The Golden Orb of Love

Some suggest that all suffering results from this underlying fear, reaction to even a stubbed toe is manifestation of fear of death albeit in a much smaller dose. But what is this fear of death and is it based on truth or another part of the illusion egoic mind constructs on a real time basis? Death is defined by doctors as the inability of bodies and mind to function in a way that we call living.  Upon death we will no longer be able to touch, taste, smell, see or hear.  Separately but not certainly, it also means cessation of the mental faculty, i.e. no thoughts. So the fear associated with death must be our fear of no longer being able to feel pleasant sensations, remember loved ones, fix outstanding life problems we currently face or may face in the future and so on. The list is as long as our lives. We can no longer plan to achieve unfulfilled desires upon death. The fear often includes anticipation of excruciating pain both physical and mental. Physical...

Nonduality or advaita can be quite confusing. How can there be just the one when I can clearly see there is this body and mind and there is the world full of things and other minds and bodies? How can I know there is just the one if I am not the one? My proposition is that there indeed appears duality but both of these, I and the world are made up stories. Some call the world an illusion or Maya, but accepting I as an illusion requires work. Watch a newborn. You can see the curiosity in its eyes. This is not God looking out of the eyes but the body and mind receiving sensations from the world which it tries to understand. With help from parents, friends and objects, the baby starts to identify the world as colour, shapes, sounds, taste and touch. As its abilities mature it also starts to see its own body and  the mind as another object, part of the other or the world. In the depth of stillness like deep sleep or Samadhi, something still remains. Mind can't get this but c...

Buddha’s teachings are often summarised as four noble truths. Buddha found; 1. despite wealth, culture, art, yoga, religion and war, there was no peace. Even the seemingly well off were dissatisfied (also called dukkha or suffering). 2. By repeatedly and incorrectly trying to alleviate this suffering through material pleasures, we end up as addicts craving for more of the same. This craving is responsible for the suffering. 3. This cycle of craving and dissatisfaction can be broken through a state called nirvana, which means extinguished desires and cravings. 4. And he laid out a path, an eightfold path to achieve such a state. The first two noble truths can be verified by using our intellectual capacity and carefully looking at our lives. It doesn’t take much to realise that our life is indeed full of dissatisfaction caused by clamoring or craving.  The process starts early when a child seeks and finds satisfaction through material pleasures. As identificat...