The Dark Night of the Soul - Part One Spiritual crises and breakthroughs in Western and Eastern traditions. "God turns the heart into blood and desperate tears; then he writes the spiritual mysteries upon it." - Rumi "The more the anguish...the more the Higher Self is squeezing the ego." - Paul Brunton The Dark Night of the Soul - Part Two “To be saved,” “to be enlightened,” or “to get the mind pacified” is not of primary importance. Shinran Shonin, who is respected as one of the greatest religious geniuses in Japan, once deplored, “I am unworthy of any consideration and am surely destined for hell!”....When one goes through this experience, for the first time the words of the great religious teachers are directly accepted with one’s whole heart and soul...” The Path of Endurance: “Khanti” Yoga "Such is the strange paradox of the quest that on the one hand he must foster determined self-reliance but on the other yield to a feeling of utter dependence on the higher powers.”    - Paul Brunton RAIN    “The child cries and [the mother] comes to give him something to eat and again goes away. Again he cries until nothing satisfies him but the mother taking him in her arms. When you want nothing else other than Him, He comes. Just as mothers always have pity, grace for the child, so it is with Master's Love. With His little thought, you weep like anything. Do you follow?” - Sant Kirpal Singh Scrubbing ”The extent to which the soul is purified in its most secret recesses, is the measure of its union with the God of all holiness.” - deCaussade Spirituality is Medicine - not Philosophy The church of spirituality is a hospital for sick souls. By Peter Holleran "That which hurts, but is profitable, is drunk by the wise like medicine. For the result, afterwards attained, becomes incomparable." - Nagarjuna    Kenosis and Metanoia Self-emptying and a change of heart: a profound transitional stage in all paths. Fear (Awe) of God followed by love of God. By Peter Holleran “The sacrifice of God is a troubled spirit: a broken and contrite heart, O God, shalt Thou not despise.” - Ps. 51 “The Lord taketh pleasure in them that fear Him, and in those that hope in His mercy.” - Ps.147:11 Karma and Grace    "It is not within the power of man to finish either the purificatory work or its illumination-sequel: his Overself, by its action within his psyche, must bring that about. This activating power is grace." - Paul Brunton Karma and Reincarnation “My realization is higher than the sky, But my observance of karma is finer than a grain of barley flour.”    - Padmasambhava Never Be Too Proud To Pray "Beware what you pray for. Do not ask for the truth unless you know what it means and all that it implies and nevertheless are still willing to accept it. For if it is granted to you, it will not only purge the evil out of you but later purify the egotism from your mind. Will you be able to endure this loss, which is unlikely to be a painless one?" - Paul Brunton “Shraddha” - Fundamental Faith and Trust Trust or faith in God, Guru, and our true nature.    “A thought of faith once awakened is the basis of the way forever.” Doubt As A Doorway To The Divine Doubt as a form of grace. "The greater the doubt, the greater the awakening; the smaller the doubt, the smaller the awakening; no doubt, no awakening.” - Zen saying Sarmad's Renunciations      Non-dual insight, the nature of voidness, and suchness, from Sarmad and Sufism. Why Did Sankara Speak (and Think) So Much? On the paths of experience and the path of Identity. The role of the mind in spiritual practise. Masters Die Many Times Spirituality is in the sage’s blood, his life a perpetual sacrifice. “The soul that is destined to have no other support but God himself, must pass through the strangest trials. How much agony and how many deaths must it suffer before losing the life of self.” - Pere La Combe Kundalini: Up, Down, or ? "During my days I lay in the prison of Tihran...I felt as if something flowed from the crown of my head over my breast, even as a mighty torrent that precipitated itself upon the earth from the summit of a lofty mountain. Every limb of my body would, as a result, be set afire."   - Baha u'llah On Suicide and the Spiritual Quest Words on a delicate issue of profound importance. "The fact that suicide is always possible is the starting point of any genuine metaphysical thought."    - Gabriel Marcel “A mad man clings to samskaras, whereas a jnani does not. That is the only difference between the two…Jnana is madness of a kind.”    - Ramana Maharshi The ‘Path’ of Wrath Samrambha Yoga - the way of the Asuras.   By Peter Holleran "You can meditate for fifteen years and get one inch closer to God; or you can be really angry and be with Him instantly."    - Sufi proverb The Great Uniqueness The sage is merged into and works for the World-Idea. Ego-I and 'I Am' become one. “The ego to which he is so attached turns out on enquiry to be none other than the presence of the World-Mind within his own heart. If identification is then shifted by constant practice from one to the other, he has achieved the purpose of life.” - Paul Brunton It's Not About Me Thoughts on a key insight arising in any truly liberating process    “What he chooses at the beginning of his quest will predetermine what he will become at its end. And the choice is between self-centered escape or selfless activity.” (Paul Brunton, Vol. 2, 5:116)    - forthcoming Not A 'One-Shot' 'Awakenings' are steps to Enlightenment. 'Enlightenments' are stages to liberation. "The sage is the flower, the blossoming of intelligence, throughout eons of time...It is the product of nature's strivings to bring about such blossoms. It takes a long time to produce a sage."    - Anthony Damiani The Depths of This Thing Trying to say what can't be said: stages of realization, and what gets enlightened. "The sun rises at a certain moment, and with it day breaks and all is clearly illumined; the snow and ice, however, take time to break up and melt. A baby is born at a certain moment, though it may take years to walk, talk, and help others." - Great Doubt, p. 67 After Awakening, What Next? Awakening and evolution. A comparison of the teachings of Paul Brunton, Sri Aurobindo, anadi, Nisargadatta Maharaj, contemporary non-dualists, and more. "How can a man fully express himself unless he fully develops himself? The spiritual evolution which requires him to abandon the ego runs parallel to the mental evolution which requires him to perfect it."    -    Paul Brunton The Geology of Realization “Geology is the study of pressure and time. That's all it takes really, pressure, and time..." The Long and the Short of It Truth is both a gradual development and a sudden attainment. A representative sampling of quotes on the "Long Path" and the "Short Path", from The Notebooks of Paul Brunton. "No effort is needed to get hold of the Overself, but every effort is needed to get rid of the many impediments to its recognition. We cannot take hold of it; it takes hold of us. Therefore the last stage of the quest is an effortless one. We are led, as children by the hand, into the resplendent presence." Two Sprites Some seed-thoughts on worry and hurry. "In every life we have some trouble; when you worry you make it double." - Bobby Mc Ferrin Holy S**t! Thoughts on fertility in the darkness The Best of J.P. deCaussade Words of wisdom on classic purgation and faith. Edited by Peter Holleran "The life of faith is nothing but the continual pursuit of God through everything that disguises, disfigures, destroys, and, so to say, annihilates him." The Best of Francois Fenelon Words of wisdom on faith and trust. Archbishop Fenelon, cousin of Madame Guyon. Edited by Peter Holleran. "Then we taste, then we are fed, then we become one with the truth. We no longer see the truth as an object outsides of ourselves. The truth becomes us, and we experience it as intimately as the soul experiences itself." The Best of Madame Guyon Subtleties on the way to God    "The life of the believer is like a torrent making its way out of the high mountains down into the canyons and chasms of life, passing through many experiences until finally coming to the spiritual experience of death. From there, the torrent experiences resurrection and a life lived in concert with the will of God while still going through many stages of refinement. At last the torrent finds its way into the vast, unlimited sea. Even here the torrent does not totally come to be one with the vast ocean until it has once more passed through final dealings by the Lord." Backdraft The fire of grace creates and fills a vacuum. "One does not begin to know and to feel one’s spiritual miseries until they begin to be cured.” - Fenelon Dying in the Master's Company The graceful passing of Ramana Maharshi's mother and Sant Kirpal Singh's wife. The influence of a saint or jnani at the time of death. The death of a Saint. Different perspectives on dying. " At the time of death the initiate will be as happy as a bride on her day of marriage!"   - Sant Kirpal Singh In the Bosom of the Lord: Death for the Unliberated The ins and outs of the existence of consciousness after death for the as yet unliberated soul. Contrary views from Buddhism, Christianity, Sant Mat. The death process. "Pure lands". Companion article to Dying in the Master's Company. "Death is not extinguishing the light; it is putting out the lamp because dawn has come." - Rabindranath Tagore The Idea of Man The concept of an archetypal 'Idea of Man', as found in the work of Daskalos, theosophy, and Paul Brunton; and the notion of 'Primal Adam', or 'Perfect' or 'Heavenly' Man, in Hebrew, Islamic, Sufi, Taoist, Hindu and Buddhist traditions.. Emptiness Is 'Empty' Companion piece to 'Maya Is 'Maya'. A discussion of the shunyavada or emptiness teachings of Madhyamika Buddhism, their relevance, and similarities in other traditions. How, if misunderstood, they can be a means of avoiding the human condition. "Believers in emptiness are hopelessly incurable."    - Nagarjuna Maya Is 'Maya' Companion piece to 'Emptiness Is 'Empty' (read that first). An extensive discussion of the 'provisional' teachings of Maya or illusion in Hinduism, with similarities in other traditions, and why it is a bug-a-boo or outdated illusion itself! “Alas! What a wonderful thing this veiling power is! It can even destroy the wisdom of a learned and wise man! One may be intelligent and wise, a scholar, very clever, and also adept in the vision of the exceedingly subtle Atman. In spite of these high qualifications, even a little breeze of this concealing power can destroy everything.”    - Sankara Don't Expect To Know Compiled by Peter Holleran. "Unless one becomes a six-month old baby, there is no hope for one in the realm of Self-knowledge." - Ramana Maharshi Ignorance Compiled by Peter Holleran "A dog has the soul of the philosopher."    - Plato Caught on the Path - the Master Trap On reaching a spiritual state of helplessness and hopelessness. Compiled by Peter Holleran. "Dear heart, where do you find the courage to seek the Beloved when you know He has annihilated so many like you before? I do not care, said my heart, my only wish is to become one with the Beloved."    - Rumi Patience, Perseverance, and Good News Words from the wise on important virtues. Compiled by Peter Holleran. "Ask and ye shall receive, knock and it shall be opened unto you." - Jesus Ennui On boredom and the passage through the wilderness. “But first the disciple must pass through the complexity in order to exhaust the various possibilities until the awakening of the consciousness which leads toward simplicity: would he be able to bear the intermediate phase between his dream and reality.” - de Lubicz    Goo-Goo Eyes "Tests" on the quest: humorous, painful, and informative, depending on point of view. Some adult content. Edited by Peter Holleran. [Note: References to the masculine gender were left unchanged so as not to interrupt the flow of the text; they should, however, be read as gender neutral. Also, while the humorous links appeal most directly to the male mind, with a little imagination they can apply equally well to that of the female.] Sant Mat Through the Heart's Gaze - 1 An exhaustive consideration in four parts: Traditional models of the path; psycho-physical anatomy; comparisons with yoga: Sivananda, Yukteswar, Yogananda, Ramakrishna; Faqir Chand's radical views; Ishwar Puri; the Master's Radiant Form; “84” steps in the pool of Amritsar in Daswan Dwar; is the experience of the inner planes the same for all? Subjectivity/objectivity. Vedanta; Ramana Maharshi; Secrets of the Path; Nirvikalpa; Sach Khand; Anami; Dissolution and Grand Dissolution; Maha Sunn/the Void. Sant Mat Through the Heart's Gaze - 2 A discriminating look at: Planes and Bodies; Sach Khand and Soul - are they nondual, or is only Anami or the 'One' nondual? Sant Mat versus Buddhism; More on Sant Mat and Non-Dualism; Shabd Yoga as a Jnana Path; Dissolution and Grand Dissolution; Shabda-Brahman as Liberator, not Creator: an alternate nondual view; What is Sat Purush?; Simran, Spiritual Intuition, Inner Hierarchies; After Death: What Happens. Sant Mat Through the Heart's Gaze - 3 For some initiates, perhaps the most relevant of the four parts. A look at self-introspection, ethics, and the keeping of a diary, from different stages of perspective/understanding; mindfulness, contemplation, and journalling; straight talk on spiritual progress: what is it?, ‘secrets’ about progress, unrecognized progress; the little mentioned topic of psycho-physical purification: Babuji Maharaj, Sri Aurobindo, Sant Darshan Singh, St. John of the Cross; the question of cultism; attitudes and preconceptions about the path; a rational consideration of nutrition, dietary accessories, and sexuality. Sant Mat Through the Heart's Gaze - 4 Samadhi versus Satori; Perfection/ Perfect Master, Omniscience: precisely what are they?; Advaita; Sahaj Samadhi; Liberation from the inner realms; Advantages of a Lineage; Kabir's Anurag Sagar; "Seeing" in Sach Khand; An Extensive discussion on 'Kal'; the concept of Avatars in Sant Mat; “Lineage ego”; Relative and Absolute Teachings; Divya Chakshu vs. Jnana Chakshu; Amrita Nadi; "Anubhava" vs. Samyagnana; Maha Sunn and equivalencies in other traditions; “Do Buddhists only go to the third plane as Sant Darshan Singh said?” - what is the meaning of that statement, and what it might mean even according to Buddhists!; Eradication of karmas/vasanas: Sant Mat versus vedanta; sleep; the importance of the waking state; Siddhis: acquired and innate; Sant Mat re-contexualized as a non-dual path, and not just other-worldly escape; “marked” souls; “The Fall” an outdated story and concept stigmatizing human suffering and error as “wrong.” Scare Tactics Traditional practice motivators. “The experience one has at the time of death is as if a thorny bush were placed inside the rectum and extracted through the mouth." - Quran "When the soul leaves the body one feels pain as if bitten by a million scorpions at once.” - Bhagwad Purana Tribute to a Parent's Love Receiving and accepting the deeper truths of the heart. An audio-visual experience. Languaging Non-Duality - Some Common Errors A consideration of polarities and their misleading use in the articulation of non-dual teachings. Is truth 'timeless' ? etc.. A major discussion, not for the faint-hearted. Non-Duality and and the Soul: Some Knotty Problems A comprehensive attempt to reconcile contrary views. The teachings of Paul Brunton compared to Advaita, Buddhism, Sant Mat, Anadi, and other schools. Topics considered: realization, practice, Soul, Overself, individuality, and more. Why and how "Atman and Brahman are One" - but not the same. A four-part series. The Primordial Ground Is the realization of consciousness the ultimate One, or the Divine Soul? Is there an Absolute beyond consciousness? An analysis of the teachings of Atmananda, Adyashanti, and Sri Nisargadatta. The "mirror" analogy in Advaita and Dzogchen. "Consciousness exists in awareness and awareness is the reflection of the light on the waters of existence." - Sri Nisargadatta, I AM THAT  The Grandeur of A Sage A Plotinian view of the Godman. “The sage unites with his soul and he's permanently soul. He can get a glimpse of the Intellectual Principle but he cannot become or be the Intellectual Principle. He must return and be soul. He will always be soul. You, I, and everyone else. So the higher glimpse is not your glimpse of the soul, but the soul's experience of the Intellectual Principle.” - Anthony Damiani Spirituality Is A Disease - ? Beware of being medicalized! And other issues.... By Peter Holleran. "Jnana is a form of madness."    - Ramana Maharshi "If There's a Hell Below, We're All Gonna Go" How could an animal ever get good enough karma to evolve into the human kingdom, and how can man evolve if he goes to hell as soon as he incarnates from the animal kingdom as a not-yet perfect human? Thoughts on Hindu cosmology and the seven nether regions. "Resist ye not evil" A brief look at three stages of spiritual approach to personal ethics and social activism. Have You Ever Been 'Experienced'? On the issue of drugs and spirituality. Esoteric Climatology Global warming: true or false? natural or man-made? Dissecting the evidence. Conclusion: don't worry too much. And, how it relates to the solar system, the Big Bang, and metaphysical teachings. "I'm not sure which is more arrogant - to say we cause global warming or that we can fix it." The Greater Kingdom Appreciating the river of Intelligence that runs through all life. "Nothing I say can explain to you Divine Love, Yet all of creation cannot seem to stop talking about it." - Rumi Hellenic Buddhism and Buddhist Christianity Theravada Buddhist and other Indian Influences on Greek Philosophy and early Christianity, and subsequent Hellenic and Christian Influence on the Rise of Mahayana Buddhism. Also, esoteric origins of Christianity and the mystery of Christ. The Secret Doctrine All you wanted to know about man's esoteric evolution but were afraid to ask. This article should help exhaust your seeking and also save you two thousand pages of reading or more. "Nor is it, after all, necessary that anyone should believe in the Occult Sciences and the old teachings, before one knows anything or even believes in his own soul....Your experience is limited to a few thousand years, to less than a day in the whole age of humanity and to the present types of the actual continents and isles of our Fifth Race. How can you tell what will or will not be?"      - H.P. Blavatsky The People of the Book Written several years ago, current events find it more timely than ever, and so we move it up the list. Examining the common ancestry of the Middle Eastern faiths from historical, exoteric, and esoteric levels, in an effort to promote tolerance. Also discussed, Primal Adam and earthly Adam; 'Hu-man'; 'Man-hosh' and 'behosh,' the Idea of Man. "I dwell neither high nor low, neither in the sky nor on earth,    nor even in paradise, O beloved, believe me,    strange as it may seem, I dwell in the heart of the    faithful and it is there    that I may be found.”    - Rumi The People of the Tradition The "Custodians of Wisdom." Esoteric origin of the world's religions. "The soul emanates from an unchangeable and higher spiritual order as well as from a former material evolution, from an extinct solar system,” and has inhabited many other such solar systems. A visitor on this earth for evolutionary purposes, it is humanity’s destiny to evolve beyond it, beyond the moon, beyond the orbits of the outermost planets and beyond the Sun, and so return to the true home-world lying far from this solar system in the depths of the universe.” - Pythagoras Why We Need a New Vision? Problems with traditional models of spiritual realization. "Plotinus even delivers a warning, and he says [in The Enneads] that we must TEACH OUR SOULS....So right there he's warning us that we must have the correct doctrine, or we will misunderstand the experiences that we have...If you can ask an intelligent question, that shows that you already understand. To formulate a question precisely is already quite a feat of knowledge." - Anthony Damiani Elvis the Bodhisattva A look at the King of rock and roll's spiritual side.    "All I want is to know the truth, to know and experience God. I'm a searcher, that's what I'm all about." Elvis Was Not a Mentalist Thoughts on manifestation, the "I-thought" and self-inquiry. ”His first mental act is to think himself into being. He is the maker of his own “I.” This does not mean that the ego is his own personal invention alone. The whole world-process brings everything about, including the ego and the ego’s own self-making.”   - Paul Brunton The "Lost Years" of Ramana Maharshi His two death experiences and their meaning in regards to self-realization, spiritual practice, the heart, jnana, bhakti, the World-Mind, and astrology. " All that you can say of the Heart is that it is the very Core of your being." BE AS YOU ARE: The Core Direct Teaching of Ramana A selection from Talks with Ramana Maharshi. Compiled by Peter Holleran. "You are always in the Heart. You are never away from it in order that you should reach it." The Heart of the Lankavatara Sutra The Lanka in a nutshell. "But, if they only realised it, they are already in the Tathagata's Nirvana for, in Noble Wisdom, all things are in Nirvana from the beginning." PB and Plotinus: The Fallacy of Divine Identity Is sahaj samadhi realization of the Soul, or the One? Dual Non-Dualism: Part One "Consciousness Is Not All." A comparative overview of the teachings of anadi.    “This vision is beyond duality and non-duality, embracing the paradoxical existence of the individual soul and her evolution within the ocean of universal intelligence." Dual Non-Dualism: Part Two "Distinctions of Oneness." A continued look into truth 'beyond the mind.' "We should not forget that often awakening is brought by the power of grace. In many traditions, students are supported from the esoteric dimension. That's why, even when one is doing the practice without having the full understanding but one is sincere and genuine - transformation simply does take place...Grace is the ultimate source of awakening." - anadi Dual Non-Dualism: Part Three "I am Not THAT" - or am I? Are Atman and Brahman the same? Is there not a Soul? Is Advaita the last word? "You must find your own way. Unless you find it yourself, it will not be your own way and will take you nowhere." - Sri Nisargadatta Dual Non-Dualism: Part Four "Invasion of the Body Snatchers." The nature of wholeness vs. the negation of body and soul. Concluding dharma debate. "It is not only awareness of mind and body which creates a conscious human being, but participation in them too!"     - anadi The Purpose of Spiritual Training The wisdom of Jack Nicholson. "You can't handle the truth!" Spiritual Implications of Brain Research Brain-wave studies on TM and Buddhist meditators, Carmelite nuns, Primal Therapy patients, neurosurgical volunteers - and what it all means. Can enlightenment be proven in the laboratory? By Peter Holleran. "There is no machine that can measure a person’s realization." - Tsoknyi Rinpoche Teachers, or Masters, of the One? ***Revised 07-29-13*** "So what if you have dropped illusion? You didn't drop your pride. Pride has fooled the best sages, Pride devours all."   - Kabir, Bijak  "Without virtue, God is only a word.”       - Plotinus A Brief Summary of Creation Views: Five creation views, from God created the world ex nihilo to the ajata (non-causality) view of Vedanta. By Peter Holleran. A P B ! The sands of time. Four short pieces on aging. "The unexamined life is not worth living."   - Socrates (470-399 BC) "The unlived life is not worth examining."     - Socrates (b. 1949) Greek Views on the Soul On the nature of the body-mind-soul relationship. By Peter Holleran. Casablanca A contemplation. Maybe THIS Time It Is Different Spiritual Revolution: the Mayan Calendar, 2012, Energy Shift, Golden Age, Brunler Scale, Morphogenic Fields, Planetary Ascension, Ashtar Command, Photon Belt, Kalki Avatar, Holographic Universe, Binary Sun, The Great Year, "Global Warming", and "Solar System Warming". Get ready, it's happening! ["For entertainment purposes only"]. Edited with commentary by Sirius. The Dance of Dharma Scintillating rays from a diamond-like source open the door of freedom. By Peter Holleran. "In whatever place you find truth, with whatever name it may be labelled, take it."    - Paul Brunton Mt. Tamalpais, the Sacred Mountain Take a spirit walk on a San Francisco Bay area treasure, visted by numerous saints and sages. By Peter Holleran. The Teachings of Don Juan An excerpt on the four natural enemies, from Chapter 3 of The Teachings of Don  Juan, by Carlos Castaneda Saga of the Disillusioned Seeker On how a noble soul was entranced by an enigmatic cult, struggled with the still, small voice within, was liberated from false authority, escaped the pod people, and found his way back home. Humorous and irreverant. Rated: PG-17 (some language). By "Morpheus". THE INTEGRATIONALISTS AND THE NON-DUALISTS -1: "The Opening Gambits." An imaginary conversation between contrasting points of view at Wisdom's Goldenrod Center for Philosophic Studies on the relationship between realization and transformation. By Peter Holleran. "A truth's initial commotion is directly proportional to how deeply the lie was believed. It wasn't the world being round that agitated people, but that the world wasn't flat.When a well-packaged web of lies has been sold gradually to the masses over generations, the truth will seem utterly preposterous and its speaker a raving lunatic.”      - Dresden James The INTEGRATIONALISTS AND THE NON-DUALISTS - 2 "The Reply of Plotinus" The debate continues......... "The gradation of the One, the One-Many [Nous], and the One and Many [Soul] is eternally fixed, and is an expression of reality."     - Plotinus THE INTEGRATIONALISTS AND THE NON-DUALISTS - 3: "The Fall from Grace" "If there is no soul, does Buddhism then teach that death is the termination of all conscious existence? This question cannot be answered by a simple “yes” or “no”. The INTEGRATIONALISTS AND THE NON-DUALISTS- 4: "Last Gasp of the Puppet People" "None of us is thrown into this world against his will. All of us are here because we want to be here...Some are eager to descend into a body again, but others are reluctant and are half-dragged down."     - Paul Brunton The Mirror Analogy The symbol of the "mirror" in spiritual teachings. By Peter Holleran. - forthcoming Truthfulness A discussion of Sacca (truthfulness, integrity, character), the most important of the ten Buddhist paramis (perfections). By Peter Holleran.    - forthcoming - What Is Intelligence? A look at the dynamic aspect of enlightenment. By Peter Holleran. "When intuition guides and illuminates intellect, balances and restrains the ego, that which the wise men called 'true intelligence' rises." - Paul Brunton - forthcoming - The Throne of God The archtypal image and experience of the Throne of God in Christianity, Sufism, Buddhism, and philosophical esotericism. "Shall we gather by the River, the beautiful, the beautiful River." By Peter Holleran. - forthcoming    The One-Eyed Monsters Fallacies of Absolutism, with reference to the teaching of William Samuel and others. The three stages of Zen, and how many teachers and students remain stuck in the 'mountains are no longer mountains' stage, despite argument to the contrary. 'Believing in emptiness, they fall into a self-condemned void' (Nagarjuna), often needing the resort of convoluted reasoning to justify action or purpose in a tangible world. By Peter Holleran. - forthcoming Is "Ajatavada" Non-Dual Enough? A look at ajatavada or non-causality, central tenet of the Mandukya Upanishad and non-dual teachings, and the suggestion of a more inclusive, 'modified' version. By Peter Holleran. "Our position is not that we have established non-causality, it is that there is no proof of causality. There is a difference here." - V.S. Iyer - forthcoming - 'Columbo' Yoga The need for precision in language in philosophical teaching. by Peter Holleran "When you see two doctrines contradicting each other, it is a sure sign and warning there is a logical contradiction somewhere." - V.S. Iyer - forthcoming - The Ego Starts at Birth or Before - Not By Age Two An investigation of a popular notion about 'personal stories' and samsara. By Peter Holleran. - forthcoming - Seven Fundamental Questions Who, what, where, when, how, and why am I? And, what is the world? A short essay on self-inquiry. By Peter Holleran. - forthcoming - It's All Too Much For Me To Take Subtle Dimensions: mind-bending thoughts on Holarchy and Hierarachy    - forthcoming - Dredging the Depths of Cyclic Existence The grace of the masters on a journey through the Bardos. By Peter Holleran. - forthcoming - The Divine Path of Growing Old The evolutionary impulse built into the World-Idea, according to astrology and the words of sages. By Peter Holleran. "Whereas the spiritual evolution would be implemented through the [transits of the] outer three planets - which require abandoning the ego - the rational souls from Saturn inward are demanding that the ego gets fulfilled." - Anthony Damiani - forthcoming - Humility “The last lesson to learn is an ancient one: be willing to be humble. For it was refined in pitiless fire and shaped by a holy communion.” - Paul Brunton