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Articles from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond Rock | Selfgrowth.com
- What’s Your Pleasure? - by Submitted on Mar 28, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockTake a look at your life and see if it's not true that the pursuit of pleasure and happiness involves just about everything you do. From watching TV or playing on the internet, to working at a career in order to make money - so that you can spend it and be happy with the resulting pleasure or ...
Views: 1686(3 votes) - See You In Eternity - by Submitted on Apr 18, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockHave you ever thought about eternity? That‘s longer than a month, a lot longer. If an angel flew up to the top of a solid granite mountain once every hundred years and softly brushed a silk veil across it’s top, the number of years required to wear that mountain down to the ground would be a ...
Views: 1673 - Silent Prayer: Part 3 - How to Pray Silently - by Submitted on Nov 04, 2009 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockWhile we are praying silently, we are going to let go of all the baggage we carry on our shoulders regarding the past and future. When thoughts of the past come up, whether it be who we are, what we have accomplished, what titles we have earned, our childhood, our relatives, our relationships, ...
Views: 1667(4 votes) - Five Roadblocks to Meditation, and How They Apply to Westerners - by Submitted on Jun 30, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockThe first hindrance to meditation is desire for sense stimulation. This can range from obsessive sexual lust, to compulsive socializing, to addictive intellectual pursuits. In the West, we tend toward the addictive intellectual pursuits because we have usually disciplined ourselves regarding ...
Views: 1662 - Dangerous Alliances - by Submitted on Apr 23, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockOf course, most of us have seemingly innocent alliances that are common to ordinary folks, like our friends and relatives. But is this where the really dangerous alliances lie? How can a relationship with Auntie Bess and Uncle Bill be harmful for us? They are loving, warm, giving, and have ...
Views: 1647 - Let Them Eat Cake - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2009 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockIt seems to me that too many people are taking a big cut out of the health care pie for themselves. Instead of a middleman, we have numerous middlemen that come between the sick person and his or her care. And it has gotten too top heavy, way out of control. The medical schools reap huge ...
Views: 1646 - Locating God - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2009 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockHello, God? Are you there? HellOOoo. Are you listening? I know; you have a gazillion other things to do and billions of people to keep happy just here on earth, let alone all the people on all the planets around all the billions of stars in just our small galaxy. And then how about the ...
Views: 1644(1 vote) - The Constant Flow of Change - by Submitted on May 17, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond Rock"All is impermanent." What a depressing thought, but only to an untrained, worldly mind. Impermanence is never lost, just a flow of change; a flow of change that is an ultimate truth and therefore an ultimate security. What is it that we instead depend upon for our security? When I was a ...
Views: 1621(2 votes) - Getting Over Yourself - by Submitted on Dec 23, 2007 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockWe all seek power. We try to push ourselves up and in the process, many times attempt to push others down. It might begin with a feeling that we have been wronged, which means that our ego has been hurt, and in order to right things we might begin a verbal confrontation with the offending party. ...
Views: 1595 - Making Smaller Footprints - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2009 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockOn my way up the mountain carrying some roofing materials I stopped to catch my breath, and as I unconsciously gazed at a scrub cedar tree that I had trimmed a month before to make the trail, an insight popped up. They happen at random like this, and seldom have anything to do with the thinking ...
Views: 1585(2 votes) - Mindfulness Meditation - Free Health Care - by Submitted on Jun 01, 2011 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockMindfulness meditation is free. There are no health insurance premiums, drug costs, or expensive therapies. And it works! But first you have to understand the authentic instructions, and secondly you must practice diligently. If you do this, mental and physical problems will melt away. Try it! ...
Views: 1580 - The Internet Of Our Mind - by Submitted on Oct 02, 2007 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockIf you had a computer, but no internet connection, you would be limited to only what is stored on your hard drive. You could access your documents and compose some stuff, but if you wanted to reach out and touch the world, that couldn’t happen. In the same way, we can describe the part of our ...
Views: 1576 - What Was My Life All About? - by Submitted on Apr 17, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockThere comes a time in most people’s lives when they look back. Perhaps after the kids are gone, or when their faculties are almost gone! Or when they are more inclined to surrender rather than put up the good fight anymore. We all have to surrender, eventually. We might long for a sense of ...
Views: 1568 - Weapons of Least Distraction - by Submitted on May 10, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockOne of the most powerful weapons in the world is compassion. The least powerful is control. The two are surely at odds with each other, and it certainly seems that power and control would trump wimpy compassion any old day. But in actuality, compassion, a weapon of least distraction, is not only ...
Views: 1566 - Spiritual Insight - Extraordinary, Yet Very Ordinary - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2009 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockA direct experience of spiritual insight will change your life, a fact which is irrefutable and well documented. But spiritual searching, rather than spiritual insight - well, that's another story. Most people who embark upon a spiritual quest aren't satisfied with answers that they are ...
Views: 1563(1 vote) - Are You Living in the Past? - by Submitted on Jun 09, 2011 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockThere’s an old saying how a young man has no past so he drives fast cars to catch his future - and an old man has no future so he sits in his rocking chair trying to hold onto his past. This has some truth to it. There comes a time when we get beyond the stage of reliving our past in ...
Views: 1552(1 vote) - Metaphysics, Politics, and Religion - by Submitted on Feb 01, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockMetaphysical arguments go nowhere, no different from political or religious ones! What does make a difference, however, is how we treat each other. I may be a Buddhist and you may be a Christian, yet if we both treat each other with respect, how crazy can that be? When a monk asked the Buddha ...
Views: 1552 - Do You Have A Speculative And Intelligent Personality - And What Does That Mean? - by Submitted on Apr 04, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockOur personalities, it could be said, fall into six categories: Faithful, greedy, hateful, deluded, speculative and intelligent, and if we tend toward the speculative and intelligent, it’s a good bet that our spiritual life will progress in fits and starts because we outsmart ourselves. The ...
Views: 1551 - What Step are You On? Evolution of Religion - Six Steps - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2009 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockThese six major steps weave in and around each other, and there are many others, all revealing a transition between materiality consciousness and heightened consciousness, or between an outward emphasis (thinking, remembering, body and mind), and an inward emphasis (the replacing of thought and ...
Views: 1549(1 vote) - Is Your Religion Working for You? Really? - by Submitted on May 13, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockWhen you say to someone, not of your religion, that "because your good book says it is true, therefore it must be true," don't you ever notice that the person, instead of falling down in worship, rolls their eyes? Do you smugly continue to be a "work in progress," and proud of it, justifying ...
Views: 1536 - Why Doesn't God Come Down and Just Say Hello? - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2009 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockWell. Why doesn't he, or she? I guess that's the first problem, one of gender. The Bible is gender blind, I mean Adam has all of his ribs but somehow his wife was created out of one of them instead of out of the earth from which Adam was created. And another question, If Adam and Eve had three ...
Views: 1526(1 vote) - E. Raymond Rock Life Situations - The Usual Mistakes (and how to avoid them) Part 4 - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2009 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond Rock4. Thinking that life is a cake walk. This has the potential to be one of the bigger mistakes because it means that we are blind to the realities around us, and usually insensitive to others. When we have blinders on, we tend to create a personal little world that is in fact very fragile, ...
Views: 1524 - Meditation - What's the Point? - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2009 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockSitting quietly, doing nothing, what a waste of valuable time, right? You could be on the computer or cell phone talking with friends, or doing something really productive or fun. Why sit quietly? In life, two things separate successful people from ordinary people: creativity and energy. ...
Views: 1523(2 votes) - Spiraling Toward Oblivion - by Submitted on Oct 22, 2009 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockHave you noticed, as you get older, that the months have turned into weeks, and the years into months? Time passes relentlessly, and as we look back on all the things that we have done, where is the significance? I was watching the white tailed deer that frequent our meditation center here in ...
Views: 1513(1 vote) - The Dawning of Depression - by Submitted on Feb 23, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockIf we at least had enough to live on and make expenses, that would be enough. And enough to pay off the house, which isn't worth much anymore. Oh, and maybe provide for our healthcare, which is going to get very expensive in the very near future, and we better pay it or they will take our house! ...
Views: 1496(6 votes) - What is the Most Important Thing in a Romantic Relationship? - by Submitted on Feb 04, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockThere's gotta be a millions of articles about relationships. Books, too. If you are thinking about writing a book, put "relationship" in the title and you will have agents beating down your door! Instead of "How to Fix a Toilet," title you book, "How to Have a Good Relationship With Your Toilet ...
Views: 1495(1 vote) - Life - The Secret to Success - by Submitted on Dec 23, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockCan life be pigeonholed into a viable model for success? Can a methodology or system be relied upon to give us the results or achievements that we desire? Can a formula for winning ever work with such an unpredictable thing such as life? If we read all self help, psychological, philosophical ...
Views: 1494(1 vote) - The Essence of Buddhism - by Submitted on Jul 29, 2011 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond Rock“Growing Old is Not for Sissies!” I remember this great bumper sticker making the rounds a few years ago. Unless life ends tragically, suddenly, we will all experience old age and the result of old age, which is death. If we live long enough, on the way to death via old age, we begin losing ...
Views: 1494(1 vote) - Sociopathic Relationships - by Submitted on Mar 05, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockAlthough you may never know it, people you look up to, love, and respect could easily be sociopaths. They give themselves away by exhibiting strange combinations of controlling behaviors, such as being charismatic, calculating, extremely confident, while warmly embracing those who fall under ...
Views: 1493 - The Big One - by Submitted on Apr 12, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockMaybe it has already happened to you. It doesn't happen to everyone. But those lives to which it happens are drastically changed. Changed for the better. When this happens, all the things that make life such a burden are magically lifted from one's shoulders resulting in a sudden, unexpected ...
Views: 1486 - Playing Racquetball, Playing Life - by Submitted on Jan 25, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockIn order to get good "court sense," a beginning racquetball player must put up with the difficulties of learning how the ball bounces; only then will they understand the ball's nature and become relaxed and proficient. The player must face the problems through practice, however. If they try to ...
Views: 1481(1 vote) - Stress Relief - Free! - by Submitted on May 18, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockAlthough the usual suspects of stress may be our jobs, financial difficulties, illness, political and religious arguments, family, personal problems, etc., if you look into each one of these in depth, you will find within them all a common thread. If only we could identify that common thread, ...
Views: 1470(1 vote) - Dateline: Los Angeles May 15, 2030 - U.S. Government Cancelled - by Submitted on Mar 05, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockBy a narrow margin, both houses of congress agreed to cancel the Government of the United States. After years of struggle, President Polin has finally fulfilled her mother's dream; the total end of government control. On the streets of L.A. can be heard the celebratory exclamations this ...
Views: 1457(4 votes) - A Key to Enlightenment - by Submitted on Jan 07, 2011 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockDependent Origination, the direct transcendent knowledge and understanding of which the Buddha proclaimed to be the lynchpin of enlightenment, is an area far removed from physical reality in many ways In many other ways, Dependent Origination is the best intellectual explanation of the ...
Views: 1442(1 vote) - Waking Up By Yourself - by Submitted on Oct 29, 2009 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockWe know when it's not working; it's like a slap in the face. We thought that it was working but then something happens to remind us that nothing has fundamentally changed at all, and we find ourselves back at square one after all these years. We were smug for awhile, even bragging to friends ...
Views: 1437(1 vote) - A Day in the Life of a Buddhist Forest Monk (Evening) - by Submitted on Feb 09, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockEvenings are a blessed relief in Thailand; warm, but without the smothering heat of the day that gratefully surrenders to the night’s relative coolness. If I wasn’t in my solitary hut meditating in the evenings, I would be in the main hall at dusk chanting along with the other monks, or maybe ...
Views: 1433(1 vote) - Seven Warning Signs – Is Your Organization Becoming A Cult? - by Submitted on Feb 24, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockWe all remember the Jim Jones tragedy, which resulted from a deadly combination - a charismatic leader who knew how to influence and control people, and weak willed followers who couldn't discriminate between fact and fiction. In the cramped confines of a cult, rationality goes out the ...
Views: 1419 - Alternatives for Millennium Kids - by Submitted on Feb 13, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockA good friend of mind recently commented that his own kids and their friends are a lot less materialistic than our generations were, and that numerous surveys show that Millennials don't want their jobs to interfere with their family or social life. He went on to say that, "Some say this is ...
Views: 1417(2 votes) - I’m Right - You’re Wrong - by Submitted on Mar 07, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockIt's obvious that other people, when they disagree with us, are just plain wrong. And when we confront these kinds of people, our only alternative is to let them know in no uncertain terms that they are not only wrong, but apparently stupid for disagreeing with us about something so obviously ...
Views: 1402(2 votes) - The Five Million Dollar Pill - by Submitted on May 12, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockLet's imagine for a moment that a cure for cancer was discovered. It wasn't just a cure for certain types of cancers but a cure for all types of cancers. And it didn't require radiation, chemotherapy, or surgery (burn, poison and cut). All you would have to do is take a pill, and immediately all ...
Views: 1402 - The Deeper Meaning of Life - by Submitted on Dec 27, 2007 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockLife on this planet is but a few moments long, considering the endless eons this earth has twirled around its sun. Long after life has found this planet too unfriendly, and after all of our accomplishments are burned up in that incredible supernova that our sun will evolve into just before it ...
Views: 1382 - Cooperative Games for Children - by Submitted on Jan 06, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockJanet and I decided play a little tennis recently to get a cardio workout. The last time we played was almost 30 years ago when we first met, so we knew the fundamentals but were, to say the least, a bit rusty! At 56 and 66 respectively, Janet and I aren't exactly Serena Williams and Roger ...
Views: 1379 - What Are You? - by Submitted on Jun 03, 2011 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockWho has time to consider such lofty questions, even though the answer to this question is the answer to all of your stress. Yet we refuse to look at what we are. We think that continuing to do what we are doing will somehow magically relieve our stress someday. How is that working? The ...
Views: 1376 - The Religious New Normal in America Will Not Be Religious! - by Submitted on Jun 13, 2011 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockHuge shifts are occurring all over the world. It’s as if a new awareness is in its beginning birth pangs. People who have been repressed and treated unfairly for years, generations, are suddenly and spontaneously rising up, rejecting the old, fighting for justice and truth regardless of personal ...
Views: 1371 - How to Untangle the Tangles - by Submitted on Nov 01, 2007 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockNo, this is not an article about dissolving a third marriage! This is about untying the knots that we make in our minds. Whenever we tie ourselves to someone or something, we make a knot. Over time, these knots accumulate, and our minds become nothing but large balls of tangled twine. A mind ...
Views: 1366 - Immigration - The Cat is Out of the Bag - by Submitted on May 12, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockWe in America are just beginning to understand what the phrase "Letting the cat out of the bag" is all about. This idiom means that a secret has been somehow accidentally disclosed, and in America's case, the secret has dire ramifications. The phrase has been traced back to around the middle ...
Views: 1355 - Christianity Declining in Texas - by Submitted on Apr 25, 2010 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockUSA TODAY reports that "Despite population growth and immigration adding nearly 50 million more adults, almost all denominations have lost ground since the first ARIS data was released in 1990. The 2008 results, released today, April 25th, are based on 54,000 interviews with a margin of error of ...
Views: 1344(1 vote) - Meditation: Balancing Concentration and Mindfulness - by Submitted on Mar 18, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockIf you have ever tried to walk with only one leg, you have discovered, for yourself, the importance of two legs. Likewise, when we meditate, two aspects of meditation are necessary if our practice is to be balanced. Samadhi (concentration) and Vipassana (mindfulness) are the two aspects that ...
Views: 1339 - The Absurdly Obvious Solution to Health Care - by Submitted on Jun 09, 2011 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockThink about it; what did we do in the pioneer days out on the prairie when we came down with an appendicitis attack? We would go, “Ouch. ooh, ahh” for a few days and then die. Easy! No paperwork, no deductibles, no out of pocket expense, no arguing back and forth with insurance companies, ...
Views: 1317 - A Clever Valentine’s Day Gift - by Submitted on Jan 31, 2008 from E. (anagarika eddie) Raymond RockYou know the routine; picking out that special card with just the right verses, and then that special gift - an upscale box of candy, some flowers, maybe a nice ring, a new car, or some tickets for a cruise. According to Wikipedia, The historical background of Valentine's day seems to go back ...
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