March, 2022 Bardo Buzz (04-03)

The Joy of Sacrifice

Secrets of the Sufi Way by E.J. Gold

THE SACRIFICE OF REDEMPTION

Life of Stillness

In this stage one prepares the groundwork or foundation for the development of the conscience. One gives up all powers of the Sixth Body, thus destroying all previous attainments. One relies upon nothing whatever to make things "happen" or "go right". One reaches a crossroad where the choice is given to graft oneself to the Body or Power or to gamble everything for the attainment of permanent conscious live.

During this stage one must remain in this helpless condition in which one is played upon by nature and by accidental circumstances -- the Laws of Coincidence. One must not even for a moment use one's former powers, even though they are still available. Should one do so, one must begin all over again.

If one should succeed in attaining the Seventh Body, one has reached the limit of attainment possible in this universe for a human being. Beyond this, one must be in a new form of space, time and beingness in which to go past these human and superhuman limits.

After one has passed this stage one may again choose to apply the powers for the good of others. But even if one's closest is dying, one may not use them during this period of testing. For one who is in the midst of the development of the Seventh Body -- the Harmonious Human Being -- everything must be done in an ordinary way.

It is during this stage that everything will seem to go wrong -- that the universe will conspire against one's work. One's very vulnerability will attract the victimizers and the violent.

It does not become easier as one approaches the end, it gets worse, much worse. And this, the Last Temptation, will seem the hardest barrier of all -- because it is so easy to fall for just one moment. But at the end of the corridor, "thirty birds" await your arrival.

THE END

THE NEUTRAL ZONE

Barbara Haynes

If "neither attracted nor repelled" where, then, do I find a place to stand? In the neutral ground between attraction and repulsion, freedom can be found. Not the freedom of escape, but the freedom to act in the moment. To take right action, not pulled by attraction or pushed by repulsion. A balance point.

At first residing in neutrality can be measured only in seconds. The more often we exercise "not being attracted nor repelled" our residence in the neutral zone will expand. Released from our desires, we can exercise a moment of freedom -- act from that place. With repeated exposure to the neutral zone between attraction and repulsion, the neutral zone becomes home. We are able more and more often to act from freedom -- being "neither attracted nor repelled", but able to take right action and thus to learn to tolerate eternity.

Christiane Wolters

HERDING HUMANS

Jim Donald

Hey gang, I have entered the role of a councillor of our small village here in British Columbia. Yikes, the fear is palpable. Humans do that to me. It casts me back to the winter of 1972, in Jalalabad, Afghanistan where I paused my trek east due to the Pakistan war.

A dozen other travelers and myself had planned a group "trip" on Xmas day with a full moon! Everybody else were experienced LSD practitioners except me, the virgin. I trusted, so off (pun intended), we went in a couple of VW vans. Over feudal landscapes to a tiny village at the end of the trail, out hopped 12 hippies, surprising and fascinating the locals - up a mountain trail with a glow on. We were a quiet bunch, respectful of the wonderful place we found ourselves, and so we went higher (I can't help it).

Upon stopping for a rest, I noticed 3 young Afghan men coming up the trail behind us. When I turned around my pro pals took off, leaving a distinct pallor of fear for me to digest. With a clarity I saw that I had 2 choices, to scuttle off in retreat, or stay and convene. I could speak a wee bit of Farsi, so facing the curious gentlemen, I greeted them and then let them know with a certain pride that we were celebrating the birthday of Jesus Christ, one of the Moslem prophets. Smiles and goodwill were sent my way, and off I went an emboldened virgin. Coming onto the pack, I teased them with a new dexterity and disallowed the fear that had frayed their demeanour. We spent the day roaming this epic setting with grace and gratitude. As the sun began to descend, we wandered down in groups of 2 or 3, vulnerable but calm. It was dark when we arrived and a tiny old Afghan man took us to his tiny house, where sitting on the floor we were treated to a lovely cup of tea. The news of our spiritual foray charmed them all in the village. They were used to a pretty loaded bunch traveling through so we seemed a bit finer, and so we were. Riding home over the irrigation canals in full moonlight kept the dream alive. The old man used to visit us when he came to town giving us honor.

And so, here I sit shaking at the thought of herding humans. I could retreat but the prospect of finding a way to sneak the finer in is too much to pass up. Guile with love and a wee bit of tail-wagging might just float the thing.

LEVELS OF EVOLUTION

by E.J. Gold
October 7, 2010

Excerpt by T. Jones

"When you are a child, when you're a little bitty baby, the only thing you can think about is Me. What's in it for Me? What do I get out of this? Where's my food? Where's my comfort? Where's my diaper change? Where's my nappy? Where's my binky, my little pacifier? Eventually you are brought to the sand box, and in the sand box, with your little friends, you learn the next level of evolution, which is not Me, but We. And actually, you're on your way to We through a process of learning how to give and take, how to share, how to consider others, to be considerate of others, to see their weaknesses and allow them to have those weaknesses, to give up something that you want for the sake of someone else.

"So you go to the level of We, then you go to the level, and people have this usually reversed. Then you go to the level of Thee, which is your good before my good. What can I do to help you? What can I do for you, putting my own needs aside? So that's the level of Thee.

"Then you go to the level of See. The level of See means the level of light. The level of light in infinite extension, light -- where all of us, not just bonded to each other -- we are actually all one thing. So how can I See in you that which is all of us? It's the ultimate in respect. It's the highest form of respect. And you see that, you hold that individual respect, no matter how they behave, no matter what they do to you, to others, no matter what they do.

"You bow to the level of light in that individual, regardless of what a total asshole they might be, regardless of how mean, how stingy, how nasty, how foul they might be. You still bow to respect to what they actually are, which is light in infinite extension.

"So you have 4 steps of evolution that take place in this level, these 7 levels of extension, these 7 levels of operating being, operating beingness."

SUFFERING + GRATITUDE =...?

Gratitude is a tool to be consciously used. - E.J. Gold

Nishiet Gajjar

The dynamics of life on planet Earth are pretty clear when it comes to definite modules. There are certain modules that are pre-fixed in order to refine the inner mechanism of certain entities. The modules related to influx of suffering? (✓), broadcasting complaints? (✓), greed (✓), jealousy (✓) ... and on and on it goes. However, the most difficult act amidst these modules is the act of gratitude. And I think the great Nobel Prize winner polymath Rabindranath Tagore sums this up beautifully in his poem.

He writes, "I had gone a-begging from door to door in the village path, (suffering stage) when thy golden chariot appeared in the distance like a gorgeous dream and I wondered who was this King of all kings! My hopes rose high and me thought my evil days were at an end, and I stood waiting for alms to be given unasked and for wealth scattered on all sides in the dust (anticipation stage after complaints + mild gratitude).

The chariot stopped where I stood. Thy glance fell on me and thou camest down with a smile. I felt that the luck of my life had come at last. Then of a sudden thou didst hold out thy right hand and say, 'What hast thou to give to me?'"

And this is an important question by the King! At the end of our lives, it seems this question will reverberate in that bodiless space-time zone pertaining to what exactly was the module of one's own being. In short, what have you got for the King? Complaints? Suffering? Or...

Tagore continues, "Ah, what a kingly jest was it to open thy palm to a beggar to beg! I was confused and stood undecided, and then from my wallet I slowly took out the least little grain of corn and gave it to thee (hesitantly he offers a grain of corn - efforts).

But how great my surprise when at the day's end I emptied my bag on the floor to find a least little grain of gold among the poor heap! I bitterly wept and wished that I had had the heart to give thee my all."

He ends with "I wished that I had the heart to give thee my all...". The grain of gold is that fragrance from the perfume of one's Presence lying in the heap. Lately, the realization dawns that only if he had offered the grain of gold to The King, then things would have been different. And thus, a stage is reached by the entity where an opportunity lies for all the complaints to get converted into gratitude. And not a mild, miniscule, temporary, or "for the moment" type of gratitude. No! Those reverberations are transformed and are permanently ingrained in that being - forever.

*Parentheses are added by me.

IN THE BEGGINNING

Yanesh

Way back when E.J. first got on YouTube all that was known was how to put words up. There was no image, no music and definitely no moving picture, no camera of any kind was involved. The scrolling writing did the trick.

E.J.'s first video immediately received tons of hits. It was called Rusty the Space Dog and it was about the adventures of guess what? Rusty, the Space Dog.

I copied E.J.s work with this video. By then we knew how to post an image and add music. This particular video is from one of the times in my life when I felt the closest to Spirit. I felt it in me and all around me. I feel that I was open to finding little treasures such as these words from E.J. Gold.

MANTRA-TATIONS 06 - LOVE POEMS

I Stand In The River Of Joy -- by Loralilah

Love swirling around my ankles

Splashing, teasing calves in warm sunlight

Heart singing songs of gratitude

I stand in the river of joy

I Am Able to Both Give and Get Love -- by Myra Ravenwolf

When I am as the tide

advancing and receding,

I am as love

giving and receiving.

My Heart Is Open -- by Llara34

My heart is open to Open Hearts --

No closed doors

A Circle Surrounded by the Joy of Ecstasy --

Running, Playing --

Inner Light expanding in All Directions!

I Feel the Strong and Vibrant Energy

Pulsating thru Time and Space

Knowing No Boundaries,

No Aches, No Pain

Pure Love Abounds with

No Thought Forms Allowed

MY HEART IS OPEN

I Will Find Love in My Life -- by Agenbite

Where is love?

Love is everywhere. Love is omnipotent. Love is multifaceted. Love is complicated. Love is simple. Love is the foundation. Love emanates from the center.

Love is infinite. Love is ineffable. Love is geological. Love is epochal. Love is sufficient. Love is axiomatic. Love is irreducible. Love is multivalent. Love is present. Love is abundant. Love is fragrant. Love is multicolored. Love is benevolent. Love is demanding. Love is absolute. Love is forgiving.

Love is love is love is love by any other name is love.

Untitled, E.J. Gold fine art print available of pencil drawing originally created in 1949.

The American Book of the Dead —
The Teachings of Death are a Treasure in Life

Marvette Kort

Time passes in days for me, and the days tend to run in cycles. A cycle, when I'm focused on a creative new project, may be followed by a cycle where I get stuck in concern about surviving the drought or even worse, worry about the threat of fire. Then there's the strong pull to identify with the tensions and worries of the world bombarding me from the media overwhelm in our lifestyle on the internet. However, daily practices provide necessity to take back the director's chair governing my attention, even if it happens to be only temporarily.

As a Labyrinth Readers Society (LRS) reader, I read the full 49-day reading cycle from the American Book of the Dead (ABD) -- 1 chamber each day. I make the effort throughout the day to hold in my attention the chamber I have read to a voyager.

The readings of the ABD continuously deliver the communication to the voyager, and by the way, also to the reader, that the dominating visions of the Bardo, the lights, sounds and terrifying forms of the Lord of Death are "hallucinations generated by my own deep consciousness, the stuff of which dreams are made ..." The ABD, within each chamber that is read, opens the invitation to the voyager to recognize all of what is perceived as a projection of one's own deep consciousness.

Over and over the method for liberation from the wheel of Karma is outlined. Stated simply, the instruction is delivered to recognize all existence, all phenomena, as automatic projections of my own deep consciousness, in order to then merge with all visions, apparitions, radiances into the heart of the Beloved, into the state of the pure shining void.

I hear each chamber again and again as I read the next full reading cycle to a different voyager. And each time a more profound sensing of the truth, a deeper knowingness permeates my common awareness. The repetition is an awakening influence in my day.

This is a living teaching. I resonate with it in the reading space. And it feels like it penetrates the veil to make contact with the voyager.

Moreover, this is a part of a greater body of work. There are so many doorways that E.J. Gold has offered for one to spark the essential self into an active role, whether it be when attuning to the blessings of a Love Token at your desk or by listening to the mp3 on the Blessings Wallet card -- Prayer for merging into at-one-ment with the void or by playing a YouTube on the Quantum Magic Video channel of E.J. reading the Clear Light, or by choosing to meditate on a mantra card from the (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atoYKkH7cAM) Thought Form Mantra deck, or by building R-boxes to begin a virtual sculpture in the Godd engine, or by ....

The above tools are a few that I can easily access for that essence spark to reconnect the circuitry while sitting at my desk during the day. Check the following two links for additional resources that may better fit your inclinations and needs.

https://www.idhhb.com/materials/

https://www.idhhb.com/worklines/

THE GROWTH OF THE SOUL

Michele Marie

Special Work is needed to bring a Soul to fruition. Its growth and attainment is acquired directly within the conditions of our own life.

A Soul is not only for the complete fulfillment of our own life, but for all life throughout the Universe.

"This clay substance, when infused with the whole of our attention, is called the soul, which we hope to help to grow, evolve, and infuse with life. Just now it seems to be inanimate, lifeless, just clay. This moment would be a good opportunity, since we happen to hold it in our hands before us, and can see it quite easily, to feed it, to nurture it, to give it nourishment. Let us imagine ourselves doing just this.

We will think of nothing else but providing it with nourishment, with our life force.

"We will discover that obstacles to this effort will arise in ourselves, but we can move them aside by mental Tai Chi or emotional Jiu Jitsu. Considerations must not interfere. It happens only rarely that we have an opportunity to perform this work of soul-warming. We may never have another chance in our whole life. Use the opportunity now to help our soul to grow, first by warming it. The soul is cold. It has not had nourishment for a long time. We imagine ourselves studying it as we would study a lover, which is to say, our attention is completely rooted.

We cannot seem to draw our attention away from our soul, even for an instant. We will use every breath to give it life. Our attention must not stray, must not wander. Our feelings toward this soul are very important. It will warm according to our love... our adoration... devotion... our radiance to it. We warm the soul by setting ourselves on fire, a deep, slow alchemical fire, feeding the soul with our own precious life force.

We are consumed in this process, but we do not consider ourselves for a moment.

"The growth of the soul requires human sacrifice. We must allow it to consume us. We are the albumen; we will give our lives that our beloved might live. We do not do this entirely for altruistic reasons. If we have studied, then we know the benefit to ourselves. Without this process, we know that we will be dead long before we die. We may pass through many different moods as we warm the soul. We may just hold it, or draw it to the breast and stroke it; we may warm each part by wandering touch; dance with it, study its visible form, hear it, feel it.

The warming force is called love -- not romantic love, not sentimental love, but the force which is love, which is to say, that-which-warms.

As the soul is warmed, we lose our own life force in the form of heat. As the beloved becomes warmer than us, then we become like clay, we lose our life and die. In effect, our genuine nature has been absorbed by the soul. This is the secret of transformation; that our life force learns to leave the rough clay of the body and enter and give life to the finer clay of the soul."

The Diamond Talk TOTM #1 by E.J. Gold

Emphasis of bold added by Michele Marie.

POWER OF SPIRIT

Jewel McInroy

"....and when the power of spiritual error causes me to suffer in the world, may I learn to accept it as part of my path in the world and may the power of Spirit dissipate suffering not only for myself, but for all sentient beings everywhere ...."

E.J. Gold from Sounds of the Inner Golden Opera, An EJ Gold Quote Collection by Nishit Gajjar, Graphic design by Niralee Kamdar