Owner: Awaken to Life with Eric Putkonen URL:http://people.tribe.net/awaken2life/blog Join Date: Tue, 28 Aug 2007 15:47:13 -0500 Rating:0 Site Description: A modern-day mystic and yogi, Eric Putkonen focuses on the "Direct Path" traditions (a.k.a. Pathless Path): Jnana Yoga, Advaita Vedanta, Zen Buddhism, etc. After searching for thirteen years and awakening in 2005, he has devoted himself to sprea Site statistics:Click here
The Householder Yogi - Americans' path 2007-08-27 16:36:30 For Americans
, considering our culture and lack of support for monastics…I would say the best way is householder yogi. This is someone who has renounced the world…internally…but still has a job, possessions, perhaps a family, etc.
Such a renunciate is like a bank clerk in a bank. Although there is money all around them, they are not attached to any of it. If a robber shows up and robs the bank, such a person would not feel like they lost anything. It was not theirs…they know it…so they did not loose anything.
In like kind, a householder yogi renounces the world, but does not leave it. Such a yogi is in the world, but not of it. If they are robbed, they do not feel they lost anything – for they own nothing. They are caretakers of resources only. If someone in need comes asking for something they do not use, they may give it without a second thought. Confident that God will provide another if they are in need later.
Spouse and children are not possessions,
My current reading... 2007-08-24 11:45:23
I don't read as much as I used too, but I am currently reading "The Truth Is" by by H. W. L. Poonja.
His teacher was Ramana Maharshi and he is Gangaji's teacher...and he gives a very simple message.
Namaste,
~ Eric Putkonen
Self-Realization and Enlightenment is Effortless 2007-08-24 07:52:28 Many have said transcending the ego key to realizing who you really are and enlightenment, but so many times people ask me “how.” There is no “how” and no effort to make.
Any “how” is asking for technique that requires an action (effort). Any effort made, would be effort made by the ego…thus reinforcing and strengthening the ego. Trying to do something or making any kind of effort is totally the wrong direction. It has been said that to use the mind to purify or overcome the mind is like using dirt to clean dirty clothes (blood to wash off blood, as a Zen saying goes).
The real “secret” is to cease making effort…let go. I’m not saying stop, because many may then act or make effort in stopping…which is still the wrong direction. Just cease making any efforts and be aware of what is right now. There is nothing to do…let all doing go...what is, right now?
Namaste,
~ Eric Putkonen Read more:Enlightenment
, Effortless
Bi-weekly Satsang for August 2007-07-24 11:39:30 I am holding Satsangs on the 4th and 18th of August
.
The last couple have been somewhat small, but this time these are also advertised in Edgle Life Magazine.
If interested, go to http://www.awaken2life.org
~ Eric
First post and answers to 'Ask a yogi' - very good question 2007-07-06 08:01:06 From: "noodles." <Mark.Burg...@gmail.com>
Date: Thu, 28 Jun 2007 00:29:43 -0000
Local: Wed, Jun 27 2007 7:29 pm
Subject: I don't understand...
I've seen you put your name in nearly every yogic crevice, niche, nook, and cranny conceivable in Minneapolis, and it only seems to be growing. You seem to be proselytizing yourself more heavily than a newly converted fire-and-brimstone Christian (less fire and brimstone, of course). I've read some of the things you've written, and I can't say that any of it is anything new, or even spectacularly worded. It's pretty much repeat of the same yoga lit. that can be found written by Paramahansa Yogananda, Sivananda, Vivekananda, and many other sources, traditional and contemporary. You seem to be bent on having people come to you for your knowledge.. answering questions. It looks self-glorifying and is starting to even look cult-ish.
Consider that as the preamble for my question to the yogi... WHY?
From: Host & Read more:First
, answers
Understanding vs. Knowledge 2007-03-06 14:25:47 Understanding
is very different than knowledge. We could learn about something in great detail, accumulate many facts about it, and yet not really understand it. To understand something is to gain the meaning or essence of something, not to merely have a catalog of facts or just naming it. Understanding also implies being able to apply your understanding. For example, if I said 5 plus 5 equals 10, but 1 plus 1 and 8 plus 8 also equal 10...how many would agree? All three statements are true, but do you have the understanding to see through the problem?
We must also be wary of our beliefs, whether based on knowledge or not. Our beliefs act as blinders and colored lenses through which we perceive the world around us. Optimists and pessimists see the world very differently. When trying to understand something or learn about it, the best thing would be detachment from the results. You do not want to have a stake in your findings. I know skepticism is hailed as the right way to researc Read more:Knowledge
True Self 2007-03-01 14:26:59
Authenticity and integrity is really the same thing. To be authentic means to be our real being. I did not use the word "self," because our normal conception of self is a false self. What many people see as themselves is not their true selves. We often try to identify ourselves by our accumulated facts and events, what we do, what we have, what we think, etc., but this is not really our true identity.
I was born male in 1974 (Generation X). These are only forms; I am much more than this and cannot really identify with it. This is not who I am. That is the problem. We identify with the superficial and limited. I am an American. I am a Minnesotan. I am white collar or blue-collar worker. I am (insert race). I am (insert religion). It is endless...just an accumulation of things we happen to be and not really our true self. We should honor these characteristics, but we should not seek our identities in these things.
Some practices say this is all simply an illusion. It is not an i
Desire – cause of suffering and revolutions of the mind 2007-08-31 08:19:58 In both Buddhist doctrine and Yoga (Patanjali’s Yoga Sutra), desire is given as a major obstacle to Enlightenment/Nirvana/Liberation/Realization. But I have seen on many discussion boards people defending their desires. Desire
is a spider-mother…she looks caring and alluring in the beginning, but in the end she devours you.
Buddha told someone to give up desire, and as many people who think about giving up desire…the response was “but now I am desiring not to desire.” Well that is excessive. Let go of desire as best as you are able, but do not add to the desires by desiring not to desire.
I think of it in terms of effort. It takes effort to desire something…it takes effort to desire for something not to be or happen. It does not take effort to not desire. Cease making the effort to desire.
Namaste,
~ Eric Putkonen
Second Life Guru 2007-08-29 10:24:02 Recently, during a Satsang I was holding in Minnetonka, MN, I tossed out the idea of going onto Second
Life in a monk-like avatar with an ochre robe. It might be interesting to walk around and preach…
“You are working to buy a bigger house or more toys and possessions, but it is all for naught. Remain detached from your possessions…they are not real and so how could you really own or possess anything here. This body and all that is around you are not real. This is just a game…it is play – Lila. Do not take this life so seriously. What troubles may come – loss of possessions or even your own life here – it matters not to who you really are. Remember who you really are and you will be liberated from this world.”
We all had a good laugh at the idea, but I wonder how many would get that I was talking about their First Life.
Namaste,
~ Eric Putkonen Read more:Second Life
We are not who we think we are 2007-09-21 13:12:42 When I ask people “who are you?”, I will get a name, a profession, the name of a physical region, or other “label” and mentally accumulated content. When I ask who someone is, I am asking about who they really are – what does not change or disappear. All this content can and does disappear, whether during life (amnesia or something else) or death.
While in college, I woke up one morning and did not know who I was. It was a curious experience, not induced to alcohol or anything else. I woke up and just didn’t know…it lasted about a half minute.
I was totally calm and at peace…nothing seemed wrong. There was curiosity, as I looked around my dorm room and wondered who I am. Then, as if from something came from a distance, the thought “oh yeah, I am Eric Putkonen” came…and with that all the content and labels followed – I was a college student, I had class in about an hour, etc, etc.
From this experience, I have never again thought I was anything I Read more:think
Inhabiting the Body 2007-09-19 09:33:02 This is a little exercise that I picked up from Eckhart Tolle’s “Flowering of Human Consciousness”. I found it to be a great help in being in the present moment…and also discovering the kinesthetic nature of many exercises that turn into mental exercises.
First of all, sit comfortably in a room that does not have the air moving around (no wind, fans blowing, etc, etc). A room with a constant temperature – so don’t sit close to a fire or cold window. You want a place with less physical stimulus.
Have your hands on your knees and sit with your eyes closed. When you are comfortable and relaxed, raise both hands a couple inches above the knees. Pick either the right or left hand and then ask this question to yourself, “Without opening my eyes or moving my hand, how do I know my hand is still there?”
Sometimes the mind will answer, “well I don’t know” or something like that…but the key is to relax the awareness and see what is there to be aware of. You
New Podcast - Out of Our Minds 2007-09-15 22:43:10
I thought it would be fun to start podcasting, so I recorded and published the first episode. It is available on the my website (http://www.awaken2life.org). It is an RSS feed as well.
The first episode is called "Life Is But a Dream" and it is about the world and ourselves in terms and analogy of dreaming. Many swamis, yogis, and sages have said life is a dream and we just delve into it some (15 minutes - biweekly episodes planned).
Namaste,
~ Eric Putkonen Read more:Podcast
Give Up the Search for Security 2007-09-12 12:03:58 As September 11th rolls by once again, I see people holding memorials and talking about is it any safer in the United States. People are slowly forgetting the terror of 9/11, but that was the day the illusion of safety was shattered (that is what caused the terror).
Safety is purely an illusion. We continually try to protect the “I” and “me”. Why?
We really have little control in this world…arguably none. We could be hit by a car on the way home tonight and perish. There is no planning or control when death comes. It is not something scheduled into the day.
The body is very temporary…this life we live will cease. This is a certainty. As Buddhism teaches, we are impermanent…and everything changes. There is nothing to grasp onto…and trying to grasp is what causes suffering.
The illusion of safety is the idea that we have a firm grasp on something. ‘My retirement is secure because of my savings.’ Then a drop like around 9/11 occurs and retirees Read more:Search
Understanding is All, but Understanding is Not of the Mind 2007-09-10 11:11:50 With right understanding, the rest of the Noble Eightfold Path falls into place.
Right Understanding
/Knowledge--samma ditthi
Right Thought/Thinking--samma sankappa
Right Speech--samma vaca
Right Action/Conduct--samma kammanta
Right Livelihood--samma ajiva
Right Effort--samma vayama
Right Mindfulness--samma sati
Right Concentration--samma Samadhi
With right Understanding, you would have right thought. With right understanding, you would have right speech. With right understanding you would do the right Action. With right understanding, you would have right livelihood. With right understanding, you would make the right effort.
Understanding is not something the mind does…it is not analysis or thinking. To understand something deeply, you are at one with it. A top horse rider and a horse move like they are one entity – not two. Just like two top dancers move like one in their movements. They understand and are in touch with the “other” so much
Realization: Instantaneous and Complete 2007-09-06 17:06:01 Realization, Enlightenment, Liberation, Moksha, Awakening, etc…whatever you call it (they are equivocal terms) is complete and total.
I am often questioned if it is a gradual process or is it instantaneous…it is the latter. Now here me out (if you disagree). It comes down to definition of terms and what is going on.
In an analogy, think of an apple on an apple tree. There is a ripening process…it is gradual. But eventually, the apple falls from the tree never to return again. That falling happens instantaneously and completely…you don’t see it drop an inch every week until months later it hits the ground. There was a gradual component (ripening), but the apple falls from the tree when it is ripe.
There are spiritual experiences…mini awakenings…and they come and go. You may have changed some, but you are still seeking…suffering – unhappy – fearful – etc – etc. You are not done (complete)…so you continue seeking. This is the ripening process.
Enlightenment / Liberation in this Lifetime 2007-09-04 08:24:45 I hear quite often that it will take many years of hard work before we reach Enlightenment
or achieve Liberation
(equivocal terms by the way). Some go far as to say, if we work hard enough in this lifetime…we will get a better life next time in which we might achieve Enlightenment.
I sometimes ask people at the Satsangs I host, 'do you believe you will realize Enlightenment and Liberation in this life'…and usually they have to think about it for a while – and say they would like to think so but they are not sure.
I’m telling you right now…if you have the interest to even be on this website, you are ready in this lifetime.
A Zen Master once said, ‘it may take 3 seconds or it may take 30 years.’ But we must always be open and ready to be Liberated/Enlightened in 3 seconds...at a minimum this lifetime.
Namaste,
~ Eric Putkonen Read more:Lifetime
Morality & Ethics Vs. Understanding 2007-09-26 12:01:02 I was once asked during a talk at a local Unitarian church, what is the basis for morality and ethics in the traditions and teachings I speak about? My answer was "no basis at all...morals and ethics are only temporary safeguards for those who do not know any better."
We give our children rules (”don’t play in the street”) in order to protect them and help them do the right things. But eventually, they learn why they should not play in the street (for example) and now the rule serves no purpose. You don’t give a mature adult the rule “don’t play in the street” – for they already know why not to play in the streets and they don’t need the rule.
Likewise, if there are people who do not know what doing the right thing is…then you give them rules (i.e. morality and ethical rules) to guide them. But for someone who has deep understanding…no rules are needed, ethically or morally. The right thing will be done through understanding.
Namaste,
~ Eric Putk Read more:Morality
, Ethics
, Understanding
Morning Commute: a example of non-presence, non-acceptance, and suffering 2007-09-24 10:25:11 This morning on the way to work, I was stopped at a red light and an interesting thing occurred. There is construction going on and there was a dump truck on a temporary road to the side that wanted to get in. The light turned green and the fellow commuter a couple cars up waited and waved the dump truck to go. The car in front of me started honking. The man in front of me was honking and swearing. It took all of 10 seconds or so for the dump truck to go.
We were towards the back of the line, but the light turn red again just as we approached the intersection. There was the nice commuter who let in the truck, the irate honking commuter, and me. He was still going on and shaking his first at the car in front of him. Soon the light changed again and we continued on our way.
This normal situation was a great struggle with much disappointment and some suffering for the man in front of me, but it was totally in his head. Why all the stress and strain? It was a beautiful morn Read more:Morning
, Commute
Jerry Katz plays interviewer and asks me additional questions for fun 2007-10-03 16:10:25 “So how do we get to the point where the thinking mind is less powerful than the ‘now’? Because right now most of us are dominated by the thinking mind.”
The assumption is wrong. There is nothing to do…only ceasing effort. Thinking is effort. The thinking mind resides in the past and future…never the present…so you have to let go the past and future (thereby the thinking mind) and just feel/be aware the present. Awareness is more kinesthetic than mental...be aware of and feel everything going on right now. Be quiet; be still…the now is already here. Just cease the effort and reside in relaxed awareness of what is (which is now).
“Also, how can nonduality help me feel better about something horrible in my life without changing the entire way my mind works? Is that even realistic?”
It can’t – that is not realistic. You will feel based upon your understanding at that point – when it happens. If you react with anger in traffic, you could understa Read more:Jerry
, questions
My answers to the nondual questions Jerry Katz answered during an interview on Coast to Coast AM 2007-10-02 10:41:04 “Many people discover nonduality through crisis. Does nonduality make crisis situations more palatable or can a genuine change occur in perspective when nonduality is known?”
It is a genuine change in perspective when nonduality is realized and there is understanding (not known – it is not knowledge). What makes a crisis…a crisis? The thinking mind – the situation is judged as a crisis and a story is attached to it. In reality, it is only what is. Be here, now...act accordingly to the situation…spontaneously. The situation may bother you or not bother you, but accept what is.
“Is nonduality known to people or institutions who don’t want to publicize it for fear of giving people too much freedom and giving them a view beyond those institutions themselves?”
There could be, but those people and institutions do no understand nonduality. If it was understood, it would not be feared. The thinking mind, even by seekers who like nonduality, conjures what if Read more:Jerry
, questions
, answers
, interview
, Coast
Out of Our Minds podcast...episode 2 - Reincarnation: a nondual perspective 2007-09-29 15:52:19 Reincarnation
is a common discussion topic, but often not understood from a nondual or advaita perspective. In this episode, we delve into how there is no "self" that migrates from life to life...and yet reincarnation still happens - including past life memories, past tendencies and samskaras, etc. How is this paradox resolved?
Website - http://www.awaken2life.org
Directly to RSS feed of podcast - http://www.awaken2life.org/outofourminds.rss
Namaste,
~ Eric Putkonen
The Jnani and Bhakti Reach the Same Point 2007-10-15 15:52:10 Whether through devotion and love (bhakti) or deep understanding (jnani), both ultimately have the same realization.
For through love and devotion, the ego is transcended and the love (which is an attracting/”bringing together” force) unifies you with your beloved. The highest love sees no separation between the loved and the lover.
For through understanding, the ego is seen for what it is and transcended and the understanding reveals that there is ultimately no separation.
The two come together.
Ultimately, a jnani can not be without bhakti and a bhakti can not be without jnani.
Namaste,
~ Eric Putkonen
p.s. Episode 3 of podcast ("Be As a Child") is now available - http://www.awaken2life.org/outofourminds.rss Read more:Reach
Episode 3 of Out of Our Minds (podcast) - Be As a Child - is now available 2007-10-13 12:53:25
Matthew 18:3 "...unless you...become as little children, ye shall not enter into the kingdom of heaven." Just as children, those Awakened are curious, questioning, innocent, not judgmental, and enjoy the mystery of life. In this program we explore what we have lost as adults that is regained...and how this Biblical quote is insightful of Enlightenment.
Website - www.awaken2life.org
Directly to RSS feed of podcast - www.awaken2life.org/outofourminds.rss
Namaste,
~ Eric Putkonen Read more:Episode
, available
To Be Deeply Aware is to Understand 2007-10-08 11:14:48 If you had an orange (or whatever) in your hands, instead of investigating or trying to do, just relax and just be aware of it…curious also as to how much you can be aware of. You may realize there are blemishes, discolorations, etc, etc. The longer you are aware of it, the more you learn about it.
This is a simple physical example, but the next time you find yourself angry, worried, or whatever - just accept it totally as it is…and just sit with it…aware of it. As you just put attention and awareness on it, you gain deeper and deeper understanding about it. You really don’t have to seek/search or try to investigate or do anything…just simply be aware. Curiosity helps. Curiosity is not a seeking or direction or manipulation of awareness, it is fuel for awareness.
The experiment is – what happens to your anger, worry, or whatever when you are looking at it and deeply aware?
Namaste,
~ Eric Putkonen
(episode 3 of Our of Our Minds [podcast] will be this week Read more:Deeply
, Aware
, Understand
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