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Sunday, August 19, 2007

A Course in Miracles - 1

The Arches, Sentosa, Singapore

This posting is based on what I have learned from the "A Course in Miracles" seminar on the 18-19th Aug 2007 in Singapore by Dr Aaron Lim. This seminar comprises a series of 6 lectures conducted one weekend every two months. This is first weekend lecture of the series.

Warning: This posting contains opinions that may be considered unacceptable by some people. If you are easily offended by unconventional views about religion and spiritualism, then DO NOT READ FURTHER THAN HERE. If you do, then do it at your own risk! If you do not agree with the views expressed below, it does not mean that you have not 'arrived', rather it just mean that you 'do not agree'. Meanwhile, try to be open. There are lots to discover about ourselves when we are open. Do feel free to leave comments. BELIEVING IS NOT NECESSARY!
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This is "A Course In Miracles" (ACIM). A miracle is usually defined as something we don't understand about. You will learn from this course to understand what a miracle is and eventually to realise that the miracle is yourself.
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There is no pre-requisite for this course. You are required to read 2-3 pages of text and do one lesson a day for 365 days. After one year, you will transform, as your perception and understanding of the world change.
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This is a required course. Only the time you choose to spend is voluntary. The course curriculum cannot be changed. Much as freewill means the ability of bringing the Light, you do not get to decide what the Light is. As much, you are also the Light.
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The more time you put into this course, the more you will benefit, as the synapses in your brain gets connected more and more as you think about subject more. There are some of you here who are doing the course for the second time. I know of someone who is doing it for the 25th time. Doing ACIM over again is different each time, as you start the course with better understanding as the previous time. It is just like watching a movie. The movie remains the same, but each time your understanding of the movie gets better.
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In the movie "The Secret", there was a lady who watched it for 62 times before she finally got the message.
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This course is going on the second time in Singapore and several other times in Kuala Lumpur, Penang and Malacca. As a teacher, I receive the benefits from teaching and receive it first.
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ACIM will help you ascend spiritually and self-realised.
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Self-realised = Self + Real-ised
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Only Love is Real and Love manifests itself in many ways. It can be a gratitude or simply a smile.
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Fear does not exist. It is there because of the lack of love. Much like shadow is there because of lack of Light. Bring in the Light and shadows disappear.
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ACIM is not about religions. Belief is not necessary, but if you can, be open. Just wonder if there is truth in it. Even not believing is a belief itself. Much as having no religion is a religion itself. Anything new will take time to grow.
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That is the beauty of the human mind. Only humans can watch over themselves. If you are not using this enough, then you are not living as fully as you should as a human being.
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The relationships that we make and the skills that we learn in this embodiment comes and go. When we die, we cannot bring them along with us. This is because they are created by the unreal. However, we carry our consciousness along with us.
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Love cannot be taught, as you are already 100% love. So, you cannot get away from it even if you try to. The Bible says, "Ye are God".
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Those who know about God don't talk about God, as it is difficult to talk about. It is like two fishes in the ocean trying to talk about water. For whatever the fishes could discuss, water remains the same as water, oblivious to what is being discussed.
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The understanding about God comes from the depth of the soul. It cannot come from the head. It has to be listened from your heart.
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If you ask someone if they know their parents/spouse loves them, they will likely say "Yes". However, if you ask them if they feel their parents/spouse loves them, then some are not too sure.
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The first question requires the person questioned to use the head, the second requires listening to the heart.
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Merge with Love. One who has merged with Love is even no longer conscious that one is being loving. Have you ever praised someone for being kind and it surprised that person? And that person turned back and said, "Is it so? Is there another way of doing it?"
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Substitution of words
Here I would like to go through some of the words that are used in ACIM. Some people think that ACIM is a Christian book. This is because they used words like "God", "atonement", "The Father"...etc. As some of you are from different religious faith, there are substitute words you can use that you may be more comfortable with.
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Buddhists often say they don't believe in a God and that they don't have a God. That is not true. Perhaps Buddhists do not believe in a Middle Eastern perception of God (as from the Jewish faith, Christianity and Islam). However, if you substitute 'God' with 'Nature', then it is easier to make sense for the Buddhists.
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There has to be God or "Nature". If there is no intelligence around, I can't talk all these to you and you would not be able to listen. Grass will not grow and the rain will not fall.
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So changing religion is not necessary. More important is your understanding of God.
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In the Bible, it says God sits on a "throne".
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"Throne" = Three in one.
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Three = Trinity of Father, Son and the Holy Spirit
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Father = The first Thought = (Buddhist) Dharma Kaya
Son = The Form = (Buddhist) Nimana Kaya
Holy Spirit = The Connecting Energy = (Buddhist) Sambot Kaya
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It is always from "thoughts" that "forms" are created. But when "forms" are examined in sub-atomic levels, there is no solid particles but merely clouds of energy. So are actually mostly 'space'!!!
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That is why the Buddhists say, "Emptiness is form, form is emptiness".
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The Bible says, "My Father and I are One", it means "When your Thoughts and your Form are merged".
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When you are fully merged, you are fully enlightened. You have merged and "came home". "Buddha", comes from the word "Budd", which means the emotion of missing home. A Buddha is therefore one who has "come home". "Buddha" is title, not a name. The Buddha we commonly refer to was called Lord Buddha Siddharta Gautama.
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Same as "Jesus Christ". It meant "Jesus the Christ". "Christ" is a title. "Christ" comes from the Greek "Christo", which means the annointed one. This is because St Paul was Greek. Remember there was no Christianity during the time of Jesus.
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"Jesus" was pronounced as "Yea su" in old Hebrew.
His full name would be "Jesus ben Joseph". "ben" here means "son of".
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From "Christa", we also get "Krishna".
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From "Jawe", meaning "God" in old Hebrew, we get "Jehovah".
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Salvation = Self-elevation
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Nobody can be your salvation other than yourself. When undesirable events happen we hear comments like, "Why don't God do something?" The truth is that nobody can do something to ourselves than our own self.
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Resurrection = Re-erection
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That means going from Fear back to Love.
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Atone = At-one
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That means merging the thoughts and the form. Jesus said, "When your eyes are single, you know I am God". Here "I am" is also you. When we address ourselves like:

"I am a Michael"
"I am a man"
"I am a Chinese"
...etc
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I am does not change. Only the false self, "Michael", "man", "Chinese" etc changed.
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I am the truth = I am is the truth.
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So everything in the Universe has only one name.
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So, "atonement" means when you move from the the world of duality to unity. In the world of unity, there is no such thing as Fear, for Fear is merely an absence of Love. Love has no opposite.
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"Sin" does not exist too, since God cannot be offended, as God cannot be threatened. What is real cannot be threatened, what is unreal does not exist. Herein lies the peace of God.
'Sin' is an error in thinking. Many religions have accummulated errors over the years. Sadly, many religions and institutions of worship used "sins" and fear to control their followers.
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There was a case of this girl, who was brought up as a Catholic in the church where she learned about Adam and Eve. And that Eve is responsible for all the ills of the world. This thought made such an impression in her that she hated to be a girl. These hate eventually manifested in her as uterine cancer. I advised her to love herself. Just face the mirror by herself, touch her body and say she love her body. She started doing that, but by then the cancer has already taken advanced stages. Finally she succumbed to her illness and died last week.
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"Sin" comes from the old days of archery. When the arrow hits the centre of the target, they will shout "Bulls eye". If it missed the centre, they will shout out "sin".
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"Sin" = miss the mark (of Love).
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God is perfect. All things are created from this perfection. All His creations are perfect. But do not confuse between "perfect" and "desirability". For instance, when a tree falls on a house, it is not desirable for the house occupants/owners, but to the termites, it is perfect. Understand that ordinarily, we are speaking only from the perspective as humans.
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The Bible says there will be a second coming of Jesus. So did the Koran. But everyone of us has a second coming.
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We all come from 100% love. Then there was a tiny mad idea. This tiny mad idea is to identify with the ego. That started exclusion of 'ourselves' with 'others'. First we began with identifying ourselves with our gender. Before that, during childhood, we didn't even care if we play naked in the rain with the other little boys and girls who are also naked. Then we identify ourselves with our race, religion, caste, educational levels, schools, ...etc. Then gradually, our world becomes smaller and smaller.
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So now, we have to learn to remember that we are 100% Love. The Bible's context of "I am a jealous God", means "I am 100% Love, anything less is not ME."
[My note: I have on occasions found Christian misusing this phrase, saying that God is jealous and doesn't want you to believe in other religions.]
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Remember = re-member. That is, to be a member or 100% Love again. This remembering is our "second coming".
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To do so, we have to remove what is not our true self.
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It is akin to a skilled sculptor like Michaelangelo. He did not just see a raw rock before he started, he saw David. He said that all he did was to remove all that is not David.

David

So, we have to remove the fear, anger...etc that are not our true self from ourselves. Whatever, turbulence we have within us, we carry it with us. It does not come from the outside.

There is a story of this person who went on a little boat to the middle of a lake to meditate so that nobody can disturb him. He had enough of disturbances from other people when he was meditating on land. So he meditated on the boat in the middle of a tranquil lake. Then halfway, there was a loud knock on the boat and he shouted in anguish, "who is it!". When he opened his eyes, he realised it was a stray boat who had accidentally drifted onto his boat. So even when no one was there to antagonise this man, he still felt there was someone else around antagonising him.

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Question from the audience:

Q: Where do my thoughts start? Which thoughts are my thoughts? Which are the ones that I have received and which are the ones that I originated?

A: If you are fully enlightened, all thoughts are your thoughts. That's why psychics can read your thoughts, because it is all in a common pool. Everything is I am to the fully enlightened person. So choose your thoughts carefully. Ask if your thoughts are less than loving. If they are less than less than loving, then let go of it.

We attract the thoughts that we are. eg. A fearful person will attract fearful thoughts.

Anything that is helping me remember who I am, I don't want that thing. You got to choose things that add on to your loving. 100% Love is my goal.

Incidentally, I was stopped by the immigration when I came into Singapore. It was because the immigration officer had miscalculated the number of days I came into Singapore. He thought I had stayed here for longer than 60 days, over the last three months, when I had only stayed for 2 days. Anyway, it was a misunderstanding. In the end, there was no issue. But it made me think that this is a job I do not want. In a job like an immigration officer, it is very hard to learn to be loving as he is suspicious of everyone that is passing through his way. So there are some jobs I would rather not take, because it doesn't teach me to be more loving.

[Laughter]

Q: But someone has to do it...?

A: Then let someone else do it lah. [Laughter]

[My thoughts: While I understand the questioner's logic, I think we cannot think for others. We can only choose what we want for ourselves. There is no right and wrong, but merely choice and consequences.]

Q: Then why are the memories in our past embodiments removed?

A: They are not removed. They are all there. Just that the brain in our body has a limitation. It is a way of protecting us in this embodiment. Imagine if you can remember vividly some of the gruesome experiences you have done in your previous embodiment! That may not be very pleasant. So, memories of past embodiments are of no use to us. Head can't get all your answers. When we are enlightened, we will be able to remember them like a movie.

Q: So why are some 'unenligthened ones' able to remember parts of their past embodiments' experiences?

They remember events that are incidental to their existences. Events that had made fundamental changes to their lives.

Q: When do we know if it is our intuition or it is our fear?

A: These days we hear from the news about terrorism and about Muslim extremists. Often, they will show the arrested or suspected terrorists as men with turbans and beards. So, after some time an image of terrorists as men with turbans and beards are formed sub-consciously. So once, as I was at an airport about to board a plane, there were six young Muslim men in turban and beards. My first thought was for them not to be in the same plane. But as thoughts have it, they went into the same plane as I did. Not only that, they were seated next to me. So as passengers seated next to each other, we had a chat. As it turned out, we had a very pleasant conversation. This is when fear took over, not intuition.

On the contrary, have you ever avoided someone immaculately dressed with a three-piece suit? That when you see him coming in the distance, you walk away somewhere to hide? There is nothing physically intimidating and yet you don't have a comfortable feeling about this man. This is intuition. There is something amiss, but you are not sure what.

Once you recognise your fears, confront them. Then you will realise that the fear is not as big as you think it is.

Fear and anger and stay in a person for a long time when not confronted. There was a case of a girl who was raped by her brother-in-law when she was 14 years old. Clouded with guilt, she kept it to herself. Then when she was a little older, she couldn't keep it any more and decided to tell her sister. Her sister on hearing her, defended her husband and insisted that what the girl uttered was not true. Instead her sister accused the girl of being jealous of her, since she was married and the girl was not. Naturally, the girl was shattered! She had no one else that she can tell her plight at that time, so she kept the anger inside her and hated the brother-in-law. This went on for many years. It has even affected her married life.

Now in her 50s, she still hated the brother-in-law. I then advised her to confront the issue and forgive her brother-in-law. Just turned up give him hug and say "I love you". She thought it was impossible to do. "How can I ever forgive and let go of my hate?" she thought. Then she said she will never be able to do it.

Then one morning at 3am in the morning, I got a surprised call from her. She yelled that she is free, fully liberated. She had finally confronted her bro-in-law, gave him a hug and say she loves him. Now that freed her from anguish and guilt after all these years. Her life went on much better after that. Whatever it had done to her bro-in-law need not matter. Forgiveness was a matter for her to move on, it has nothing to with the bro-in-law.

Similarly, can you tell a dirty and smelly person "I love you"?

Mother Teresa said of the people she is helping that she did not see sick people, she just can see Christs in distress. She didn't go round to convert people she met into Catholics. As she was in India, she clasped her palms against each other in namaste just like Hindus do and bowed to people she met. Her love is unconditional and beyond form.

Pope John Paul II said, "I love you" to his assasin in the jail.

Jesus said, " Father forgive them for they do not know...", when he was tortured by the Jews.

A miracle is an expression of Love. Some people think that a miracle must be something incredulous and happened against all odds.

Eg. When a aeroplane crashed killing all others except you. God saved you, but what about the rest? Why did God discriminate? So do not justify your stuff and think that you are more chosen. It's all an ego trip.

Q: So, is ego important?

A: Yes, it is in the physical world. Ego is the personality. Personality is important within limits. In the same extent that shadows can be beautiful. Without shadows we would not be able to see the beauty of many things.

New Age Beliefs?

Some New Age beliefs like to think that you have a guardian angel that follows you around. If you believe, then so it is. Would you like an angel to follow you everywhere. Yes, angels do exist, but do you think there is an angel that follows you everywhere? Where is the privacy?

Some people say they would like to be born as angels in their next embodiment. But why? I would rather be born as a human being. It is a rare privilege to be born a human. Angels cannot ascend and cannot be fully enlightened?

Q: Why?

A: Because they are Angels. (A different consciousness.)

Q: What are these different consciousness?

A: In the Bible, Jesus said, "The house of my Father has many mansions." These 'mansions' are the many different levels of conciousness in the world of illusion. There are 31 planes of existence. We are in plane 5, and we can see only another plane which is plane 2 for animals. Hell is the plane below our current existence. So to us, plane 4 is Hell.

Lucifer was banished to hell. He is a fallen angel from Plane 12 to Plane 11 is Hell to Lucifer. But Plane 11 is still 3 levels higher than KuanYin, whom some considered as 'God'. So it is all relative.

To be fully enlightened, you leave the House of my Father - which is the world of illusions.

Ego survives on the deluded mind. Some say EGO stands for Edging God Out.

It is said that there are as many Buddhas as there are the sands along the Ganges River. Do you think any of these Buddhas will not have done something to help us if they could? They didn't because there is nothing they can do. We have to help ourselves!

Beings of great consciousness will not show themselves to you, because it will cause new issues for you, as you may get attached to them. So don't confuse the message from the messenger. Jesus is one of such messenger. We need only to focus on his message.

[Laughter from the audience]

So don't count on guardian angels or angels. Only count on yourself. All these "Angel talk" is not going to help you. Usually this happens to people who has a comfortable life and money in their pocket.

Same with Feng Shui, past life regression and Reiki. Don't spend your time on such things. All you have to do is just to learn to be more loving.

[My note: As a Reiki practitioner, we are taught that we can only heal with love. Through Reiki, many practitioners have seen their lives transformed. So while I understand that Dr Aaron is discouraging people from spending time on frivolous New Age activities to feel the fallacy of 'spiritual superiority', I think any activity that encourages one to be loving would be worthwhile one's time spent.]

Q: Then why some people still go for past life regression?

A: What is the purpose of knowing what happened in your past embodiments? What if you happened to have committed mass murders? It won't help you to be more loving. Many past lives that are read, curiously happened to be prominent lives, like being a King or Queen. One common one is having been the Queen of Shiba. [Laughter]

All these are 'spiritual ego'.

Religious ego are easy to see. eg. Saying that one religion is superior to another or more chosen.

Spiritual ego comes more well disguised. It is about something that I have that you don't. This will stop your growth. It is also futile trying to intellectualised whether there is a God or there isn't. Neither will it be useful finding out about past embodiments.



There is the story about the Buddha crossing the river in India. Halfway across the river, he saw a yogi crossing the river, by walking on water.

He asked the yogi, "How long did you learn to walk on water?"

Yogi: "Twenty years."

Buddha: "Oh. I do it with only five cents" [Laughter]

So it is futile spending time to learn the things you can do cheaper and easier.

There are also no 'lessons' to learn in life. Our purpose in life is only to learn to 're-member'. Express lovingness. Do that and you feel powerful.

The Universe is based on the creation of spiritual power. Everything is spiritual if you have a spiritual mind.

[End of Day 1 of the seminar]

Day 2 Reading and Exercise

The following paragraphs were brought up for clarifications:

Page 3, Para 5: Miracles are habits, and should be voluntary. They should not be under conscious control. Consciously selected miracles can be misguided.

Concious control here refers to discrimination and thinking in duality. eg. Helping another person because he is of the same religious faith, and exclude others.

Page 4, Para 14: Miracles bear witness to truth. They are convincing because they arise from conviction. Without conviction, they deteororiate into magic, which is mindless and therefore destructive; or rather, the uncreative use of the mind.

Miracles are all expressions of Love.

Truth here indicates that only Love exists.

Conviction is your natural self.

Magic here means 'superstitutions'. Superstitutions stop one from growing spiritually.

Q: What is 'maximal' service?

A: 'Maximal' here means you can't go more than 100% Love.

Q: What is 'revelation'?

A: To reveal who you really are.

Q: What is the difference between 'illusion' and 'delusion'?

A: Illusion is on the 'outside', delusion is from the 'inside'. However, when one is no longer deluded, there is no more 'inside' or 'outside'.

Q: In Lession 2 of the book, we have an exercise where we are supposed to attached a meaning to a list of objects. One of them in Darkness. How are we going to do that as Darkness does not really exist?

A: As we put meaning to new things, we make new discoveries. Gallileo discovered that the world is round, which nobody agreed with him at the time. Then came Newton who discovered gravity. Then Einstein who discovered quantum physics, that there is no such thing as gravity and that what we know as gravity is merely when time and space got warped. For a time some scientists think that they can't calculate quantum physics because we can't see it. Then came Steve Hawkins who discovered that there is light everywhere, even in Blackholes.

So even in Darkness there is light, so when you attached meaning to it, it exists. It is like shadows, they have a purpose too. Shadows have beauty, without which we can't see the beauty of many pictures.

Q: In the New Age practice, it is said that we can cast a white Light upon ourselves to protect ourselves. What do you think of this practice?

There is no need to do that. Your best protecton is when you are filled with Light (Love). You can cast white Light onto yourself, but that is not permanent. It won't last very long.

"When your eyes are single, your body will be filled with light..."

That's why Hindus dot their forehead as a symbol for this single eye.

The Bible says, "... When your body is filled with Light, people will see you from afar,... like a beacon on a hill, they will come to see you."

Jesus said "Everything I can do you can also do, and more..."

["How so?" I wondered.]

Jesus didn't have a mobile phone that he can contact anyone around the world that has one. He couldn't fly from one place to another. Now we have aeroplanes...etc.

When Buddha reached enlightened, people could see it on his face and they asked him, "What happened to you?"

He replied, "I have awakened".

Awaken comes from 'Awake', which comes from 'aware'.

That's the state of Nirvana. Nirvana is not a place you go to. It is akin to feeling the air-con in a car from place to place. You can feel the same air-con feeling even as the car moves from Singapore to Penang.

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Providence.

"You are greater in the eyes of the Father, yet smaller creatures do not have such problems"
Trees in nature just grow to be glorious trees. Whether you picnic or park your car under the shade of its canopy, it will just grow to be as glorious as it can be. It doesn't care what you do under its shade.
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The weekend lecture ended here. These notes are here to help those cannot attend the ACIM course, but who would like to be guided in their reading of the book. Many of the terms are explained by stories that we encounter in our daily life. This is so that we can relate to them and understand tbe book better when we read. However, if you can attend the lecture, it is better to do so. Notes are only words and words have more limitations than lectures where questions pertinent to the audience can be discussed in the right context.
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Some of the examples that are repeated from Dr Aaron's other lectures are not mentioned here again. To access those examples, you can read the notes from
105 Universal Laws and Spiritual Parenting..

Next lecture: 20-21 Oct 2007 (Sat/Sun) 10.30am-5.30pm, at Singapore Council for Women Organisations (SCWO), 96 Waterloo Street.
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Monday, August 13, 2007

Bucky Group 6 - Specialisation


In this session, we read passages from "Utopia or Oblivion", pages 32 and 33 about specialisation and how if we continue this way, will make us all professional idiots.
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In these pages, Bucky mentioned about the centralisation of schools which is a reversal of historical practice. There was also a surprising pattern of specialisation in education.
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He mentioned about Harvard University's School of Business, which takes in the brightest brains in the country and at that time (don't know about now) put their students in various specialisations.
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In Bucky's view, these graduates used their energies for linear acceleration to get away. Getting away from the other questions in other specialisations and other specialists. They resulted in being remote from one another like heavenly stars - bright, but far apart. They can't communicate with each other and cannot integrate their findings to the comprehensive needs of society.
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Isn't it common to hear conversations like this, "... If you ask me to read balance sheets and accounts, I am fully comfortable, but computers... argh... I won't understand anything about them." In this conversation, this accounting specialist deliberately stay away from anything about computers when talking to the IT specialist. The IT specialist is also commonly known to be so cocooned in their left brain logic that they are unable to articulate their thoughts to the user and understand business needs.
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And since these 'bright ones' cannot integrate these specialist knowledge, the job for integration are left to the other remaining individuals - who are likely to be the duller ones - who turned up to be our leaders and politicians.
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On that mentioned, a few of us spontaneously agreed that it is different for the case of Singapore. That we are ruled by specialists or technocrats. Nevertheless, the gap between their specialist minds and society still exist. Again, we all agreed spontaneously. Perhaps it is still better than being ruled by dull brains.
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Ultimately, Bucky believed that overspecialisation will lead to extinction. Personally, I think specialisation is only for insects!
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After the discussion, whilst in the car heading for breakfast (this is the last item in every Bucky Group meetings), I wondered if there is a Bucky University around. There is a Buckminster Fuller Institute, but do they confer degrees? If they do, I guess it will be very tough to get through and pass, as the graduate would have to understand all the Generalised Principles and apply them to his profession. In other words, he will become a Comprehensivist, since Bucky believes that there is only one system in the Universe despite the compartmentalisation of parts of the System into different subjects, merely by the human intellect.
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Health Warning :)
We had a sumptous breakfast at our favourite Upper Bukit Timah's Roti Prata joint. I had an egg and kosong prata, PLUS a mee rebus, flushed down with spikey Teh Halia. Chao Loy was worse, he was already asking for people for dinner with him before we finished breakfast!!!!!
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Past Posts:

Bucky Group 5 - Independent Thinking


This picture is only iconic, as Saturday sessions of the Bucky Group are held at Joo Hock's salon, Hair Affair. :)
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In this session, we discussed about what you should do if the whole world disagrees with you, while you are convinced that your thoughts and reasonings are sound.
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This week we watched a documentary about self-confidence by taking a glimpse into Socrates' life. Socrates was known to be a philosopher that will question the basic assumptions that most people would take for granted. He urges people to question even the commonsense that everyone takes for granted.
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For instance, many people would assume that one has to get married in order to be happy, failing to question if it is possible to have an unhappy married life.
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Like pottery, there are structured steps to take to arrive at clear thoughts and the results have to be watertight to withstand further arguments. With clear thoughts, we will develop independent thinking. This means, not yielding to majority vote, which Socrates criticised about in a democracy by votes.
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Obviously, there is a price to pay for independent thinking. In the case of Socrates, the price was his life. He was sentenced to death.
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After the movie, someone commented that religions are generally responsible for discouraging independent thinking. As in history, various other independent thinkers have been sentenced to death. Galileo, the one that propounded that the Earth is round, was put on life imprisonment by the Catholic church. He was lucky since he knew the Pope, his other independent minded friends were sentenced to death.
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However, we have to be mindful not to say sweeping statements like these. Much also depends on the religion and the religious leader. Brother Anthony de Mello is Catholic and he certainly has an independent mind and encourages others to be so. There are also instances of other Catholic priests that attend Buddhist retreats. So are the Sufis in Islam. They fiercely independent thinkers.
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Naturally, the discussions got a bit heated as we were touching on a sensitive topic. This reminds me of the angry man I used to be. Much of my anger has subsided. Incidents like these remind me to stay away from the dormant little angry man.
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Many times those days, I was very perturbed and then angered by mild thinking people with very weak substantiations in their reasonings trying to advise me to calm down in an argument. First, I was arguing the topic, not the other person and most people can't separate the two. Second, I was angry because they had yet to understand the point I was trying to put across. Even worse, they actually did not even bother listening.
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In fact, much of the time, they were unable to reason. Was it their fault? Were they conditioned not to think? Different people goes through different upbringing and many of them are not encouraged to think by their parents and even by their teachers. But am I arrogant to think that others are weaker mentally? Accusations can come flying that direction too! Then I was confused, as being arrogant is considered 'bad'. It was so distressful. But I later come to realise that, that's not the point. The point is in 'acceptance'.
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Once I understood that different people comes from different 'places', I accepted them. When I accepted them, I ceased to be angry. That was a real cure. It saves me so much energy since. :)
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But will anarchy reign when a nation comprises so many independent thinkers? Can you rule over independent thinkers?
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I think politicians like us to believe through fear that anarchy will reign if we all are able to think. I beg to differ on this point. If everyone can think clearly, there will be no danger of anarchy. Anarchy reign when people are unable to think clearly and are instead swayed by emotions, often manipulated by politicians.
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As to why we tend to have stupid politicians, read the next post on "Buck Group 6 - Specialisation".
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Sunday, August 12, 2007

Reiki 2 - Letting Go

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I solved the mystery as to why I was so sad the last few days. I even cried watching the happy getai musical-movie "881". Then after the movie, I got an sms message that my friend's mother had passed away a few days ago.
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That's strange because I had been sending Reiki healing to her for the last week and could still feel the vibes around her head over the last few days. Normally, people who passed away will no longer emit those kind of energies. She seemed worried about her children - something which my friend later confirmed that her mother is fond of doing.
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My friend's mother had a heart attack and was also suffering from gangrine on her right leg, which was to be amputated. My friend rang me a week ago out of the blue to ask for my help. It was a short notice and then an abrupt arrangement to meet her mother at Tan Tock Seng Hospital to do the first hands-on healing. She was very calm and stable at that time though the body was very weak. When I put my hands to heal, I could feel that she was drawing lots of energy at her heart and her left side of her body. I gave her a 30minute healing and then left to continue by distant healing over the subsequent days.
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Later, when the day for the amputaton came, the doctor said that he could not perform the operation as the patient's heart was too weak. On hearing that, she was distressed. Later, she refused to eat and slipped into a coma for a few days, before passing away.
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My friend was very sad in our phone conversation two days ago. It was hard on her as she has been the care-giver for the last two years. While her emotional distress is understandable, it was not good for both herself and her departed mum. It was a case of my friend sad over the departure of her mum, whilst her mum still worried about her 'children'. I urged my friend to let go of her emotions, as it would not help her mother to move on to the astral and mental worlds. Perhaps that was why I felt her mother's vibes even after her passing away.
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We are all attached to the physical world, as this is the only world we consciously remember at the moment. Some cultures and customs even have orchestrated mourning for the departed, lest the living descendants would not be seen as filial. What an act?!!! Letting go and being detached with the decease, while not easy, would be better for them to transition smoothly to the other worlds.
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A day after my friend has agreed to try to let go of her emotional attachment to her mother, I no longer feel the lingering worries of her mother when I send Reiki to her. I also no longer abruptly feel sad for no reason I am aware of.
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Past post: Reiki
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Technology Part 2 - Automatic Translation

Vacuum State is increasingly receiving more 'tourists' from many diverse linguistic backgrounds. Some of you may be delighted to know that you can now also read the posts here in your native tongue. You can do this by going to http://translate.google.com/ and entering the http://jupilier.blogspot.com/ as the webpage to translate and choosing "English to YourLanguage".
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Here are some examples:
For Chinese translation, click:

For Japanese translation, click:
For Korean translation, click:
For French translation, click:
For German translation, click:
For Spanish translation, click:
For Portuguese translaction, click:

The translations are quick and free-of-charge to the user. Isn't it wonderful?!
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A big "Thank-You" to Google for providing both the translation and blogging facilities for free.
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The Web and the Internet has absolutely revolutionise how I am living my life. I now find it easier to buy my books online, since many of them I want are specialist publications; and also to make friends with people of similar interests via online social networks. Lately for instance, I have been able to meet a group of Returned Overseas Singaporeans in Singapore (ROSS) and also to get back to studying Japanese with a group of enthusiasts in Singapore via a social portal called meetup.com.
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I now plan my cycling trips using Google Earth and find my way around during the trip by referring to online maps using my mobile phone. Photos taken on the fly during the trip can also be sent to my friends instantly. Perhaps I should try posting them to Vacuum State instantly and do some real-time blogging! :)
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Technology is wonderful. However, like money, we must make them (technology/money) work for us and not conversely to be enslaved by them. :)
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Past post: Technology

Friday, August 03, 2007

Little Indian Philosophy

Went for a haircut in a charming barber shop in Little India and found some inspiring messages in a leaflet...

"Special message: the way God grants grace:
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Do not expect God to appear before us and help us upon our call.
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God will create circumstances and situations and lead our life in a pleasant way.
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'Circumstances' and 'situations' are not in our hands and it is there the God plays his role."

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