My response to Vivek Patil
Thanks for your comment, Vivek.
I spent years working towards “right beliefs”.
I was from a Wesleyan background. I travelled through several traditions in my quest.
I found no peace from this quest. Only more hunger…. (because I was not reconnecting/immersing myself in the “ING” part of life. BreathING, watchING, BeING, FocusING, in the present moment.)
In that Quest, my satisfaction with life always melted away into emptiness.
It was SO confusing…. everything I had been taught ended up only vaporizing.
(I have found a number of folks who have similar experiences. They are taught that their “practice” is the answer, but as soon as they are finished their daily quiet time, the “same old same old” pops right back up. )
Then, it became gradually evident that beliefs are an ADD-ON. (which was quite a huge shock at first when they all started to automatically fall off, while the experiencing of NOW deepened and deepened.) Those beliefs became “superfluous” and counterproductive to my experiencing. (much to my chagrin!!)
One good thing about John Wesley was that he believed in Experience as a component of coming to his understanding of “how things are”. This opened me up to “willing to take the plunge…. and take the chance with my “eternal soul”.”
Another thing was my growing use of William James pragmatic approach to everything. “If it doesn’t work, let go of it and find something that does.” (my paraphrase)
The third good thing was connecting with Gary Weber, who introduced me to the neuroscience of DMN and TPN. This was in fact, the “lighter” component that lit the candle that does not burn out ……
Gary’s instructions in self-inquiry were primary in my shift in methodology. (Aha! this really works!!)
As I moved on in my experiential path, all the “fixed, black and white” ways of looking at things fell off. (This is not the “now I get to do as I please” type nonsense that is taught in our current world)
In my life, there is Being in Now Now Now, or being scattered in ruminative thought. All else rises from one or the other of these as their children.
My two guides have become “LivING in this moment of Now Now Now” and “Xin Xin Ming”(Affirming Faith in Mind)
Xin Xin Ming has proven itself to be an intuitive teaching of these “Isness” realities, using pre-scientific terminology.
All the best …. this is all opposite/anathema to the “one size fits all” dogma/theology standpoint.
Reality is Dharma 