Thanks Baba, my ideal and well respected fellow of all time. I am truly glad you like it. ________________________________ From: Baba Galleh Jallow <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Sun, 26 September, 2010 22:47:14 Subject: Re: sophistication Vs simplicity This is beautiful and profound Edie. Thanks for sharing. Baba ________________________________ Date: Sun, 26 Sep 2010 18:45:24 +0000 From: [log in to unmask] Subject: sophistication Vs simplicity To: [log in to unmask] Give up defining yourself - to yourself or to others radio people. You will surely come to life without self expressions but by God’s will. And don't be concerned with how others define you. When they define you, they are limiting themselves, so it's their problem. Whenever you interact with people, don't be there primarily as a function or a role, but as the field of conscious Presence. You can only lose something that you have, but you cannot lose something that you are. Is it so bad, then, to be misunderstood? Pythagoras was misunderstood, and Socrates, and Jesus, Muhammad, Buddha Luther, Copernicus, Galileo, Newton, and every pure and wise spirit that ever took flesh even God is misunderstood. Therefore, to be great is to be misunderstood. We will never be misunderstood if our utterance is of no interest to the other. Sophistication is for naught. Seek simplicity rather than sophistication. Simplicity is streamlined. Sophistication is a maneuver. Or let’s say it this way: True sophistication is simplicity. True sophistication does not look at itself. It does not label itself. It does not adorn itself. Simplicity is the shortest distance between two points. Simplicity isn’t clever. It isn’t fancy. It is simple straightforward simplicity. It is uncomplicated. Sophistication is being wise in the ways of the world. Sophistication is a sleek hairdo and a tux or a gown. Sophistication calls attention to itself. Simplicity slips through unnoticed. And yet it is from simplicity that joy comes. The cleverness of sophistication doesn’t quite do it. Cleverness is fingernail enamel. Cleverness poses and takes its own picture. Sophistication plays jokes on itself. Living life is living life. It is being awake to this moment and not the consensus of it. Living life is not thoughts about living life. It is not production. Living life is a simple greeting. We come back again to innocence. Innocence is like a natural ice skater who glides and has so much fun. Sophistication, on the other hand, has moves in mind and performs them elegantly, perhaps a little stylized. Innocence is spontaneous whereas sophistication is canned. Innocence is truly your best shot. Life isn’t always slow but steady. Life is not a measured step. It may be fast. It may be tripping the light fantastic. It may be a twirl or a whirlwind, or it may be an afternoon nap. Cannot life be what it is and you go along for the ride? Life is not for you to neither speed up nor slow down. Can you not be as you are? Life is not a planned activity. Life is what it is when it is. Life doesn’t have to be one way or another. It has to be what it is. Is life better with long stretches than with short? Is the fast lane better than the country lane? Cannot life, like the weather, be welcomed as it is? You are not the sayer or naysayer neither of the weather nor of life. It is not for you to say: “Rain, rain, go away and come back another day.” Life is to be embraced now, not later. You can look forward to life, and, yet, you can’t quite embrace it ahead of time. Life can be embraced only in its own time. If the weather is too cold for your liking, put on a sweater. And if it is too hot, take off your sweater. And if it is still too hot, then be hot until the weather cools of its own accord. Let life have its day. Life is about more than your creature comforts. Life is much more than about you and your preferences. When life does not please you, change your interpretation of it. And if there is no snow and you cannot ski, then engage in another sport. On occasion, I have heard you say that a day is ruined. Your expectation wasn’t met. Then meet your day half-way. Don’t kick the stones in your path. Whichever path you take, whatever the debris in your way, whatever the pitfalls, make your walk merry. This is life we are talking about. This is your life. Whatever its twists and turns, it is yours to make the most of. It is not yours to complain about. Would you like life to complain about you all the time? If your suit of life is not always pressed, why, then, enjoy the wrinkles. You can love a pug dog as easily as you can love a poodle. It is not the surface of life that qualifies it. By Lady Isis presented by Edi ________________________________ From: Edie Sidibeh <[log in to unmask]> To: [log in to unmask] Sent: Sat, 4 September, 2010 16:48:46 Subject: The ego-self The physical manifestation of living through the ego-self results in a feeling of void, a spiritual emptiness living with the sense that something is missing in our lives. On the other hand, love, being the opposite of fear, gives us a sense of fullness and spiritual fulfillment. We have been created in the fullness of God, in the Love of God, in His image. Feeling empty or living in fear is by definition an unnatural expression. Feeling empty or living in fear comes from a false belief in separation from God. Anytime we allow fear or emptiness to come into our hearts and minds, we have separated ourselves from our trueselves. Our trueselves are literally a part of God, just as our brother or sister is a part of God. God is all, and all is Love. There is nothing else; everything else is simply a contraption of the ego, a manifestation of the illusion of who we believe ourselves to be. It is the ego's best effort to fill us up with itself. The ego promises us that if we follow its rules and laws, we will obtain peace of mind and joy. But in truth, the ego can only offer what it is. It can offer us what is unreal, temporary and unfulfilling. We have tried to fill ourselves with the gifts the ego offers. At first, the gifts are small but large enough to temporarily satisfy us. Yet, being temporary and unreal, the same gifts that once satisfied us ultimately become small and meaningless. Once our minds have digested the ego's gifts, we again have a sensation of feeling empty. The ego promised us fulfillment. It promised us that its gifts would bring us true joy and peace of mind. But after digesting its gifts, we again feel empty, and we begin to ask why. Then the ego, in order to protect itself from these questions, offers us bigger gifts. It knows it cannot continue to fool us with little illusions for they no longer fill the emptiness within. Thus, it offers us larger illusions, and at first our reaction is, "Wow!" For a short time, we believe that these illusions, that we call real, will satisfy the empty feelings we possess within. Yet, big or small, these are illusions, and illusions, being nothing, can by definition never fill us up. Again, we ask, "Why? How could this be? I felt satisfied a while back; why am I not satisfied now?" The ego again becomes nervous, for it hates being questioned. It would rather we never ask such questions, or ask no questions at all. It does its best to keep us busy, for it understands that when we're busy we cannot find time to question it. So the ego does its best to fill our time with as many illusions as possible. It understands that its existence is in jeopardy every time we ponder its reality. It understands that it cannot fill us with its lies forever, so it keeps raising the level of illusions in order to temporarily shut us up. And it succeeds every time we buy into it. Illusions themselves offer their own brand of truth. And if we believe in the illusions we are pursuing, we will also believe in the truth they are offering. Illusions appear to create a truth, which the ego believes is true, and will defend until death. But illusions are nothing, and that which is nothing cannot create truth. Illusions can only create a false truth; this might temporarily satisfy us, but it will never fulfill us. What is true is eternal, is based in love, and offers us eternal peace of mind and joy. What is false is temporary, and is based on illusions, which can only offer temporary peace of mind and joy, which fades into nothingness, creating a sense of emptiness and a state of confusion. Peace of mind and joy are eternal, and what is eternal cannot be temporary. Temporary peace of mind and joy therefore do not exist. They are illusions created by the ego to keep us from understanding and experiencing real eternal peace of mind and joy. The ego, once more in defense of its existence, will offer bigger illusions, and bigger lies. Once again we have a choice: we can choose to buy into these greater illusions and lies, or we can choose to question them. By questioning illusions, we take the first step in undoing them. Freedom of choice is one of our greatest gifts. So don't judge yourself for having chosen such illusions in the past, for it is those illusions and their lack of fulfillment that have brought you to this point in your life. Now you are truly allowing yourself time to reflect, and to ask if any of the ego's illusions and lies have brought you true happiness. True happiness brings with it peace of mind and joy. Has the ego offered you true peace of mind and true joy? Are you at peace with yourself, your family, friends, neighbors and with the world in general? You already know the answers to these questions. You have already experienced enough pain. Eventually, you'll recognize that there must be a better way. To recognize means to "know again," which implies that you knew before. As you begin to recognize your trueself or Godself, you will increasingly be unable to tolerate your beliefs in illusions. Now that you have chosen to search inside yourself, understand that the ego will not go quietly into the night. Your search for light and truth is fearful to the ego, for it resides in darkness. It will use its last resources to defend itself. It will make you as uncomfortable as possible. It will tell you that you're being ridiculous, that you should snap out of it. You will hear the ego, but, at the same time, you will remember where it has taken you before. You have heard its defenses before, but now they will no longer work against you. No longer will you choose to blindly follow the ego. Even other people's egos will try to join yours in its defense, for they understand that if one falls, others in the group may follow. In your everyday life, you lead by example. Other egos will not be comfortable if you choose to remember your trueself and decide to change. Once your change toward your Godself begins, you'll clearly see it in your life. Those ruled by ego will begin to slowly fade away, spending less time with you. They may attack you for not being your "old self." Yet, you now understand that you cannot live like your old self did, for your old self is not your trueself now. Even if you start spending less time around certain individuals, your love and respect for them will actually increase. As your love and respect for yourself increases so too will your love and respect for all your brothers and sisters. Even some of the places you used to go will now seem different, for there are places where the ego feels at ease, and there are places where it doesn't. You'll go to new places - perhaps places you thought you would never go - and you'll meet new people. These people and places will serve you in your search for remembrance. Throughout your remembrance process, other people who are ruled by their ego-selves will attack your process, even and especially family members or those closest to you. They will feel their own egos, their way of life under attack. You need only be yourself during these encounters. Speak your truth. Stay true to yourself. Never attack others for their beliefs, and respect their processes even though you might perceive them as not respecting yours. My friend, I am here to remind you that peace of mind, love and joy are your inheritance. Peace of mind, love and joy are the main attributes of the Godself. We all have a Godself, because we are simply our Godselves and nothing else. Everything else, including our ego-selves is an illusion we have created to help us live in the illusionary world. The ego is a speck of dust that we have made into a mountain. Yet still, what is even the highest mountain compared to the universe, to All That Is? As the illusion that is the ego slowly dissolves in the light, so too will the mountain, in time, return to dust. By James Blancard ________________________________ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤ To unsubscribe/subscribe or view archives of postings, go to the Gambia-L Web interface at: http://listserv.icors.org/archives/gambia-l.html To Search in the Gambia-L archives, go to: http://listserv.icors.org/SCRIPTS/WA-ICORS.EXE?S1=gambia-l To contact the List Management, please send an e-mail to: [log in to unmask] ¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤¤