State of Wonder

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

Recently it has become more and more apparent to me the state of wonderment is an ever new experience like Yogananda spoke of ever new joy. It is as Spock used to say: 'Fascinating'. Every moment is releasing God's miracles if i but could always see. Weeds are unloved flowers.

"Wonder is the beginning of wisdom."

~Socrates

[mccoy]

Maybe I'm going backward spiritually, since I used to have that attitude of wonderment years ago, now I realize things are getting dull to the mind, sometimes I even think that Death might be interesting in providing some adventure. When it's going to come. Have a family now to look after.
In a way, if I am detached, it's also interesting to realize that, that is, I understand how sometimes professionals and rich people who were successful in life start getting bored. Only difference I don't have that money, lol.

[Swami Peevananda]

you are dead already

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

you are dead already

.....and you swami peeved: Are you dead already or in a state of wonderment?....tell us about a state of wonderment.

I believe you are very much alive mccoy... just searching and moving towards your next state of wonder. It often takes an admission to thrust us forward. It shows humility... an important stage in spiritual attainment. We are ahead in some departments and behind in others in our spiritual awareness. That is what i notice very clearly and we often take two steps backwards before taking 3 more forward.

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

Maybe I'm going backward spiritually, since I used to have that attitude of wonderment years ago, now I realize things are getting dull to the mind, sometimes I even think that Death might be interesting in providing some adventure. When it's going to come. Have a family now to look after.
In a way, if I am detached, it's also interesting to realize that, that is, I understand how sometimes professionals and rich people who were successful in life start getting bored. Only difference I don't have that money, lol.

The number one reason i am in a state of wonderment is that we as humans have awareness. We are able to ask our selves where we are, what we are doing and how much we aware of what is happening around us. It is quite amazing to me that most people do not have a keen interest in these topics which arises the next question: why are we somehow different? We meet others who are asking the same questions: What is this life we have been thrown in? Then many us here are finding answers. It simply puts me in a state of wonder. I have found many answers yet with every answer comes more questions. It seems endless - this knowledge that we are opening up to.  That is only one area of wonderment that astounds me. The wonder of awareness.

Jitendra

[Swami Peevananda]

The number one reason i am in a state of wonderment is that we as humans have awareness.
Jitendra

Exactly! You have found the pearl. All the other questions move from this jump point of individual awareness. This is where the mind begins it's activities. Actually, "we humans have awareness" is still conceptual. You can refine it even more by noticing "I am aware", and concentrating on that "I" who is aware. All the rest of the questions are mind stuff. This is why "Veda" means "the end of knowledge". Knowledge is an accumulation of memory, a gathering from outside - concepts, beliefs, opinions, questions and answers. Your being is always present, but is obscured by the machinations of the mind. The being is like the paper on which you write all of these questions down.

[mccoy]

@ peevananda: lol yes, in a way I'm already dead, what's dead is the small kid's mind to whom everything is an adventure and who wonders continuously at everything. Also I used to enjoy more simple pleasures, whereas now it's all duty. Probably this is the effect of age, I'm now almost 54. If so, it is an ugly effect indeed. Maybe it is because of the work rhytms I had for the latest 5 years. You all know the adage, all work and no play....As Steve rightly says, in this modern age where we could let the machines work and allow us some respite for meditation, study, constructive discussions and healthy endeavours, we must run around just to eke out a living. And consider us very lucky we can complain about overwork since many people are loosing their jobs.

@ steve: thanks for the encouragement, one way I sure must work at and which I was maybe more successful years ago is work with the consciousness of being a tool of God. When I succeed in doing something good, then I'll think I was being a good channel. This is also a good way to improve one's job.

Trying to get rid of this intervened spiritual dullness is going to give me back some wonderment, hopefully.

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

Mccoy...Even your knowledge of economics leaves me in a state of wonder. I've gained more of an appreciation for its value and an understanding and appreciation of the country I live in from an outsiders perspective. There is so much to learn in this world that God put us in and we constantly need to readjust our views to fit in with our expanding awareness. Every human being we meet - especially those we get close to - has some part to play in our enlightenment. They may have much more to learn than us but there is something there for us to learn as well. Other times we have much to gain and they are conduits of God's presence.

Time to rewrite my life again today..omm

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

@ peevananda: lol yes, in a way I'm already dead, what's dead is the small kid's mind to whom everything is an adventure and who wonders continuously at everything. Also I used to enjoy more simple pleasures, whereas now it's all duty. Probably this is the effect of age, I'm now almost 54. If so, it is an ugly effect indeed. Maybe it is because of the work rhytms I had for the latest 5 years. You all know the adage, all work and no play....As Steve rightly says, in this modern age where we could let the machines work and allow us some respite for meditation, study, constructive discussions and healthy endeavours, we must run around just to eke out a living. And consider us very lucky we can complain about overwork since many people are loosing their jobs.

@ steve: thanks for the encouragement, one way I sure must work at and which I was maybe more successful years ago is work with the consciousness of being a tool of God. When I succeed in doing something good, then I'll think I was being a good channel. This is also a good way to improve one's job.

Trying to get rid of this intervened spiritual dullness is going to give me back some wonderment, hopefully.

Speaking of work here. Yes we are fortunate to have jobs mccoy. This job I have has been putting me in a state of wonder about details. A jet engine can have a screw loose in it and the whole jet will come down if it's the right place in the same way you can make seemingly small little errors in driving a truck and it can amount to large problems. Some people are amazing in the way they can remember details and observe details. I am in a state of wonder by their observations.

[mccoy]

He was one with his vehicle, identified with it and was right by the inch.

Driving a truck may be an art, and doing it with God's consciousness prevailing may be very rewarding.

[Swami Peevananda]

McCoy,

My apologies! I was trying to respond to your post and I inadvertently edited it. I was able to salvage one piece of it. Sorry about that!

Anyway I think you hit the nail on the head!

[Jitendra Hy-do-u-no-us?]

i have served in many different capacities during my life and probably will continue to. i have so many wonderful plans in the service i intend and want to do. What interests me about this current job is that you are exposed to many different people and places. It never ceases to amaze me that at some places i go the people are very happy and at others they seem dismal.

i am constantly aware of my consciousness at any given moment. If it slips into any type of moods or disparate modes i question myself how this has happened. If moods are of a sullen sort I suddenly pump out the mantras and affirmations..... and ask: how did i get in this mood? We have to serve/work willing with a sense of purpose. We are serving. We are doing our work for God. If we see It that way, suddenly we find spiritual lessons wherever we are put and in whatever service we are engaged in.

Be cheerful; it takes you a lot further in life!

[mccoy]

McCoy,
My apologies! I was trying to respond to your post and I inadvertently edited it. I was able to salvage one piece of it. Sorry about that!
Anyway I think you hit the nail on the head!

Peevananda, no sweat, are you too a truck driver?

[Swami Peevananda]

McCoy,
My apologies! I was trying to respond to your post and I inadvertently edited it. I was able to salvage one piece of it. Sorry about that!
Anyway I think you hit the nail on the head!

Peevananda, no sweat, are you too a truck driver?

Yes, but of the smaller variety. 98 Ford Ranger. However, I did work at an all night truckstop for a about a year. The truckstop I worked at was run down and not a big hotspot. However, I did learn a few things from talking with some of the truckers I met. First of all, my general impression of the truck drivers I saw was tension. They seemed to be highly stressed and heavily worked individuals. The loggers were the most haggard. The commercial drivers were a little more polished.

Truckers are the mules of the modern world. I met a man who worked for a company named ESTES. I never did figure out what it was they hauled. Most truckers tell you they haul "a little bit of everything". Do they even know what they are carrying? Maybe not. But this particular driver was an older man, getting on in years. He knows that the smallest mistake, such as a traffic violation, and he can be fired. Because of his age, he feels that he would be fired more easily than a young man because of the few privileges he has gained over the years, like a vacation. This isn't available to the younger drivers so they are thought to be more desirable to the company. That was his theory, anyway. He seemed to stress the impersonality of his relationship to the company he worked for.

Some other truckers own their own trucks and it is a bit of a lifestyle. Some of those trucks are very expensive and have a wide range of furnishings. I even saw one that was a camper/truck. So, the man lived in his truck and his wife likely lived with him if he was married. Many regular size trucks are carrying wives or girlfriends along for the trip. But the trucker who owns his own truck is like an independent contractor. He is kind of like a freelancer. He finds his own jobs using computer programs. He decides what jobs to take and so on. This version of the trucker lifestyle seems to be the most appealing in a way.

And don't let some of them fool you, they can pull in quite a bit of money if they are good.

I like that movie "Over the Top". It put arm wrestling on the map, and made truck driving seem pretty damn cool.

There is also a phenomenon called the "lot lizard". These are women who hang around truckstops and will "tap, tap, tap" on your door at night (truckers sleep in their trucks and park in parking lots). For money they will give you a BJ or sex or whatever. Ask Stevo about prices.

Truckers are constantly harassed by cops. They have to produce logs showing how long they have slept and stopped, etc. They are required to have a certain amount of "sleep time" etc. Their truck has to be parked for a certain time period. One night a saw a truck that appeared to be on fire. The man admitted he was burning his logs. I'm not sure why.

[Dumpster]

hey you guys I have a sick occupation. I'm the most! there is nothing more sexy than living out of dumpsters. all free time can be devoted to meditating. sometimes you compete with the animals but it's a good way to make friends. lived in a Buddhist monastery for a while but now I have my accommodations in the open sky. foxes have holes and birds have nests but the son of Big Daddy has no place to rest his head accept the cosmos it's your true home! my name is dumpster but a saintly squirrel by the advice of a duck nun named me cosmos.

I'm in a state of wonder because a chipmunk friend of mine had a nervous breakdown breakdown (two of them)  because of the garbage trucks interupting her sleep routine. They get going too early in the morning and she is still sleeping. I had to give her continous munk therapy. but she seems to be in a state of recovery. I  even gave her mouth to mouth perspiration when she was comatised.