YOU ARE A RIVER

A Quool Quote by Thich Nhat Hanh from “The Art of Living”

We can contemplate emptiness in terms of interbeing across space

our relationship to everything and everyone around us.

We can also contemplate emptiness in terms of impermanence across time.

Impermanence means that

nothing remains the same thing in two consecutive moments.

~

The Greek philosopher Heraclitus of Ephesus said,

“You can never bathe in the same river twice.”

The river is always flowing,

so as soon as we climb out onto the bank

and then return again to bathe,

the water has already changed.

And

even in that short space of time we too have changed.

In our body, cells are dying and being born every second.

Our thoughts, perceptions, feelings, and state of mind

are also changing from one moment to the next.

So

we cannot swim twice in the same river;

nor can the river receive the same person twice.

~

Our body and mind are an ever – changing continuum.

Although we seem to look the same,

and we are still called the same name,

we are different.

No matter how sophisticated our scientific instruments are,

we cannot find anything in our person that remains the same

and that we can call a soul or a self.

Once we accept the reality of impermanence,

we have to also accept the truth of no self.

——————————-

rog note:

One can learn about this ‘Self-Realization’ through Spiritual

philosophies, psychology, and even neuroscience helps the “conventional mind” understand…
but to really know your True Self
takes abiding in the very deep end of mediation.
To help explain that process… Just know that…
Something very profound occurs when one
silences the mind long enough ///

first through focused concentration… then to surrendering into a ‘flow state’.
There are various names for this flow state:
Jhana,
Samadhi,
Samatha…
It is essentially the highest state of conscious
that a human can attain…
It is indeed…
Enlightening.

So many people claim they want to be closer to ‘God’…
but yet,
for various reasons…
they never find the volition to really do so.

if they did take these spiritual steps on this
Path to Self-Realization…
they will discover that
there really is not the person within that feels like
‘they’ are in charge of life as ‘we’ know it.
The person we are all born to believe is ‘us’…
is just a story created by our ego-mind-body…
once this is realized,
There is short moment that seems like ‘you’ are ‘God’… inseparably…
this is the nature of “non dual’ awareness…
yet,
in the next inseparable moment,
it is realized that there isn’t a “God” like we’ve imagined.
It much deeper than those naïve projections
from unevolved imaginations.

The Ultimate Truth is Always Already Alright…
and within each of ‘us’ to discover.
All one has to do is calm the mind long enough…
then the veil that hides our True Nature will be revealed.

———————————————————————-
“Zenfully Quool Quotes”…
Currently featuring “The Art of Living”
By Zen Master Thich Nhat Hanh

My aim is to present
a deeper, higher, wider, non-theological perspective
into common sense Spirituality
that most of us folks raised in the ‘west’ never get introduced to,
to fulfill life’s most intriguing questions…

All people from every spiritual, religious, and even
non-theological perspectives will find these Wisdoms
helpful in their day-to-day life…
and ease their minds on whatever comes after.

Use you Divine Freedom of choice…
Pursue the Inner Calling towards:
Non-Theological Common-Sense Spirituality

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The Start of 2020

Our business was doing great, but we still couldn’t afford to buy a house or a condo. Renting in Maui for another 30 years was not an option we wanted to take. Then, Bobbie Jo suggested we buy a sailboat that is comfortable to cruise and live in. By the end of January, we started looking for our new home.

After a long search, we found our dream boat in Mazatlan, Mexico. COVID-19 was not yet a concern when our boat hunt began, but masks were starting to appear at airports by the time we flew to Mazatlan. Originally, we had planned to get the boat ready as fast as possible to cover a full calendar for the busy wedding season. However, it was apparent our business was going to tank amid the pandemic, and the struggle went on until the end of the year.

Luckily, we scored an awesome condo for only $19 a day at Mazatlan. On the 10th day of our stay, we received the news that all harbors will be closed the next Monday morning. We thought we’d be stuck in Mexico longer, but another sailor advised us to leave before sunrise.

We felt the adrenalin of escaping the Mexican harbor master just before the sun rose that faithful day. The seas were rough as waves were building up in the tight channel that led us to the open ocean. We ended up anchored off an adorable little isle just a mile offshore. We enjoyed cruising to many spectacular anchorages and cute villages on our way to Puerto Vallarta, where we would depart for Maui on May 7. On May 30, 2020, we completed our 24-day passage from Mexico to Maui.