
Being alone knows itself.

Without any other is Absolute Being,
Formless and nondual, the only Existence.
Two that are formless cannot be.
Undivided, homogenous,
Alone is Being,
Nothing outside it and no outside;
Nothing within it;
Alone is Being.
Nothing comes before eternal Being;
Nothing comes after eternal Being.
Without any other is Absolute Being.

October 6, 2009 3:59 AM

Losing M. Mind said...

The Truth of Being
Is solely Reality.
Not from illusory things
Falsely experienced
Does the sense of reality
In every experience derive,
But only from the SElf,
The only source, the Real.
Real Being depends not
On anything else to be.

Uncaused itself, the Absolute Self,
Does not cause anything else.
Infinite, there is
Nothing beyond it produced by it.
Mistake not perception or conception
For Existence itself.
Reality is solely
The Truth of Being.

The Uncreated alone is all.
The all-transcendent
Is the all-pervasive
Neither dualism nor a concept of unity
Is the Nondual Truth.
Nonobjective Being is not a multiplicity;
Nor is it one-in-many;
Nor is it many-in-one.
Attributeless indivisibility it is
The Uncreated alone is all.

Be as you are.
Realization is just Being.
Final meditation upon the Truth
Consists of being it,
For which there is no alternative.
Being is neither a state nor an attainment.
Being is neither a thing nor an activity.
Being is and alone is.
Be as you are.

The Self alone exists eternally.
Solitary and indivisible,
The SElf is Being-Consciousness-Bliss,
Without beginning and without end.
The Self alone exists;
The SElf alone is real.
Nothing exists but the Self.
The Self alone exists, eternally.

One Self is.
Never is there
A multiplicity of selves.
One infinite, indivisible,
Undifferentiated Self forever is.
Like space it is endless, formless;
Like space it is everywhere, pervading all;
Like space it is, colorless, immeasurable.
Ungraspable, having neither within nor without,
One Self is.

Nondual is Realization,
Of the nature of the invariable Self.
The SElf is never impure.
So, Self-Realization is
Not of the nature of purification.
The Self is never born,
So, Self-Realization is
Not of the nature of production
The SElf is never other then its own nature.
So Self-Realization is
Not of the nature of transformation.
The Self is never absent.
So, Self-Realization is
not of the nature of acquisition.
Of the nature of the invariable Self,
Nondual is Realization.

Abide free of imagination.
The Self, your real identity,
Is the Absolute and ever free.
Do not imagine otehrwise.
There is no distance Between you and Brahman,
Between yourself and the Self.
Abide free of imagination.

October 6, 2009 4:06 AM

Losing M. Mind said...

Know the Self as it is.
The SElf is not matter, thought, or entity.
The Self is never modified,
Has no conditions,
Never becomes.
Beyond matter-no birth and no death.
Beyond thought- nonobjective and inconceivable.
Beyond ego-no individuality and no separation.
Never having entered the body.
The Self does not exit it.
The bodiless is birthless, locationless, and deathless.
It does not come, is not conatined, and does not go.
The Self is known by the wise to be bodiless.
Never having entered the mind,
The Self is not bound by it.
The mind-free is unconceived and unperturbed.
It does not think or cease to think.
It knows no state, no mode, and no thought.
The Self is known by the wise to be of no mind.
Never having become individualized,
The Self is innately egoless.
The egoless is boundless, attributeless, illusionless.
It does not become bound and does not become liberated.
The Self is known by the wise to be egoless.
Know the Self as it is.

Only the Self ever is.
Nothing is experienced continuously
Except the Self.
The continuous alone is real;
The discontinuous never really is.
It comes from nowhere,
And it goes nowhere.
It has no birth,
And it has no death.
It shines in its own Light, self-existent.
Only the Self ever is.

How to compare the incomparable?
Vast like space,
Unmoving like the mountain,
Self-luminous like the sun,
With no shape like water,Burning all the straws of ignorance like fire,
Tranquil like the moon's light,
Deep like the ocean.
How to compare the incomparable?

The Self is:
In all beings their very Being
In all selves, the true identity,
In all minds, Consciousness,
IN all things, the unseen Existence,
In all joys, Bliss.
In all places, space.
In all time, endlessness,m
In every heart, The Self is.

Giant Versailles

What if the Giants had their own Palace of Versailles.

Leaf at 1000X

A leaf would be about 20 centimeters thick at this scale or about 7.87 inches thick. A bacterium if it was on the leaf would be about a millimeter, or a 25th of an inch. A virus would be about a tenth of a millimeter, such as HIV virus, which is at the very limit of visibility for humans. So a virus would be a tiny dot in comparison to this leaf.

Musical Accompaniement to Blog

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AFz7T8FLqKs

Ranier and Olympia in Safeway

Kilo-Giants gotta shop.

Mountains in house

If Mount St. Helens and Mt. Ranier were shrunk 1000X and a model in your house, this is what i'd look like.

GNANA FIRE! I love this image of Great Sages Lakshmana Swami and Mathru Sri Sarada

Click on this image if the writing is too small. I love the writing. The GNANA FIRE!

Scanning tunneling microscope images

Ch.26 Ribhu Gita

This is maybe the most beautiful spiritual text I know of.

Chapter 26 Tamil version of Ribhu Gita, as translated by Dr. H. Ramamoorthy and Nome.

Nidagha! in this explanation,
I shall tell you about being established in the Undivided,
Which has nothing apart from itself, which is full of itself.
May you be in the Bliss of being That itself, as being proclaimed
to you.
This teaching is highly secret and rare to come by
In the Veda-s and the scriptures.
Moreover, this is rare to come by for even the gods and yogins
And is dear to their hearts.

Son! it has been said by those who know fully
That being at one with the perfectly full nondual Brahman
The mass of Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, the immutable
The Self of all, the serene,
With the vikalpa-s (imaginations, notions) of the fickle
mind ended.
And thought dissolved wholly and indistinguishibly herein,
like a solute such as cumin seed dissolved in water,
Is the abidance in That itself.

When inquired into deeply, all the multitude of differences
Will be seen to be never existent.
All is the undivided Supreme Brahman, which is not different
from the Self,
And That am I.
By always correctly practicing In this exalted certitude
And relinquishing all else,
Be in the Bliss of being ever That itself.

That in which all these apparent differences of duality
Cease to exist when inquired into,
In which all cause and effect--
Even a trace thereof--cease to exist,
And in which not a trace of this fear of duality exists
When the mind is merged therein--
Being that itself,
Ever abide in unwavering Bliss.

That in which there is neither a sankalpa (concept, fixed idea)
nor vikalpa (imagination, doubt, notion),
In which there is neither peace, nor perterbance,
In which there is neither mind nor intellect,
In which there is no confusion or conviction,
In which there is no bhava (conviction, feeling) or absence of bhava
(conviction or feeling),
And in which there is no cognition of duality at all---
Being as That itself, without the least fear of duality,
Ever abide in unwavering Bliss.

6.That in which there is nothing bad or good,In which there is neither sorrow nor pleasure,In which there is neither silence nor speech,In which there are no pairs of opposites,In which there is no distinction of "I" or "body,"(Alternative translation: in which there is no notion "the body is myself,")And in which there is not the least thing to perceive--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

7.That in which there is no activity of body,In which there is no activity of speech,In which there is no activity of the mind,In which there is no activity of any other kind,In which there is nothing sinful or meritorious,And in which there is no trace of desire or its consequences--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

8.That in which there is never any imagination,In which there is no one who imagines,In which the universe has not arisen,In which the universe does not exist,In which the universe does not get dissolved,And in which nothing exists at any time--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

9.That in which there is no appearance of maya (illusion),In which there are no effects of maya (delusion),In which there is neither knowledge nor ignorance,In which there is neither Lord (Isvara) nor individual (jiva),In which thre is neither reality nor unreality,And in which there is not the least appearance of the world--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

10.That in which there are no manifold gods,In which there is no worship of or service to these,In which there is no differentiation as the triad of forms (Brahma, Vishnu, Siva),In which there is no meditation on the triad of forms,In which there is no form of the Supreme Siva,And in which there is no meditation on the Supreme Siva--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

11.That in which there is no action suggesting differentiation,In which there is neither devotion nor knowledge,In which there is no result to be obtained,Bereft of which there is no supreme abode (or supreme state),In which there is nothing of means [for attainment],In which there is nothing to be attained--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

12.That in which there is nothing of body or senses or life,In which there is nothing of mind or intellect or thought,In which there is no experiencer of these,In which there is no macrocosm or microcosm,And in which there is not a trace of samsara (cycle of birth and death)--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

13.That in which there is no desire and no anger,In which there is no covetousness and deluded infatuation,In which there is no arrogance and envious malice,In which there are no other impurities of the mind,And in which there is no delusive notion of bondage,And in which there is no delusive notion of liberation--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

14.That in which there is neither beginning nor end,In which there is no bottom or middle or top,In which there is neither shrine nor deity,In which there is neither charity nor righteous conduct,In which there is neither time nor space,And in which there is no object to be perceived--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

15.That in which the fourfold means for realization of Brahman (sadhana chatushtaya) do not exist,In which there is neither sadguru (true guru) nor diligent disciple,In which there is no immutable knowledge,In which there is no illustrious jnani (knower, sage),In which there is neither of the two kinds of liberation (jivan-mukti, liberation while alive and vedehamukti, disembodied liberation),And in which there is nothing at any time--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

16.That in which there are no scriptures like the Veda-s and such,In which there is no inquiring indivudual,In which there is no confusion and clarification,In which there is no position to be established,In which there is no position to be rejected,In which there is nothing at all except oneself--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

17.That in which there is no disputation,In which there are no victories or defeats,In which there is no text or its meaning,In which there are no words with which to give expression,In which there is no differentiation of individual (jiva) and the Supreme,And in which there are no conditionings--Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),In That itself as That itself.

That in which there is no listening (sravana) or connected practices (reflection and profound contemplation),

In which there is no exalted samadhi (state of absorption),

In which there is no differentiation between objects of the same particular group,

In whic there is no differentiation between objects belonging to different groups,

In which there is no differentiation as affording pleasure of otherwise,

And in which there are no words or their meanings---

Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),

In That itself as That itself.

That in which there is no trace of the fear of hell,

In which there is no pleasure of heaven, either,

In which tehre are no worlds of the Creator (Brahma) or others,

In which there are no fruits to be enjoyed there,

In which there are no other worlds,

And in which there exists no universe----

Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa)

In That itself as That itself.

That in which there are no elements,

In which there is not even a trace of any derivatives of the elements,

In which there is no egoity or sense of possession,

In which there is no trace of the kingdom of the mind,

In which there is no defect of attachment,

And in which there is not the slightest trace of vikalpa

(difference, imagination, doubt, notion)--

Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a conccept (sankalpa)

In That itself as That itself.

That in which there is no triad of bodies (gross, subtle, causal),

In which there is no triad of states of existence (waking, dream,

and deep sleep),

In which there is no triad of souls (ever free, having attained freedom, bound),

In which there is no triad of afflictions (caused by bodily and mental factors,

caused by external factors, caused by supernatural and cosmic factors),

In which there is no pentad of sheaths (physical, vital energy,

mental, intellectual, blissful),

And in which there is no experiencer of any of these---

Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),

In That itself as That itself.

That in which there is no sentient being,

In which there is no power of veiling,

In which there is no array of differences,

In which there is no power of false projection,

In which there is no other power of any kind,

And in which there is no delusion of a manifest world---

Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),

In That itself as That itself.

That in which there is nothing of action,

In which there is no performer of action,

In which arises unsurpassed Bliss,

Which is, indeed, the changeless state,

Knowing and realizing which none returns [to mortality

or illusion],

And becoming which one is freed from the bondage of worldly

existence---

Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),

In That itself as That itself.

That by realizing which and in the Bliss of which

All other joys appear to be the joys of That,

That after realizing which with very firm certitude as oneself

Nothing else will in the least be something apart,

That by realizing which with very firm certitude as oneself

All kinds of Jiva-s (individuals, beings, lives) will attain

Liberation---

Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),

In That itself as That itself.

That which by knowing firmly as oneself

One has no need to know anything else in the least,

By knowing which with full conviction as oneself

All is known forever,

And by knowing which as oneself in complete certitude

All actions are completed in their entirety---

Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa)

In That itself as That itself.

That which can be easily attained in an unimpeded manner

By the certitude that I am Brahman,

In which, by quiescence after such certitude,

One completely full, ineffable Bliss will reveal itself,

And by merger of the mind in which

One will be joined with unsurpassed, incomparable

contentment---

Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa)

In That itself as That itself.

That by merger of the mind in which

All sorrows will cease to exist in the least,

By merger of the mind in which

Neither you nor I nor anything else will exist,

And by merger of the mind in which

All these differences will disappear---

Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa),

In That itself as That itself.

That by merger of the mind in which

One abides as oneself with no sense of duality,

By merger of the mind in which

Not a trace of anything seperate will remain,

And by merger of the mind in which

Incomparable Bliss alone will reveal itself--

Ever abide in Bliss, without a trace of a concept (sankalpa_

In That itself as That itself.

That which is, indeed, of the nature of undifferentiated Existence,

Which is, indeed, of the nature of undifferentiated Consciousness,

Which is, indeed, of the nature of undifferentiated Bliss,

Which is, indeed, of the nature of nonduality,

Which is, indeed, not different from the Self,

And which, indeed, is the undivided Supreme Brahman---

In the firm certitude that "I am That,"

Abide in the Bliss of ever being That itself.

That which, indeed, is "I" and "you",

Which, indeed, is everyone else,

Which, indeed, is the substratum of all,

Which, indeed, is One without a trace of anything else,

Which, indeed, is utmost purity,

And which, indeed, is the undivided, complete, perfect fullness---

By the conviction that "I am That,"

Be in the Bliss of ever being that itself.

That in which there are no varying modes,

In which there is not the least thing different,

In which all egoity is extinguished,

In which all desires (or imaginings) get destroyed,

In which mind and such perish,

And in which all delusion is destroyed---

By the firm conviction that "I am That",

Be in the Bliss of ever being That itself.

That in which the body and others can not be discerned,

In which there is no perception of manifestation whatsoever,

In which thought itself is destroyed,

In which merges the individuality (jiva),

In which all imaginings get dissolved,

And in which even certitude disappears---

By the deep conviction that "I am That,"

Be in the Bliss of ever being That itself.

That in which all meditation is merged,

In which all yoga is obliterated,

In which all ignorance is dead,

In which all knowledge is nullified,

In which there are no interactions involved,

And which is the state of Absolute Truth---

By the very firm conviction of "I am That,"

Be in the Bliss of ever being That itself.

Merging in which one attains happiness always,

Merging in which one never experiences sorrow,

Merging in which one perceives nothing,

Merging in which one never takes birth at all,

Merging in which one never experiences a sense of being seperate,

Merging in which one abides as the Supreme (Para) itself---

By the deep conviction of "I am That,"

Be in the Bliss of ever being That itself.

That which is verily of the nature of the Supreme Brahman,

Which verily is of the nature of the Supreme Siva,

Which verily is of the nature of the immaculate,

Which verily is of the nature of the Supreme State,

Which verily is of the nature of the Knowledge of Reailty,

And which verily is of the nature of the Supreme Truth---

That, indeed, am I.

By such conviction, be in the Bliss of ever being that itself.

That which is of the nature of the pure Absolute,

Which verily is of the nature of a mass of Bliss,

Which verily is of the nature of the subtle Supreme,

Which verily is of the nature of the self-luminous,

Which verily is of the nature of the nondual,

And which verily is of the nature of the meanings of

the undifferentiated.---

That, indeed, am I.

By such conviction, be in the Bliss of ever being That itself.

That which verily is of the nature of Truth,

Which is verily of the nature of the peaceful Absolute,

Which verily is of the nature of the eternal,

Which verily is of the nature of the attributeless,

Which verily is of the nature of the Self,

Which verily is of the nature of the undivided Absolute---

That, indeed, am I.

By such conviction, be in the Bliss of ever being That itself.

That, indeed, which constitutes the entirety of interactions,

That even the least of which cannot, indeed, be conveyed by

"the highest truth,"

Which, indeed, is the Existence-Consciousness-Bliss,

Which, indeed, is ever peaceful,

From which, indeed, there is nothing apart,

And which, indeed, abides self-existent, all by itself,

That, indeed, am I.

By such conviction, be in the Bliss of ever being That itself.

Thus, have I explained to you, Nidagha!

The state of being established as That itself without any duality.

You shall enjoy perpetual Bliss

By attaining this state by constant,

Continuous, changeless certitude

Of the undifferentiated Absolute.

There are no more miseries of mundane existence at

all at any time in the future

For you who are Brahman alone.

Casting aside all impure tendencies (vasana-s)

By the pristine tendency (vasana) left by the practice of

"The Absolute, Existence-Consciousness-Bliss, is all,

And That I ever am,"

And subsequently effacing even that tendency (vasana)

Son! you will be established in the perfect, full absorption

In and as the nondual Supreme Brahman itself

And attain the Liberation of being the undifferentiated,

undivided One.

All impure tendencies (vasana-s) are of a state of the mind

The tendencies (vasana-s) about the pure Absolute are also

of a state of the mind.

The Supreme has no such changing tendencies (vasana-s).

Hence, be established in this state,

Without any tendencies (vasana-s) of the mind,

Whether considered pure or considered impure,

Like a motionless piece of stone or wood

And, without any strain, be in Bliss.

Having disassociated from the imaginings of all other thoughts,

By the conviction (bhava) of being the undivided Absolute,

And forgetting even the said conviction (bhava) of being the

Absolute,

Your yourself abide as the perfectly full Supreme Brahman.

Even if a great sinner in this world

Hears this explanation now proclaimed

And understands it, he shall, rid of all the great sins of his ego,

Abide as the nature of the undivided, undifferentiated Absolute.

The endless Veda-s,

In revealing here and there

The means of meditation for mental purification,

Have indicated only rock-like, motionless mergere with and

absorption in

The unaffected mass of Bliss,

The undivided, complete, perfectly full Siva,

As the means for the happy Liberation

Of those who are mentally purified.

Therefore, one can here attain

The undifferentiated Liberation by abiding as just That itself

And with a purified mind arising out of the practice of

the meditation

That whatever is known is Siva

And that Siva am I.

Whatever is stated here is the Truth.

Thus, the sage Ribhu explained in full to Nidagha

The abidance in the True State.

It is the undivided form of our Supreme Lord in a state

of sublime, joyous dance that says:

By the conviction that I am ever the Reality, which is

Existence-Consciousness-Bliss,

And by the state of abiding at one with That, being That itself,

The empty bondage of the world can be cut asunder and pure

Liberation attained.

San Fransisco is in a 1000X magnified Comic book store

At this scale, the International Space station would be between 353 and 341 meters up. Traveling at 7 meters/second. or 17.239 miles per hour, speed of a bicyclist. It would be 7.3* 10.8 centimeters. The earth is 24 miles in circumference to the giants. Portland Oregon where I live would be 866 meters to the North of SF from the giants perspective. 947 yards, or 7.89 football fields with endzones back to back. Between Portland and SF. The Mariana Trench would be 11 meters deep to the giants.
The distance accross the Pacific to Japan would be 5.144 miles accross.

my guru's mandala on God, Guru and Grace

These again are mandalas my teacher wrote. I'm not trying to hog the message board, others are free to write. But I have found these incredibly helpful in the practice, so I'm sharing them.

Mandala Ten
God, Guru, Grace

God, Guru, and the Self
Are one and the same.
There is no God
Other than the Self,
And there is no self
Other than God.
As there is no distance
Between Brahman and oneself,
Between the Self and oneself,
there is no distance
Between the Guru and the disciple
Brahman transceneds all,
The Self transcends all,
The Guru transcends all,
For Brahman alone is,
The Self alone is,
The Guru alone is,
A second exists not in Brahman,
An ego exists not in the Self,
For the Guru, no disciple exists.
Duality dissolves in Brahman
The ego vanishes in the Self,
The disciple ceases in the Guru.
Brahman formless is,
The Self formless is,
The Guru formless is.
Brahman-Being-Consciousness-Bliss.
The Self-Being-Consciousness-Bliss.
The Guru-Being-Consciousness-Bliss.
Brahman is itself alone.
The Self knows itself alone.
The Guru reveals his own existence
alone.
One alone is
God, Guru, and the Self.

The Truth reveals the Truth
To the Truth.
The Self reveals its own existence
As the one Self.
This is the truth of meditation,
The Truth of the Guru-and-disciple relationship.
Only a Self-Realized sage
Reveals Self-Knowledge,
Clearly, "like a fruit in the hand,"
Naturally, with no duality.
The unenlightened
Are unable to do so,
The Realized reveal it
With even the most awkward of words,
The unenlightened cannot do so
With even the eloquence of the most elegant of words.
The Realized reveal it
Even with silence.
In this silence,
There are no unenlightened ones.

October 4, 2009 7:08 PM

Losing M. Mind said...

Speaking, he is yet silent.
Speaking, the sage
Speaks only to God-
The real Self-
Whenever addressing
The disciple or aspirant.
Not to follow the Truth
Revealed by one's Guru
Is to cling to the illusions
of the world,
Walk eyes open into a raging fire,
Blind one's own eyes,
Injure oneself,
Drown oneself,
To fall again into nightmares
After being kindly awakened.
The wise yogi does not
Make himself thus
As one deserving of compassion,
But adheres to the Truth,
Dissolves himself into it,
Rests himself upon it,
Remains absorbed in it,
And is content
Truth is like water:
Strong enough
To dissolve solid rock,
Yet so gentle
It can touch your eyes.
Be devoted to your Guru,
For he will generously show you
That which might otherwise
Require eons fo striving,
Who shows what to whom?
To the Truth,
The Truth reveals the Truth.

For the sake of the Self
All are loved.
Love-the unitary feeling of Being-
Inseparable from divine Knowledge,
In the Realization of the formless
Self,
The Self that dwells
In the hearts of all,
In devotion deep,
All love's expressions
Are acceptable,
Regardless of apparent duality,
Provided the devotee
Harbors no egoism.
Cessation of frantic contention
By the false ego,
With its attendant dualism,
As if a second power,
Is sweet surrender.
All the teachings are taught,
All blessings bestowed,
All instruction followed,
All devotion surges upm
All love pours forth,
For the sake of the Self.

Aborbed in That, by That,
In which faith is placed,
Is one with faith,
The strength of the holy,
The pure in heart.
What is to be experienced tomorrow
Is believed in today.
When the residuum
Of contrary doubt dissolves,
Faith's essence remains
As the deepest conviction
The certitude of Knowledge,
Shining as direct experience
Without the notion of time,
With no seperation.
With that, one is
Absorbed in That by That.

October 4, 2009 7:14 PM

Losing M. Mind said...

Grace is of the Self.
It sheds itself upon itself.
Whenever the ego dissolves,
One abides in a state of Grace.
Guru's Grace,
Oneness of Knowledge and Being,
Is felt as the fusion
Of wisdom and love,
Knowledge of the Self
Is truly holy.
Love of the Truth
Is truly holy.
Love of those who abide identified with the Truth
is truly holy.
What is holy is immortal.
Revealing itself,
The Self is called Grace.
Grace is the call, grace prompts the response.
If sincere self-effort is total,
Grace is present in abundance.
Having come into the Grace of the Guru,
If the disciple ardently follows
The path shown by the Guru,
He will undoubtedly be Liberated
And will never be forsaken,
for Grace is the Self.

All is Grace:
The hope, the search,
The effort, the attainment,
The instruction, the application,
The revelation,
The world-transcendence,
The immense peace,
All is Grace:

The lessons, the learning,
The dissolution of the fetters,
The saving from distress,
The display of Truth's power,
The transcendent freedom,
All is Grace:

The support, the guidance,
The help, the illumination,
The unfailing wisdom,
The perfection of bliss.
All is Grace:

The smallest, the vastest,
Inner mind, entire universe.
The eternal state.
All is Grace:
The Self's own Knowledge,
Self-evident, of its own Self.
All is Grace:
The one silent Truth.
All is Grace.

All right
Is everything,
No matter what,
When, or where.
The perfect Absolute
Brings forth none other.
Contrary ideas
Change not the fact.
Creating, destroying,
The pleasurable, the painful.
Living and dying,
All is ever
All right.
Detached and free,
Identified with That,
The indestructable Bliss,
Transcendent of all,
Himself being all,
Eternal perfection
All is ever
All right.

Supremely simple,
Innate, is the Truth.
So many words,
For something ineffable,
So many explanations
For the inexplicable
So many descriptions
For the indescribable,
So many reasons
For the unthinkable,
So many parables
For the incomparable,
The Self alone is
Supremely simple.

My spiritual teacher (sat-guru's) poetry.

Mandala Three Bliss

To abide as the Self
Is Bliss uncaused and unrboken.
The Bliss inherent in this
Nondual Being-Consciousness
Is as expansive as the sky,
Yet so close within you.
Happiness is within.
Within is the SElf.
The search for happiness
is the search for oneself
The finding of oneself
Is the happiness perfect.
Freedom, peace, and happiness fused
Are the singular experience
Of the true Self
No fulfillment in illusion
No deficiency in the Self;
No happiness in dualism,
No suffering in nonduality;
One is truly happy Only by
abiding At the very Source
of all happiness,
As the Bliss of the Self.
Bliss uncaused and unbroken
is To abide as the Self.

The Bliss of the Self,
Joy of the Absolute,
Is the state of Being,
Unveiled, SElf-revealed, as it is.
Suffering is needless,
and grief unrelated,
To immortal Reality.
Misidentification, ignorance,
Alone causes suffering.
Self-Knowldge is Bliss,
Reality SElf-revealed
You are never required To be bound
or to suffer.
You are always required To be
free, at peace,
And happy within.
Suffering has no basis,
No real, valid cause;
All so-called causes mere excuses,
Illusion's experience of itself.
Suffering is not
Inherent in life;
The Bliss of the Absolute
is what is innate.
This is the Bliss,
Real and Eternal,
The Bliss of the Truth,
The Bliss of the SElf.
To know the SElf,
One always is,
Is the way to recover,
The Bliss never lost.
The happiness experienced
Anywhere anytime
Derives not from the experienced,
But from the SElf,
The sole source,
The same is true of love, peace,
Dearness and harmony,
The true, good, and beautiful
All this is the Bliss of the Self.
Desire is simply
The urge to be happy.
Turned outward, it is foolish;
Turned inward, it yields wisdom.
Turn inward to recover
The Bliss never lost.
Immutable Being is the root
Of peace everlasting.
Space-like Consciousness is the root
Of freedom from bondage.

October 3, 2009 11:09 PM

Losing M. Mind said...

The Bliss of the Self is the root
Of joyful love, devotion, and Oneness.
The way to recover the Bliss ever yours
Is to know the SElf that always you are.
One thing is needed for Bliss everlasting;
Dive within, to the source,
Detaching and inquiring
to know the Self.

I'll share the one on practice also.
Mandala five
Advice for Aspiration

Practice, practice, practice intensely
Like a man drowning Reaching for air;
Drowning in samsara
Reaching for blissful immortality,
Practice, practice, practice intensely.
Effortless certainly is Self-Realization,
Yet if it's not certain,
practice, practice, pracgtice intensely.
The intensity of Truth shines
As intensity of the practice
To know oneself truly
And to renounce all the unreal.
Practice of KNowledge
Destroys the shadows of ignorance,
Burning brightly and absorbing itself
In the Truth ever present.
Never is there a need
TO abandon the practice,
For what seems the means
Is really the End;
The End itself;
Manifests as means,
Jnana and jnana,
Knowledge-yielding KNkowledge.
Knowledge without practice
Is only momentary insight;
Practice iwthout knowledge
Is repetitive and unclear.
Neither practice nor KNowledge
Is worldly wandering in delusive maya,
Filled with suffering,
Bound in bitter fetters,
LIfe spent in a dream.
Knowledge practiced
Stands irrefutable,
Shines as direct expereince,
And abides as Being,
For the sake of Bliss,
For the sake of peace,
for the sake of freedom,
For the sake of Truth,
For the sake of the SElf,
Practice, practice, practice intensely.

October 3, 2009 11:15 PM

Losing M. Mind said...

The spirit of Truth
Is the spirit of practice,
You are always free,
And always free to be free,
Do not doubt the ability
To abide as the Self;
Do not let this ability go unused.
Nothing obstructs,
But one's imagination.
Persevere and inquiry,
Listen, reflect, meditate.
So that practice is filled with
The spirit of Truth.

Nonduality in practice,
Nonduality in Realization.
To search for Truth
While ignoring one's own Self
Is like confounding the original face
And the image in the mirror
KNowledge of the SElf
Trancends all duality
Self-inquiry includes not
The dualism one desires to transcend.
Inquiry reveals and does not create.
What is anew will be lost
And cannot be real.
What is ever revealed
And is not destroyed,
Oneself revealing
ONe SElf to oneself.
For Nonduality in REalization,
nonduality in practice.

And no darkness remains in LIght,
There remains no ignorance,
Bondage, or suffering
For those who are wise,
Sincere, honest, introspective,
Persevering, faithful,
And who carry the love
Of the Supreme
In their hearts.
Manifesting the true,
The good, and the beautiful.
Inspired by the sages,
The holy and gracious,
He who, with inward mind,
Seeks the light of Truth,
Finds himself absorbed
In the light timeless
That knows no darkness
Of delusion, illusion unreal.
He who, renouncing attachment
And aflame with the desire for Liberation,
INquires to know
The Truth of the SElf
Treads the supreme way
And is the crest jewel of living beings.
He is a light
Guided by light,
Effulgent in Bliss-KNowledge,
Is absorbed in LIght,
Light of pure Consciousness,
LIght that is infinite
Eternal Light of all,
Absolute Light,
Illusionless Self,
And no darkness remains in light.

That which you desire to find
Is found by destroying the vile
That seems to hide it,
The forgetfulness
That overlooks it,
The inadvertent mode
That slips by it.
The tendencies that you examine
In the light of true KNowledge,
Are those from which
You set yourself free.
The illusion dissolves
Into nothingness that it is,
Its only substance,
For when you hutn for the gloom,
With the light within,
You find only light,
And the gloom remains not,
Examining the bondage,
you find no fetters,
Examining the sorrow,
You find no valid cause,
Examining delusion's dream,
You find no substance, no dreamer.
To control thought or the mind,
Completely and finally,
Relizae that such
Has never actually come to be.
Confining concepts are
Like echoes in an empty canyon.
If you do not shout
How will there be any noise?
So does bondage and its erasure
Pivot on you.

Inquiring to know
What yourself is,
Trace the outer to the inner,
The branch to the trunk and the root,
The objective to the subjective,
And inquire, "Who am I?"
Ignorance will cease,
And you will thus realize
That which you desire to find.

The desire for LIberation
And earnest self-effort
Are the key ingredients
For SElf-Realization.
Sincerity of purpose,
Renunciation of attachment,
And introspection in the form of
Self-inquiry
Are what are needed
For SElf-Realization.
Meditation to know the SElf,
Dissolving the mind in its source,
Is the helpful means
For SElf-Realization,
If only one desires
Liberation strongly enough,
The necessary practice will manifest.
Bondage will vanish,
And the Truth will be Realized.

October 3, 2009 11:24 PM

Losing M. Mind said...

Desire for LIberation means
That one knows that
Self-Realization alone is necessary,
And nothing else is necessary.
Earnesness manifests as dilligence
and perseverence.
Dilligence is adherence to the teachings
of Truth.
Perseverence is the adament refusal
To stagnate in delusion.
REnunciation of attachment
Is clarity regarding happiness
And no longer fooling oneself
About what can never give
What is truly one's own.
Inquiry is discerning
Who you are,
Negating what you are not.
So that the SElf is SElf-revealed.
Treasure the Nondual Truth
As you would protect your own eyes,
And it, itself, will protect you
From blind pursuit of the unreal.
As you see yourself
So you see others
Though one who sees the Self
KNows the Self of all,
And identified as That,
Sees no others at all.
So treat others as you would yourself,
And love them as the Self
Beyond body and mind.
Humility is the vessel
Of Truth and Grace,
The ability to imbibe
The resevoir for wisdom,
And the vehicle of love,
Compassion is the understanding
That suffering is needless,
The eye of KNowledge
Sees the sufferer is not,
And silent Being ever prevails,
Countless divine attributes
Have one source within,.
Abide in the source,
The divine Absolute,
By diving within, urged by
The desire for Liberation.
The wise have shown the way.
look not without,
But look within.
Do not formulate opinions.
But know the Truth within.
Do not attempt to control others,
But learn to wisely govern yourself.
Do not seek to tell others,
But correct yourself.
Do not opine regarding others,
But seek the state of no defining idea regarding yourself.
Do not seek out the faults of others,
But critically examine yourself.
Do not learn jargon,
But learn the meaning in KNowledge.
Do not imitate or create anew,
But practice sincerely,
Realizing by direct experience,
What the holy sages have before you,
The wise have shown the way.

If you adhere to hte Truth,
The Truth adheres to you,
Illumines and supports you,
The Truth is realized by those
Who are consecrated to it.
One should spiritually practice
With as much intensity
As if life depended on it,
For, indeed, it does.
Do not delay to practice;
Do not wait to know yourself.
Patience is wiating
For osmething objective to occur.
Impatience is waiting
For something objective to occur.
Do not wait; know yourself.
Care for the root,
And the branches and leaves
Care for themselves.
What appears as intensity in practice.
Is, in RElaization, found to be
The solidity, vividness, And reality
of hte SElf.
Intensity in practice becomes
Immovability and imperturbability
In the KNowledge of the Absolute
INtensely inquire,
Knowing that no ignorant notion
Is too large to conqurer.
Intensely inquire,
KNowing that no ignorant notion
Is too small to relinquish.
Nothing will delude you
If you adhere to the Truth.

Sow and reap.
Meditation yields wisdom and inner experience.
Detachment yields freedom and peace.
Perseverence yields steadiness and strength.
Self-inquiry yields the Realization of the Absoute
And nothing less.
Sow and reap."

This is enough for now. This mandala actually goes on for a long while. But maybe I'll share more later. My teacher said it was meant as a meditation to engender being absorbed in the state of the Self, or pure COnsciousness.

Purpose of blog...

For people who come to this blog. I've led a weird life, partly because of Asperger's syndrome, a very mild

case of autism. And being in counter-cultures, learning a martial art. Rebelling against all concepts. (including pretty dramatically gender roles) And then finally, it coming full circle, and starting to actually have things come together. And so... For those folks who are more conventional it may be shocking. But yeah, in this, there is no holds barred with sharing the imaginitiveness that crosses my mind. You will see science, you will see spirituality, you will see everything that has helped me, and perhaps aided me at making sense of a world that made little sense to me. So the solutions I came up with, the ideas I took on and were exposed to were not 'conventional', but were what ultimately worked. To those who are on the counter-culture end of the spectrum, there is the deep religious themes that come through, even Christian. So my life, the things that have happened, the things I have took on, I have found myself outside of any dichotomies. Whether conservative or liberal, anarchist, or governmental, counter-culture or mainstream, western or eastern. I forget the world of people thinking that their assumptions hold true, that they don't have to ask, to understand. I go where fate takes me, and use what works. And then forget how outside of the 'norm' I am, or what people might try to make of it. but that strategy, is ultimately what makes for an interesting life. So what are my opinions? I don't have any, is probably is a good way to put it. There is no platform here. The ground is not solid, you are walking on quicksand.

fighter jet 1000x

A $2 bill fell out of the carriage.

This is a $2 bill 1000X by length, a bacterium for the giants would be obviously not visible to the giants, but would be a visible 1 mm or salt grain size to the Portland inhabitants who are the size of ants to the giants. Even this dollar bill enlarged 1000x, and weighing the weight of a billion $2 bills would be only about a foot thick. I'm guessing, because it seems money is thicker then most paper. It would weigh 1,102 tons or 2,205,000 pounds or 1 million kilograms, about as much as the Giant Sequoia General Sherman

More of size scale

Joe Montana

In high school I was a real big fan of Joe montana, there was something so earnest and un-cynical, and un-egotistical about him. And there was something about his graceful ability to make passes even when he couldn't see the receiver. I like the idea of someone this graceful, and sagely being the most famous American Football player of all time.