All Comments By Yaniv

Notes, courtesy of Yaniv:

• Heard Billy Idol's Rebel Yell on the radio on the way to meditation. A rebel is reaching out to something greater than ego driven impulses.
• Rebel in dictionary - comes from re (again) and bel (war), means to engage in war again. To rebel, to wage war again, is to constantly step up and fight against negative limitation.
• Every day life changes, rebel attitude means to constantly question what is the best way to live it.
• At a younger age rebellion is more overt physical acts, but with age rebellion manifests more in thoughts.
• There is value in breaking out of routine and adding value to life. Not losing your identity in the mainstream.
• Before reading the quote thought of rebellion as more negative, ego driven behaviour. But now seeing rebellion as a motivation to change things without reactiveness and negativity.
• In dictionary, reactionary means conservative.
• What is the point of being a rebel or noncomformist?
• Going to the extreme of ultra-rationalization or ungrounded mysticism has a kind of cowardice to it.
• Being True is difficult when constantly pushed to conform to rules.
• Learning gives humility. Humility gives the capacity to receive. With that comes wealth. Wealth bring righteousness (dharma). Dharma brings peace.
• The Bhagavad Gita says: A true free man is one who is free from the pair of opposites.
• What rebellion does is transform, nonconforming just means being different.
• The difference between being a rebel and nonconformist is trying not to tranform others but yourself.
• If someone was to achieve the pair of all opposites, what would be the motive for living?
• Read in a book recently - every human being needs three things: identity, security and stimulation. Rebellion provides all three of these.
• Question: How does Rebellion bring security?
• Mother Teresa: you will never see me at an anti-war demonstration. But have a pro-peace rally and I'm there.
• In Kashmir the real rebels are the ones who kept their humanity. Hindus taking Muslims in their home for protection. Muslims saving Hindus from mobs.
• A Rebel has a cause, so what is a Rebel that has no cause?
• Why in our culture are there so few revolutions? Travelling in South America it was seen that revolting is commonplace.
• Transcendance that includes and excludes. Includes the functional aspects of the former, but excludes the exclusive identity to the former.
• Election ... non-conformity but no rebellion. When we support selfishness, in a way, we want to be selfish.
• Ken Wilber and Andrew Cohen: between includes and excludes, where's the balance? how do we transcend?
• Ultimate rebellion: rebel is the cause.

• Simplicity is like seeing things from a bird's eye view. When we are too involved and clinging to our activities, everything seems complex. By detaching we can gain perspective on clarity on what is going on.
• "To see a world in a grain of sand, And a heaven in a wild flower, Hold infinity in the palm of your hand, And eternity in an hour."
• William Blake from "Auguries of innocence"
• Renouncing eating meat has turned was first from compassion but after a while turned to judgement. When we renounce it is a choice we make for the better of all, but not a moral imperative.
• While distributing clothes to homeless people recently, a homeless person responded by not accepting it, feeling no need for extra clutter or for things he doesn't need.
• When we are born we start in state of utter simplicity and innocence, then we are conditioned into beliefs and habits which add clutter. One way to simplify is to unlearn and shed past conditioning.
• Usually simplicity is associated with material objects. Sometimes accummulations occurs by collecting experiences, being involved in what many others are doing.
• The thought of 'simplicity should look a certain way and mean certain behaviours' often gets in the way.
• At Baja Fresh the 'bare burritto' is a good lesson in simplicity.
• There was a time in life where everything I owned fit in a duffel bag, which felt so good. Made a decision a long time ago only to have as much clothing as needed, not to have the retailer's merchandising my closet.
• Feels good to incorporate uncooked food into diet.
• Often when we think of simplicity we think in terms of less quantity and giving up something. Someone asked recently "are you on the simple side of simplicity or the complex side of simplicity?" In one way, we have all these modern technologies that make our lives simpler, cell phone, car. We arrive at simplicity through different means and it is us to discover what it means to us.
• Recycle, Reduce, Reuse
• Recently forced into simplicity, during a need to coordinate much, laptop and pda stopped working. Learned that it is ok to use these things, but not get used to them.
• Someone saintly was asked "If you are so much of a saint, why are you attached to this ring you are wearing?" .. So the Saint gave the ring away without resistance.
• "If you truly love something, let it go. If it comes back it is yours, if it doesn't, it never was."
• During the homeless clothing drive, realized the event is inappropriately labeled as "help-the-homeless" because we were those that were helped. While listening to a homeless man speaking, so many thoughts went by of "what are the passerby's thinking? what is he saying? When should I go?" and then realized that this is like meditation-in-action, just letting the thoughts go by without attaching to them.
• The internet can create a lot of mental clutter, by just going from place to place without much convergence or internalization.
• One of the ways to get closer to simplicity is by being present in the moment
• Simplicity to me is remembering I'm human.
• Read an article about intentions behined actions, in it, a long-time vegeterian visited the house of a butcher who mentioned he prays over every animal he kills, so she ate some meat.
• As a lifelong vegeterian, only recently did I realize that for some eating meat is a matter of survival.
• The research of Chandra Bose and Luther Burbank has shown that plants too have feelings and emotions and can feel pain.
• just by simply sitting in meditation the clutter of the mind clears up. Outwardly things keep changing, but internally this kind of sitting can help permanently.
• Nipun & Guri were given a tour of monasteries in Singapore and ate at a restaurant where you actually choose to pay whatever you feel the food is worth.

• True service is not necessarily about doing good, it is about freedom.
• You can be bound by chains of iron or by chains of gold, but you are still bound.
• Vajra sutra - the true form of giving is giving when there is no giver, no given, and nothing being done.
• Dr. Vasant Lad often says "Samskara is that which leaves scars in your consciousness"
• There is no difference between the giver and the receiver. When caught up thinking "I am the giver" you are creating a seperation.
• How do you differenetiate between ownership or responsibility of what you are giving, and yet not being attached?
• In order to lead it is said you have to have at least a little bit of Ego and identification with your actions. In such roles with so much responsibility, how do you remain unattached?
• "Give like the rose gives fragrance, spontaneously and effortlessly"
• It's very difficult not to put the "I" into service. During service events it seems to come out more in the setup and breakdown, but during the actual event, such as feeding sandwiches to the homeless, "I" seems to disappear.
• Most of the time I'm trying to practice generosity and giving, as opposed to just doing it naturally and without much thought.
• My husband and I gave away a lot of possessions recently. The next day, upon mentioning how good I felt about not having it anymore his response was "Yesterday you gave away the stuff, but today you still carry it"
• Bruce Lee's criticism of Martial Arts schools is their focus on teaching many techniques of combat, but when really engaged you do not have time to consider techniques, you have to respond in the moment. He felt you have to be like water and take the shape of the container.
• Taking care of another in need is a good way to let go of the "I-ness"
• Letting go of "I-ness" actually makes you feel better.
• There is a lot of joy in giving, we get more out of it than we give.
• The root cause of "I-ness" is expectations of results.
• One of the most selfless relationships is that between Mother and Child. We can learn a lot from that.
• Yoga means "union" and "Karma Yoga" means being so at-one-ment with your action that there is nothing else taking place.
• Is it desirable to let go of the feeling of "I" only when performing an act of service or generally in life?
• Is letting go of "I-ness" limited only to individuals or organizations as well?
• One can lead without "I" by example, not by claiming a role.
• True acts of service, a couple of friends own a place and while traveling in the East (to Serve) they constantly open their house to inspiring events even without knowing who would show up.
• What is the difference between ordinary giving and "saintly" giving? In the latter, there is no resistance to suffering, but an embracing. There is no judgement of what is good or bad, rather an accepting of the nature of existence. From that space compassion naturally arises and thus serviceful thoughts.
• How to get rid of "I-ness"? If it's not clear how not to give things personally, then you can start by not taking things personally.
• the Indian word "Ahankar" or Ego breaks down into "A" which is "I" and "ankahr" which is "doing" .. If I am not doing, who is doing? everything we do is a product of multiple circumstances, including service.
• SO many millions of things have to happen just to talk, to think, to move a finger, how ignorant is it to think that "I" am doing it?
• My son while travelling said instead of talking, the best is to read my blog and put your comments there - good selflessness.

• different people express the truth in many different ways, though the essence is the same.
• Truth is like the tip of the fire, it is changing moment-to-moment, but it is still the fire.
• Truth has to be applicable.
• Even though all of spirituality has not been discovered in humanity, still there is so much that has been discovered to explore. For example, if you believe the Buddhists, there are still eight different samadhi's to experience which are not in my normal consciousness.
• What is it that is permanent?
• Often in meditation there is a struggle due to expectations of what should be experienced and what should be practiced.
• "The only bad meditation is a missed one" Asha Praver
• High school teacher said "There are no new ideas" .. maybe there aren't, but when you have an idea it is new for you.
• If we realized that all pain and pleasure is transitory, life would be easier.
• Maybe emptiness is permanent
• "not knowing, obstructs Zen. Knowing obstructs Zen. Remember that, what will you do?" Quote in a Zen monestary's kitchen
• Everyone has a different impression and perception of a certain experience, so how do you determine what is True?
• Truth is what never changes. It is always True. So any experience of change is not the Truth.
• MY Truth is that the more I learn, the more I become aware, the more I can allow myself to go where that awareness wants to take me.
• Question: Does everything happen for a reason? Answer: Everything happens for a cause, you may not know the reason
• What is my Truth? I am the Truth
• J Krishnamurti said "You may be afraid of many things for many reasons, but the constant is that you are afraid. When you are afraid, you are fear itself."
• underlying all this change there is this definite sense of 'me' .. that doesn't change
• It isn't so much that Truth changes, but the expression of how to explain or describe it.

• Is Love something that exists which we get engrossed in, or do we lose our sense of existence when we are in it?
• Sara Oyarce's definition of Love: What does it mean that "I am in Love with you" 1) There is this thing called Love 2) I am in it 3) You are here with me
• Love for babies is fairly universal
• Love is a feeling of union with everything else
• A paraphrased poem from Kabir "You can never become a learned person. Many have tried by reading scriptures. But whoever has learned the word Love, he has understood everything. Love is that which does not increase or decrease under any circumstance."
• My intellect keeps dividing me from others, but whenever I stay True within myself, I feel a oneness with all that is.
• The root of the word "rational" is ratio, or breaking up and comparison.
• Hellen Keller also said "Even if I am just one person, I Am still somebody. Even if can only do a little, I can do something"
• Always thought that Love and Happiness were something I could get outside ourselves, but recently I've realized that real Love is found within ourselves.
• In order to get Love, you have to give it.
• When you give Love, you are the first person to experience it.
• I was asked what is the opposite of Love? Indifference. Whenever I try to define Love, it seems I can always expand it.
• Paramahansa Yogananda "Love is center everywhere, circumference nowhere"
• Ultimate Love is when a parent allows a child to take their first step without interference.
• Buddha is teaching meditation to a great King and Queen. After meditating the Buddha asks the King to ask his wife if she loves him. The King asked her "Do you love me?" She replied "Well, I thought I did, but during meditation I realized I love only myself" "Good, that the same thing I realized too" the King replied.
• Service is one way where you can meet people and put yourself aside, to Love not only your limited definitions of yourself, but yourself in others too.

• How have we in our life been able to expand our awareness of who we are? How have we felt that we have taken that step towards increasing a feeling of unity in life?
• In the Tibetan debate system, a debator has to debate both sides of a certain issue. Not only does that help to understand the problem at depth, but the purpose is to find the common points which transcend the argument at hand and expand the perpsective on the issue.
• Everyday I try to concentrate on a certain area of my awareness, to sharpen it.
• Everyday I feel awestruck at the beauty in the world
• A good practice for expanding boundaries is visualizing yourself in other people's bodies, trying to feel what they really need.
• When I found myself not 'in the moment' I used to get hard on myself, until I realized that was propogating myself not being present. I've realized that it is a practice to be in the moment, and when I realize that my mind has wandered, instead of feeling bad about it, I just center myself and keep practicing.
• I've found that to find peace within myself its not enough just to simplify and let go of things, but that real peace and happiness lies in seeing others happy.
• What's helped a lot is realizing how everything is impermanent, even states of mind.
• The joy that comes from selfless service is unquantifiable, but definitely real. Giving to others is a solid way of expanding boundaries.
• To take time and see an expanded view of how your day-to-day actions really help others is very fulfilling.
• The beauty of large bodies of water, of the sunset, of the green around you really takes me out of myself and my own boundaries.
• "A smile is a curve that sets many things straight." Seeing the humour in things often brightens even gloomy situations considerably. This is a way to serve.
• The shift between having to be right, having to win always to wanting others to win, others to be right, is not only contagious but also my way of expanding boundaries.
• Before doing anything I ask myself "what is your motive for doing this?" .. I do this mainly for silly things, like where I should sit, and recognized that little things that I thought were random really had motives for them. Little unselfish motives, even for silly things, aggregate into larger unselfish motives.

• What is it that you use to come back to your real Self, to the present moment?
• Knowledge without love is as useful as a bunch of dry tea leaves. When Knowledge is brewed with compassion, a most delicious nectar ensues. Without service however, who is there to share the tea with?
• A disciple tells his Master "I can keep all the precepts except for drinking" The master replied "Ok, then, you can keep drinking, just remember always that Buddah's mother is always at the bottom of the drinking glass"
• The name of Buddha's mother is Maya, or delusion & attachment.
• While learning to dance, whenever someone would offer a criticism this feeling of shenpa would arise. Lately, a new strategy works really well, just accept what is being said, whether it's true or not. Resisting does not help.
• Pessimism is a way of trying to cope with negative trigger.
• Sometimes I notice that I've become attached to not being attached.
• When skiing, one can really lose themselves, their identifications in the silence and beauty.
• Practicing mental silence is the best way I've found to bring myself to the moment.
• Marcus Oberlis(?) "Anger cannot be dishonest"
• The blissful feelings after meditation can also cause a reaction of shenpa, reacting in an attempt to chase those feelings and run away from other life situations.
• Getting offended is somewhat useless, because if someone criticizes you and it is true, then that is a good thing. If they are wrong, then what is there to get stressed about?
• Often when this feeling of Shenpa arises, I see within myself both great good and also a monstorous side. In many ways seeing both these sides is what leads to the feeling of Shenpa, knowing that there is a chance that I may choose to act from the negative aspect of who I am.
• "Feeling temptation is not a sin, it's following the temptation which gets you in trouble" Paramahansa Yogananda
• Sometimes negative reactions are helpful, in the sense that after suffering them you can get the strong resolve to finally do something about it. When a rocket takes off, at each stage a bunch of fuel is burnt and let go until it reaches orbit. Likewise, we can use these feelings as fuel for our own take-off.
• My friend likes to play a game, it's called "It could be worse ..." .. whenever I'm upset, she will make me list so many ways of how my life could be worse.
• Another friend repeats often "Things are never as good or as bad as they seem"
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