2009.04.22 01:00 - Appreciate the presence of appearance

The Guardian for this meeting was Tarmel Udimo. The comments are by Tarmel Udimo. The session was very focused around a question Sophia asked, so I have made no comment. The answer was first addressed by Susi and then by Pema.

    Susi Alcott: _/!\_
    Tarmel Udimo: Hi Susi
    Susi Alcott: Hello Tarmel
    Tarmel Udimo: how are you Susi?
    SophiaSharon Larnia: HI :)
    Susi Alcott: _/!\_
    Susi Alcott: how are you ?
    Tarmel Udimo: Hi Sophia
    Susi Alcott: Hi Sophia; U 2; how are U
    SophiaSharon Larnia: :) good
    SophiaSharon Larnia: I would like to hear about your thoughts on something, it will be hard for me to explain
    Tarmel Udimo: nods
    Susi Alcott: take ur time
    SophiaSharon Larnia: I have heard tonight that there is no psychological suffering in regards to the self
    SophiaSharon Larnia: i mean ego
    Susi Alcott: *
    SophiaSharon Larnia: that the self transends this
    Susi Alcott: yes ?
    SophiaSharon Larnia: i dont know what that mean im having trouble understanding it
    Susi Alcott: may I try to tell an example
    SophiaSharon Larnia: please
    Susi Alcott: when moscito bites, people normally just kill it
    Susi Alcott: but if there's person with huge ego, he/she can take such to be 'sky falling down' on him/her, or that the whole world is against him/her
    Susi Alcott: Hi Pema
    Tarmel Udimo: Hi Pema:)
    Susi Alcott: Hi Qt
    Pema Pera: Hi Susi, Tarmel, Sophia and Qt!
    SophiaSharon Larnia: Hi Pema, Hi Qt
    Qt Core: hi all
    SophiaSharon Larnia: yes Susi
    Susi Alcott: 'to make an ox out of fly'
    Susi Alcott: that is my opinion of such suffering
    Tarmel Udimo: Hi QT
    Susi Alcott: but...may I tell my mind how I think the question has bothered your mind personally ?
    SophiaSharon Larnia: yes please
    Susi Alcott: that you have taken that 'teaching' that you should think that you so such thing, and I humbly want to ask you not to have any such doubts what comes to yourself
    SophiaSharon Larnia: i havent thought of it that way, thank you Susi :)
    Susi Alcott: thank you Sophia; just thought what we have spoken about your experiencies before
    SophiaSharon Larnia: It bothered me, because it does of course exist in 3D, generating a negative energy, so this does exist to me.
    Susi Alcott: you are very right
    SophiaSharon Larnia: that would imply that there is no positive nor negative energy at all
    Susi Alcott: do you mean such that I sometime wrote down; 'pain is illusio'
    SophiaSharon Larnia: im trying to understand it
    Susi Alcott: well; Moon has very good Golden sentence of that
    Susi Alcott: I'm sad I have not taken that onto note card, but there is this what you said
    Susi Alcott: but there is also added good ward that points that
    Susi Alcott: 'under the circumstasies' or something so
    Susi Alcott: how all depends on many things
    Susi Alcott: as that it can also been said that all is postive or negative
    Susi Alcott: depends....
    Tarmel Udimo: nods
    Susi Alcott: we have spoken much of that too in Hikari meetings
    SophiaSharon Larnia: i understand that this is dualistic thinking and am trying to look beyond that
    SophiaSharon Larnia: to try not to think
    SophiaSharon Larnia: and let it see
    Susi Alcott: I understand
    Susi Alcott: it's the point of view; if you look that as the human being with human mind and nerve system to experience pain
    Susi Alcott: there is huge much positive and negativities
    Susi Alcott: but in case you look that from the point of view of your whole existence; being
    Susi Alcott: there is only 'different kind of engergies'; not positive of negative, if not taken the sciantific way
    SophiaSharon Larnia: yes
    Susi Alcott: and yes; I have needed often to ask from persons, when they have just told about some of there strong experience
    Susi Alcott: that if that has been good or bad
    Susi Alcott: and they always have said either of them
    Susi Alcott: as there's been in a question such experience that other person has taken it to be good and other person taken it to be bad
    SophiaSharon Larnia: what has been bothering me, is that it all seem to be for nothing, into nothingness, just deposits in the vault of experiences... with this comes sadness and I feel this can't be right.
    Susi Alcott: because all is not for nothing, but all is for life
    Pema Pera: and if we appreciate the presence of the present, and fully go into that, all those considerations will evaporate
    Susi Alcott: _/!\_
    Pema Pera: sadness about the past, questions about what it is for, as goals and meanings in the future, those are what confuse us
    Pema Pera: if we really go into what is, right now, that drops away
    Pema Pera: that's the idea behind the little sentence I've been playing with: APA:
    Susi Alcott: _/!\_
    Pema Pera: appreciate the presence of appearance
    Pema Pera: Have you tried playing with that, Sophia?
    SophiaSharon Larnia: intellectually as an idea, still trying to understand
    Pema Pera: the best way is to read it backwards a few times first
    Pema Pera: as a warm-up exercise
    Pema Pera: so start with appearance
    Pema Pera: see everything just as it appears
    Pema Pera: without hope or fear or regrets or worries or hidden agendas -- nakedly
    Pema Pera: then strip even further down:
    Pema Pera: of the appearance you ONLY take the fact that it appears, that it is present
    Pema Pera: whether it is a thing that is material, or a thought or feeling, anything that appears
    Pema Pera: focus on the presence of the appearance
    Pema Pera: and then appreciate that presence
    Pema Pera: like the presence of a dear friend
    Pema Pera: if you then apply that to all appearances
    Pema Pera: pretty soon all appearances WILL become dear friends to you
    Pema Pera: it won't take long :-)
    Pema Pera: Sorry, Susi, just wanted to add that as a practical exploration, since it fitted in so well with your advice
    SophiaSharon Larnia: thank you I feel like I start over every day, i appreciate you saying this
    Pema Pera: to look at experiences as neither good nor bad
    Pema Pera: how about every second?
    Pema Pera: that may seem hard but . . . after a while seconds will seem very looooong :-)
    SophiaSharon Larnia smiles
    Tarmel Udimo: grins
    Pema Pera: you'll go to half seconds, seriously
    Pema Pera: and quarter seconds
    Susi Alcott: _/!\_
    Pema Pera: appreciation is what Susi was describing
    Pema Pera: and appreciation needs very very little time :-)
    Pema Pera: worrying needs lots and lots of time
    Susi Alcott: _/!\_
    Pema Pera: blaming needs even more!
    Pema Pera: you have to take time to blame in great detail !!
    SophiaSharon Larnia: i think have been worrying
    Pema Pera: appreciation is just the time to smile
    SophiaSharon Larnia nods
    Pema Pera: yes, and you can appreciate the presence of the appearance of worrying
    Pema Pera: smile and drop the worrying
    Pema Pera: or if you can't easily drop, just keep the worrying
    Pema Pera: but smile and appreaciate the presence of it
    Pema Pera: anything that appears is fuel for appreciation
    Pema Pera: your life is nothing but fuel, and appreciation is your engine that runs on it
    Pema Pera: you get great mileage that way!
    Tarmel Udimo: :)
    Pema Pera: every quarter second :)
    Susi Alcott: you can also appreciate other persons worry and sadness and it do ease also his being
    Pema Pera: yes
    Tarmel Udimo: nods
    Pema Pera: like a mother appreciates a child, whether the child is happy or sad, joyful or angry
    Pema Pera: the real you is dressed in all these emotions, so you may as well wear them and appreciate them!
    SophiaSharon Larnia: :)
    Pema Pera: and then change clothes often
    Susi Alcott: lol
    Pema Pera: you have such a large wardrobe of emotions, all of us have!
    Pema Pera: let me wear these shoes to walk into the kitchen
    Pema Pera: and now these shoes to go upstairs, already in a different mood!
    Susi Alcott: (cute that Pema speaks about shoes, which are the symbol of independency/privacy/to be on our own)
    Pema Pera: :-)
    SophiaSharon Larnia appreciates the imagery and laughs :)
    Pema Pera: and I just arrived in Japan, two hours ago, where nobody wears any shoes inside their house
    Pema Pera: that would be such an affront :)
    Susi Alcott: looks at ppls feet here :)
    SophiaSharon Larnia: i hope your travels go well
    Pema Pera: oh yeah, I'm used to it
    Pema Pera: but it's a long flight from New York to Tokyo, 14 hours
    SophiaSharon Larnia: i have trouble from east to west coast as it is
    SophiaSharon Larnia: wow
    Pema Pera: At the New York airport, I was in the 7 am session yesterday, skipped two sessions while flying, and just got out of the taxi at my hotel when this session started :)
    Tarmel Udimo: grins
    Pema Pera: if only they had internet in the plane . . . .
    SophiaSharon Larnia: :)
    Pema Pera: but it gave me a chance to read half of the PaB Chronicles!
    Pema Pera: So, Sharon, would it make sense to try this for, say, three days?
    Pema Pera: to look at all that presents itself in your life as friends
    Pema Pera: to appreciate them all?
    SophiaSharon Larnia: i will for sure, i will be working, which will make it difficult :)) But interesting too
    Pema Pera: oh, you can do it under all circumstances :)
    Pema Pera: just don't try to hard
    Pema Pera: take it with a light touch
    Pema Pera: and http://rubblebornthoughts.wordpress....i-guest-house/ may help with inspiration
    Pema Pera: Rumi's poem that Adams copied on her web
    Pema Pera: her blog I mean
    SophiaSharon Larnia: thank you :)
    Tarmel Udimo: and it's a touch down!
    Pema Pera: :)
    Pema Pera: so when somebody annoys you at work, you can really really really feel the acute presence of your annoyence, really fully go into it, completely -- and then the next moment you can see how you can also let it drop, watching what takes its place at *that* moment
    Pema Pera: half-hearted annoyence tends to linger forever
    Pema Pera: fully appreciating the presence of anything can make room for the next thing in the next moment
    Pema Pera: burn up each moment
    Pema Pera: fully
    Pema Pera: like a dragon :-)
    Tarmel Udimo: :)
    Susi Alcott: _/!\_
    Pema Pera: just rolled from taxi into PaB
    Pema Pera: See you all soon again!
    Pema Pera: Thanks for the great conversations!
    Susi Alcott: _/!\_
    SophiaSharon Larnia: bye Pema Thank you
    Qt Core: bye Pema
    Tarmel Udimo: bye pema, ty for words of wisdom
    Pema Pera: same here, thank you all!
    SophiaSharon Larnia: I need to go now too, take care all :)
    Tarmel Udimo: yes me too
    Tarmel Udimo: enjoyed that last silence
    Susi Alcott: _/!\_
    SophiaSharon Larnia waves
    Qt Core: i may go too (as i was really here most of the time :-( )
    Susi Alcott: _/!\_
    Tarmel Udimo: By QT
    Qt Core: bye
    Susi Alcott: _/!\_