COMING BACK TO THE BLOG

So...  I have been off work since last Friday with what turned out to be Hand, Foot, and Mouth Disease!  My right foot especially still looks quite nasty, but the fever left early this week as well as the pain for the most part.  I've quarantined myself back here to my father's house and have not left for days.  Jennifer's stepdad came down with this same illness just a few days before.  I have not been around him or any children (by which the disease is primarily spread) except for Jennifer's son Michael.  A couple of weeks ago, I took three days off to spend with Michael and help him in the wake of a foot surgery he'd had.  During that time, he was diagnosed with strep throat (but not formally tested).  Though he had a sore throat and a high fever but no other symptoms, I think he was the source of the virus for me and Jennifer's stepdad.  Michael does not wish to think it so.  However, any way you slice it, the results are the same...

Among other things, I have realized that once again I have forgotten totally about this blog.  Sorry blog...

I've taken this week as a kind of spiritual retreat, and it's been pleasant.  I've delved further into the spiritual perception which is termed Advaita - non-duality.  All is one!  Adyashanti - afore-mentioned in my blog - speaks from this perspective.  But my recent interest stemmed from a YouTube video which was presented one day as a suggestion based on other videos that I'd watched.  The guy's name is Rupert Spira, and he really has a good way of describing mind, the knowledge of our own being, and so forth.  I also discovered a man named Rick Archer and his YouTube channel entitled "Buddha at the Gas Pump" through which he interviews people who have had experiences with enlightenment or similar spiritual insights.  


I have attended satsang in one way or another throughout this entire week via cyberspace!  I have been thinking a lot of the dichotomy of realizing the awareness of all which is complete in and of itself and seeks nothing else on one hand and the need for a teacher or process to help continue to point the way - to be that finger pointing at the moon - on the other hand.  Thus, listening to these various teachers has given me a new perspective to work with in meditation - the classic practice which I have neglected for months but have come back to this week.  Instead of struggling with my thoughts during the observation, I have been more recently able to simply allow things to be and expect less as I go.  I've been THINKING too much about this.  Imagine that!  There is so much to say and comment on, but I will save these insights for later posts.