Babel

Category: Philosophy

  • 10 Commandments of Life – Video

    10 Commandments of Life brought to life.

    Daniel (a.k.a. Philosopher Fresh) contacted me in May 2008 through MySpace. He said, "I have had a copy of your 10 commandments on my wall for the last 5 years! Wonderful! First of all thank you so much for those inspirational words!!! They have helped change my life!"

    Through his videos Daniel is bringing the world messages of peace and upliftment. You can view them at Philosopher Fresh on youtube.com

    Thanks Daniel for your kindness and for lovingly giving my words life!!!

    ~Bonnee Klein Gilligan (a.k.a. Adonea)

  • Who am I?

    OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA This week I’ve had a series of thoughts and concepts present for a revisit. A friend mentioned Tolle’s book ‘A New Earth’ and said I might want to watch the review at Oprah.com. While there I surfed around a bit and came upon Dr. Wayne Dyer on Oprah’s Soul Series. Then one day on Twitter Paulo Coelho tweeted the quote below so I visited his blog. All week I’ve been pondering the concepts of ego, personality, pain body and now. And working  with present moment. It has been an interesting week. Thought I’d share with you some of my outer and inner workings.

     So I begin… When asked who are you? We often reply with a series of socially acceptable identifiers like, "I am ‘name’, I work for ’employer’, I live in ‘town’, I am ‘relationship status’." Are we that? A name? A job? A town? A relationship?

    No of course not. These are identifiers…. name, job, location, relationship. They are current points in time which can change. We get married/divorced, move, change our name and jobs all the time these days.  But if we aren’t these… what are we? 

    We also say, ‘I am a ‘man or woman’, ‘I’m ‘age’,’I’m ‘sexual preference’ . We look in the mirror and see ourselves. We think, "That’s me." But we can alter our body too. Change hair color, lose or gain weight, have plastic surgery and not look the same at all. We can even change our sex. If we make any or all of these changes are we still the same? We look different. No one may recognize us. But are we still the same?

    We describe ourselves as, "I’m ‘outgoing or introverted or other’. I’m a ‘habit (smoker, drinker, etc.)’. I’m ‘emotional state (happy, sad, thankful, etc.)’. " And other descriptive phases which talk about our emotional state or ego/personality. Are we how we feel or even what we think?

    Dr. Wayne Dyer gives this collection of ideas about ego…

    I am what I do

    I am what I have

    I am what others think of me

    I am separate from you

    I am separate from what is missing in my life

    I am separate from God

    "We are not our ego. When we see ourselves and the world from these ideas we are ‘Edging God Out’ (EGO).  We are already connected to all… have all, we just need to align and surrender. Become empty."

    "Oh Krishna, The stillness of divine union which you describe is beyond my comprehension. How can the mind, which is so restless, attain lasting peace? " ~Bhagavad Gita

    If not egoic thought, who are we? What is at the core? How can we know who we are? Where do we begin?

    "Not as I will, but as thou wilt." ~2 Corinthians 3:4,5

    "We need to forget what we think we are, so that we can really become what we are." ~ Paulo Coelho

    So ‘I will’ is akin to ego. Forget or surrender ‘I will’ or ‘what we think we are’. Give up beliefs about self which come from ego or personality. The concept is clear enough but how?

    "Be still, and know that I am God." ~Psalms 46:10

    "True self essence comes out of stillness. Your innermost sense of self, of who you are, is inseparable from stillness. This is the I Am that is deeper than name and form.

    To meet everything and everyone through stillness instead of mental noise is the greatest gift you can offer to the universe. I call it stillness, but it is a jewel with many facets: that stillness is also joy, and it is love."~Eckhart Tolle

    ‘Be still’. In the stillness we begin to understand ‘what we are’.  But we have a life to live, things to accomplish. How can we become still or empty and have a life?

    "Do not dwell in the past, do not dream of the future, concentrate the mind on the present moment." ~Buddha

    "Realize deeply that the present moment is all you ever have. Make the Now the primary focus of your life." ~Eckhart Tolle

    Life can only be experienced Now. Not in past or future. Aligning self with the present moment aligns self with Life (God). But then how do we know our purpose? What we are to do?

    "At the center of your being you have the answer; you know who you are and you know what you want." ~Lao Tzu

    Being is focusing self on something other then brain grinding or mindless doing. It is Life. Breathe. Follow the breath. Still self inward by following stillness into through and around a flower, tree, plant. Becoming that stillness, quiet, peace. It enlivens. Follow it into the body, feel the buzz, hum or vibration of Life within you. Feel the Peace. Stillness. Joy. Bliss. Then you are fully present… NOW.  The fullness of Life can truly only be experienced now… end.

    The photo above of the glorious rose was taken by my beloved friend Light who made his transition. Now he works in Spirit.

    Hope you enjoyed my pondering.

    ~Bonnee Klein Gilligan

    For more on Eckhart Tolle see eckharttolle.com or oprah.com  to watch ‘A New Earth’ book review with he and Oprah.

    For more on Paulo Coelho see paulocoelho.com.br or read his blog.

    For more on Dr. Wayne Dyer see drwaynedyer.com

  • Co-creatorship, Mind and Now…

    I wrote this in response to a question I received asking about soul and co-creation. The photo is a pink water lily in my pond.

    Thought you might enjoy them.pond-lily-sm

    Soul is fully conscious (aware) and non-conditional (absolute, without imperfection). Co-creation happens through Soul (as Thought) utilizing a polarity of sorts. Thought… not as in the physical brain mental functioning: but rather Thought through Mind (Buddhist: ‘diamantine mind’ or ‘clear-light mind’) and beyond. Mind in this reference is also Higher Mind (an ethereal energy field that brings knowledge and information of a higher source). Soul works through ‘Mind’. There is a doing by Soul during creation that resembles thought (intention or perfect intention) and is never unconscious (without awareness).

    We become true co-creators when we are fully conscious. What that means is have the complete awareness of ‘Who We Truly Are’… as Soul, with full knowing of ‘All That Is’… ‘Being in this world but not of it’ also called ‘Enlightenment’ (knowledge of Universal Truths and the ability to live them; realization of the ‘I AM’ within, resulting in perfect harmonious function). Enlightenment is not way beyond our reach it is opening to the awareness of ‘All That Is’ (including inner and outer worlds) and as a result becoming peaceful, harmonious and unconditionally loving.

    There truly is no time… all is NOW. So co-creatorship occurs in the Now.‘Linear time’ is a construct of our collective consciousness, is what we chose to experience during our earthly incarnations… but it is changing to ‘Now’ as we ALL begin to become aware… conscious… enlightened.

    In co-creation, there is an understanding of polarity (possessing of negative (yin) and positive (yang) poles), which is utilized. Polarity is not the same as duality. The polarity utilized by Soul is the harmony and interpenetration of Light (vibration, matter, yang) and Darklight (void, dark matter (makes up 90% of the Universe), yin). One cannot exist without the other.

    When one is unconsciousness (without awareness), there is a duality (being twofold, usually contradictory; in disagreement) of thought functioning. The brain not knowing or believing itself a Soul and unlimited… believes it is limited and proves that to itself by trying on various societal constructs. It believes itself to be limited by the beliefs of the group it aligns itself with… and so creates limitation for itself. A limitless Soul in a vehicle that believes itself limited… this is duality… a twofold contradiction; in disagreement. As long as there is this disagreement there cannot be Higher-level creation while in a physical body.

    So the duality of Soul in an unconscious (walking dead, without awareness) vehicle creates unconsciously. And brings to itself all manor of things, relationships and experiences which trigger emotions, thoughts and wonderings to help itself remember. And as it begins to remember the experiences, relationships and things change to show it that it is a creator. But it still limits itself saying, “I AM this but not that”… this is separation. Until brain comes to the realization of Oneness of ‘All That Is’, which is the integration of Soul (knowing) within body… and brain no longer limits itself in any way… there cannot be true co-creation.

    In italic I have defined words from various dictionaries (including Oxford American Dictionary, The Donning International Encyclopedic Psychic Dictionary and http://dictionary.reference.com/) for the sake of clarity.

    ~Bonnee Klein Gilligan

  • Money… I want!

    About 8 years ago my step mother said to me, "I am my stuff. I am my money." What she was saying is that without her ‘stuff’ she’d be nothing. She was worthless. Are we our money? Does it really provide what it is that we desire? Power, prestige, lots of stuff, freedom? Or is it just paper or coinage and our thoughts about it give it perceived value and some mystical power?

    The thought that keeps running through my mind is…

    "It’s not about money. None of it is about money. Money is only one form of exchange."

    A young man said to me the other day ‘I’d prefer "humane" profit, but hey, profit gives me the ability to behave humanely." Does it take profit to behave humanely? Or are our thoughts the deciding factor in all things ultimately?

    “All that we are is the result of what we have thought. The mind is everything. What we think we become.” ~Buddha

    In the video interview below Bryon Katie says to her student,

    "Turn it around. Say that again using the word thought instead of money (profit)."

    So turning the young man’s statement around, "I’d prefer ‘humane’ thought, but hey, thought gives me the ability to behave humanely." At the core – it is our thoughts that create our world. Personally and globally. Not money.

    Seems we always see greener pastures elsewhere. Putting things outside of ourselves. I hear friends saying, "I’d be happier if only I had…. (fill in the blank)." Most often when the elusive ‘happy maker’ is obtained, the happiness gained is fleeting. Then we’re back to our old selves again, searching for the next ‘happy maker’ to fulfill our desires.

    Many of us put much of ourselves and our time into thinking about money… getting more, keeping it, spending it, not having enough, having none. ‘Loving money’ or ‘hating money’. Both fall into the same category since we are expending self for it.

    "Whoever loves money never has money enough; whoever loves wealth is never satisfied with his income. This too is meaningless." ~Ecclesiastes 5:10

    What would happen if we put as much thought and time into ‘What can be done for the greater good? For the Earth, society, community, family… Creator.’

    "Full of love for all things in the world, practicing virtue, in order to benefit others, this person alone is happy." ~Buddha

    Or self… wholing (balancing/healing/loving) self.

    “You yourself, as much as anybody in the entire universe, deserve your love and affection.”~Buddha

    Miracles. True Happiness. Peace. More?

    What wonderful things can you imagine?

    ~Bonnee Klein Gilligan

    Byron Katie, interviews one of her students about his beliefs regarding money. This video is funny and uplifting and may change the way you view money.

    For more about Bryon Katie: http://www.thework.com/

  • The Invitation by Oriah Mountain Dreamer, Indian Elder

    It doesn’t interest me what you do for a living.

    I want to know what you ache for, and if you dare to dream of meeting your heart’s longing.

    It doesn’t interest me how old you are.

    I want to know if you will risk looking like a fool for love, for your dreams, for the adventure of being alive.

    It doesn’t interest me what planets are squaring your moon.

    I want to know if you have touched the center of your own sorrow, if you have been opened by life’s betrayals or have become shriveled and closed from fear or further pain! I want to know if you can sit with pain, mine or your own, without moving to hide it or fade it or fix it. I want to know if you can be with JOY, mine or your own; if you can dance with wildness and let the ecstasy fill you to the tips of your fingers and toes without cautioning us to be careful, be realistic, or to remember the limitations of being human.

    It doesn’t interest me if the story you’re telling me is true.

    I want to know if you can disappoint another to be true to yourself; if you can bear the accusation of betrayal and not betray your own soul. I want to know if you can be faithful and therefore be trustworthy. I want to know if you can see beauty even when it is not pretty everyday, and if you can source your life from ITS presence. I want to know if you can live with failure, yours and mine, and still stand on the edge of a lake and shout to the silver of the full moon, “YES!”

    It doesn’t interest me to know where you live or how much money you have.

    I want to know if you can get up after the night of grief and despair, weary and bruised to the bone, and do what needs to be done for the children.

    It doesn’t interest me who you are, how you came to be here.

    I want to know if you will stand in the center of the fire with me and not shrink back.

    It doesn’t interest me where or what or with whom you have studied.

    I want to know what sustains you from the inside when all else falls away. I want to know if you can be alone with yourself, and if you can truly like the company you keep in the empty moments.

    ~Bonnee Klein Gilligan