Lunch with the Dalai Lama

Yesterday, I had supper with Louis-Ferdinand Céline.
Today, I had lunch with the Dalai Lama.
Lucky moi, eh?

You see, I’ve been living all by my lonesome self for 12 years now, and it’s become a habit of mine to read while I eat my meals.

Today, for instance, I had the honour to share my sandwich and salad with His Holiness the Fourteenth Dalai Lama via his book, How to See Yourself As You Really Are.

Here’s what the Dalai Lama has to say in the introduction:

My Perspective

When we rise in the morning and listen to the news or read the newspaper, we are confronted with the same sad stories — violence, wars, and disasters. It is clear that even in modern times precious life is not safe: I cannot recall a single daily news program without a report of crime somewhere. There is so much bad news nowadays, such an awareness of fear and tension, that any sensitive and compassionate being must question the “progress” we have made in our modern world.

Ironically, the most serious problems emanate from industrially advanced societies, where unprecedented literacy only seems to have fostered restlessness and discontent. There is no doubt about our collective progress in many areas — especially science and technology — but somehow our advances in knowledge are not sufficient. Basic human problems remain. We have not succeeded in bringing about peace, or in reducing overall suffering.

This situation brings me to the conclusion that there may be something seriously wrong with the way we conduct our affairs, which, if not checked in time, could have disastrous consequences for the future of humanity. Science and technology have contributed immensely to the overall development of humankind, to our material comfort and well-being as well as to our understanding of the world we live in. But if we put too much emphasis on these endeavors, we are in danger of losing those aspects of human knowledge that contribute to the development of an honest and altruistic personality.

Science and technology cannot replace the age-old spiritual values that have been largely responsible for the true progress of world civilization as we know it today. Not one can deny the material benefits of modern life, but we are still faced with suffering, fear, and tension — perhaps more now than ever before. So it is only sensible to try to strike a balance between material development on the one side and development of spiritual values on the other. In order to bring about a great change, we need to revive and strengthen our inner values.

I hope that you share my concern about the present worldwide moral crisis, and that you will join me in calling on all  humanitarians and religious practitioners who share this concern to contribute to making our societies more compassionate, just, and equitable. I say this not as a Buddhist or even as a Tibetan but simply as a human being. I also do not speak as an expert on international politics (though I unavoidably comment on these matters) but as a part of the Buddhist tradition, which like the traditions of other great world religions, is founded on the bedrock of concern for all beings. From this perspective, I share with you the following personal beliefs:

1. That universal concern is essential to solving global problems.
2. That love and compassion are the pillars of world peace.
3. That all world religions seek to advance world peace, as do all humanitarians of whatever ideology.
4. That each individual has a responsibility to shape institutions to serve the needs of the world.

* * *

Throughout the book, His Holiness offers step-by-step exercises to help us shatter our false assumptions and ideas… and see the world as it actually exists. So if you want to discover the reality behind appearances, put your 3D glasses on and read the book!

P.S. : I’m not too sure about No. 3 = that all world religions seek to advance world peace. How about you?

exCerpt du jour (1) – Erica Jong on Henry Miller

“exCerpt du jour” is a new series
all about… excerpts!

Excerpts from books, magazine and newspaper articles,
songs, poems, even excerpts from my personal journals.

So whenever I feel like sharing something that stirs me in some way,
I’ll have a “special box” to put it in.

Today’s excerpt is from
The Devil at Large — Erica Jong on Henry Miller.
Published in 1993

The book jacket describes it as being “part biography, part memoir, part critical study, part exploration of sexual politics in our times.” But for me it’s the story of a beautiful friendship, one that began in 1974 when Erica Jong, then the author of a relatively obscure first novel called Fear of Flying, received an enthusiastic fan letter from Henry Miller, then an old man of eighty-three. The friendship would last until Miller’s death in 1980.

I first read Devil at Large in May 1995 (jotted the date inside the book). Back then, having previously struggled through Miller’s infamous Tropic of Cancer and, of course,  knowing full well his reputation as  a misogynist and writer of smut, I was surprised to learn that he was actually a spiritual man. His “aha! moment” came in 1939 when he left Paris and settled in Greece, hoping to wait out the war there. Aged forty-seven, Henry was about to be transformed.

And so it is that Miller found in Greece the inspiration for his book The Colossus of Maroussi which brought about many discussions. Here’s what Jong has to say about Miller’s transition from lewdness to light:

Mary Dearborn acknowledges the beauty of Maroussi‘s prose, but she dismisses the book in a few lines: “His recounting of one spiritual experience after another tends to bore readers who are not taken up with mysticism.”

Of course, “mysticism” — the very word has become pejorative — is always boring to those who believe only in materialism. “Boring” is in itself a codeword for fear — as any psychoanalyst can tell you. There is a whole school of journalists and critics who will dismiss as “New Age claptrap” everything from Maroussi to Walden to the Tao Te Ching to Shirley MacLaine’s bestsellers as if there were no difference in quality or in kind.

Probably the fear of enlightenment is greater in some people than the attraction toward it, but some of us are drawn to it, while others stubbornly turn their backs, claiming the light does not exist. One cannot argue about the possibility of enlightenment any more than one can argue about the existence of god and goddess. It requires a leap of faith, an act of amazing grace. Miller made that leap of faith in Greece. Many of his chroniclers cannot follow him.

Even Robert Ferguson, who is a somewhat less grudging and bitter critic of Henry than Mary Dearborn, says of Maroussi that “a second rebirth, coming so soon after the first one in Paris with Tropic of Cancer, might seem like one rebirth too many.” But spiritual experiences are cumulative. They gather like waves and result in breakthroughs. Creative life does not proceed by accumulating anthills of  “facts.” Rather there is a slow accretion of experience, of learning one’s craft, of growing spiritually, until suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, one soars to a new level. If you’ve experienced it, you believe it. If you haven’t, you disbelieve.

Of all Henry’s biographers, Jay Martin best comprehends Miller’s mission to free his readers. He records the sense of liberation and ease Miller felt in Greece. After the frenzy of the Paris years, where he wrote and wrote to empty himself of the bitterness of his past, he was finally able to draw a long breath of life and light. He returned to America a new person. In a sense, his soul had been shriven.

Perhaps Maroussi is played down by Miller’s biographers because it is “a book without sex,” as one of his Greek friends predicted. It doesn’t fit the Miller stereotype, so it is safer to ignore it than to acknowledge that Miller was multifaceted, both as a human being and as a writer. In this age of electronic sound bites and media stereotyping, few public figures are allowed complexity, compli- cation, or chiaroscuro ⁽¹⁾. Miller is seen as the antic goat, nothing more. How can we notice that his central book is full of sea and sun, not slime and sperm? It would make our precious point of view seem wrong! The truth is that Miller was on a spiritual journey his whole life — and Greece was at the heart of it.

…

Henry turned serene, almost seraphic in Greece, and all his friends noticed the change. He began his lifelong romance with the wisdom of the ages — yoga, Zen, the I Ching. His friend Ghika (whom he called Giks), the painter from Hydra, predicted that Greece would change Henry: “If you came to Greece as a Parisian bohemian, you have become a pilgrim,” he said. “Henceforth your writing must be different.” Maroussi was to prove Ghika right.

⁽¹⁾ Chiaroscuro: here’s the meaning… just in case you don’t know.
I sure didn’t!

Now off to the library I go…
to fetch The Colossus of Maroussi.

133 or Bust – Changing My Perceptions

Back in June, I told you about my goal:
to live till I’m 133 — MINIMUM!

Ever since then, I’ve been reciting Deepak Chopra’s age-defying mantra not only as soon as I wake up in the morning and right before I doze off at night, but numerous times throughout the day, be it while taking a walk, taking a break, taking a shower, or taking a leak.

Now that my brain is convinced I’m 49, I’m ready for the next step: to perceive my body not as a fixed, material thing, but as a flexible, dynamic bundle of consciousness.

In Grow Younger, Live Longer - 10 Steps to Reverse Aging, Chopra explains that in order to reverse the aging process, you must use the words energy, transformation, and intelligence as reinforcements to experience your body as it really is — a field of inexhaustible energy, in constant transformation, and as a physical expression of pure intelligence.

For this, you will start by visualizing your body
at a quantum level — use this illustration.

Once you have that image in your mind, consciously take a deep breath (do this several times each day), close your eyes, and mentally repeat the word Energy.

Similarly, when you eat your food, do it consciously and repeat the word Transformation, visualizing the light body in transformation.

Finally, every time you take a sip of water, silently repeat the word Intelligence and envision your light body as fluid and flexible.

It is said that as you repeat this ritual with breathing, eating, and drinking, you will be starting the process of restructuring your perception and the experience of your body from material to subtle.

Book excerpt:

Enlivening Energy (Prana)

Your vital energy animates both mind and body. Throughout the day, use the word Energy and experience the life force rejuvenating every cell, tissue, and organ in your body.

Think “Energy” whenever you:

• Walk through a garden.
• Go from indoors to outdoors.
• Practice breathing exercises.

Enlivening Transformation (Tejas)

The essential transformation force is the primordial fire of life. Throughout the day, use the word Transformation to enliven the transformational process that continuously converts energy from one form into another.

Think “Transformation” whenever you:

• Take a mouthful of food.
• Feel the sun on your body.
• Gaze into the stars at night.

Enlivening Intelligence (Ojas)

When intelligence is abundant and freely circulating in your body, all your physiological systems — cardiovascular, digestive, neurological, hormonal, and immune — function at their optimal level. Throughout the day, use the word Intelligence to enliven nourishment in every cell of your body.

Think “Intelligence” whenever you:

• Take a sip of water.
• Walk along a natural body of water.
• Drink fresh fruit juices or other healthy beverages.

Whenever you are performing a rhythmic activity — walking, jogging, swimming, riding your bicycle, or using a treadmill — silently repeat “Energy, Transformation, Intelligence… Energy, Transformation, Intelligence… ” or “Prana, Tejas, Ojas… Prana, Tejas, Ojas… ” with your full attention on your body.

After a while, your habitual way of experiencing your body will change because your perceptions will have shifted.

You may think this is all a big hassle, but it’s not. It quickly becomes a fun habit — at least it has for me. Reciting the affirmations about being 49 puts a smile on my face and gives me an instant energy boost.

Another advantage is that the more I fill my mind with images and affirmations about staying young, fit, and healthy, the less there is room for negative thoughts.

Come on, give it a try.
Say it with me…

Every day in every way, I am increasing
my mental and physical capacity.

My Biostat is set at a healthy ___ years of age.

I look and feel a healthy ___ years YOUNG.

I am reversing my biological age:
By changing my perception of my body,
its aging, and time.

Hey… you look younger already!