Spiritual Enlightenment
Rim Rock - Way Station 6
be kind to yourself
acknowledge accomplishments
Spiritual enlightenment is multi-faceted. The word 'enlightenment' by itself, can be applied to many endeavors which heighten a person's mood. Adding the adjective 'spiritual' - raises the word enlightenment to a rarified level. Other cultures might use the words such as 'divine rapture' 'nirvana' 'samadhi', 'God consciousness', ....but it's essentially the same sort of phenomena.
Our species has a relatively large brain to body ratio - compared to other species. Large brain, by itself, is probably not particularly significant in regard to spiritual enlightenment. Elephants and whales have large brains. Actually, the jury is still out whether animals have the ability to achieve spiritual enlightenment. My view is that they are able to achieve a semblance of it, but our species, with our developed ways of conceptual thinking, has the inside lane in the enlightenment department. Don't get me wrong, people and their intricate brains are also capable of the most perverse and harmful ways of thinking. The human brain is like a large organic computer - which has great potential for good - yet more often than not, individuals use theirs in a plethora of ways - other than seeking enlightenment.
Just for fun, let's liken the human brain to the guidance equipment of a highly sophisticated interstellar rocket. Most people have their equipment on little more than standby - using a small % for humdrum day to day existence. Some crank their equipment up at a bit higher, using it for selfish and/or harmful forays around well trodden inner space. Then there are those who have some awareness of the potential of the rocket, but who keep putting off delving in to it further. Beyond that, there are those few who are not only aware of their potential for interstellar travel, .....they actually strive to achieve it. Then there are those rare few who actually achieve the brain's ultimate potential.
In the Hindu tradition, there is a quote from Krishna which goes; "For every thousand people, one will seek me. For every thousand who seek me, one will know me." It may sound egotistical, but Krishna was referring to himself as the objective of spiritual enlightenment, which he had achieved. Using his math, 1,000 X 1,000 = 1,000,000 - so he was essentially saying, for every one million people, one will achieve spiritual enlightenment. In his world of 2,700 or so years ago, there may have been six million people in the whole world. Today, in the early part of the 21st century, there are over six billion. So again, using his percentages, that would equate to about six thousand people living today being spiritually enlightened. That could be on the mark.
Another analogy, would be albatrosses - which are probably the world leaders in their ability to soar for days over vast ocean expanses. Imagine a vast hatchery of albatrosses, which had enough food sources on the ground, so they didn't need to take flight to find fish at sea. The birds would be content to not expend the added energy of taking off and flying, and would eventually become flightless, if the food source in their earth-bound vicinity was sufficient. Yet, awhile later, one group of young birds waddled off to a windy rock prominence, and found that by extending their wings, they could get lifted up by the air currents. Some of the more daring of the group went higher than the others and found a lovely sense of wonder at being able to soar so high with so little effort. With their newfound elation, they went to fly over the multitude of their hatchery mates. The soarers called out from on high. Some of the multitude at the hatchery noticed them, and wondered momentarily about the strange sight, yet the majority of their fellow albatrosses were too busy foraging in the grass to even notice. Those that noticed, were inspired to try flying, yet only a few of those actually achieved it.
Which bring us to the concept of 'pioneers.' Those who dare to try something new. Some fail in their quest. Yet some may yet succeed, usually by a mix of perserverence, planning, being in shape, and perhaps devising innovative ways/tools to achieve the goal. It often happens that a heretofore unattainable goal, once attained initially, is then attained multiple in succession - by the pioneer, and others. The Wright brothers are a prime example. Recurring examples are also rife in rock climbing and mountain climbing chronicles. Several concerted attempts were made on Mount Everest before Edmond Hillory and Tenzen Norgay were successful. Following that, many climbers succeeded in summiting Everest. Similarly, there are many stories of rock climbing challenges that seemed almost too daunting to even try. Yet, once a particularly hard route was nailed, other climbers would soon succeed on the same route. It's as though 'the knowing' that the near-impossible challenge had been done, was the way to clear the last obstacle to actually doing it.
The same mindset could be applied to spiritual enlightenment, the ultimate achievement for any person. Better than a Noble prize, better than becoming President of a country, attaining enlightenment is the best thing a person can achieve in his/her lifetime. Attaining enlightenment is not something that is done purely for personal satisfaction - though there is certainly immense satisfaction inherent in its achievement. Attaining it becomes a springboard to being better able to do good for others and for the planet in general. This will be expanded upon further in the next and final of Rim Rock's 'stepping stones' entitled 'Giving Back.'
What's on offer at Rim Rock
Meditation is usually the knee jerk response whenever anyone inquires about gaining spiritual insight. Meditation can be good, but it needs to be viewed in context. Many people can sit still and look like they're meditating, but what are they thinking about? Chances are, most of those tranquil-looking meditators are thinking about money matters, or romance or any one of the myriad things that people think about every day. The meditators probably have a fixed look of focusing on their face, perhaps stern, perhaps blissful. Well, even a lizard or a monkey can have a contented look while sitting still.
Being able to sit for long periods in lotus position is not a requirement of spiritual meditation. If a person can comfortably do so, then that's fine, but few of us can honestly do so - particularly westerners who are not accustomed to sitting in lotus position. I stress the word 'comfortably', as many westerners compel themselves to meditate while cross-legged, even though it soon gets painful. The reality is, there is nothing to be gained by being uncomfortable and/or trying to bear the pain of sitting still for hours. Nothing.
South of Chiang Rai, is a meditation course at a temple (I don't know the name). I had heard that one of the primary goals there, is sleep-deprivation. In other words, that particular place takes money for depriving people of sleep - while telling those same people that sleep-deprivation is a path to spirituality. Let's make one thing clear: Rim Rock does not advocate sitting painfully still for hours, nor sleep deprivation nor any other sorts of pain - as a means to gaining higher states of spiritual development. Indeed, the over-riding theme at Rim Rock is this: Spiritual insight is latent in all people. Higher states of spirituality and joy are also attainable by anyone, though easier for some than for others to attain. Rim Rock and some of the people assisting there, can serve as guides to gaining higher spiritual states. There are no guarantees, nor can there be. There are no painful regimens, no texts or sutras to memorize, no idols to worship. Not even a Buddha statue (though if we had to choose one type of statue to showcase, it would likely be a Buddha statue). Idolatry can aid the spiritual seeker, but it's not an essential component. By not having statues or crucifixes or ornate gold-encrusted symbols hanging around, we make it easier to seekers to turn inward, or to tune in with nature. An early visitor to Rim Rock once commented, when seeing the myriad rock nooks and crannies, how cool it would be to get statues of goddesses and gnomes to set in among the rocks and trees. Though the suggestion was appreciated, it was decided to not do so, as again, statues just aren't needed. How can anyone improve natural beauty?
As a side note, it may be interesting to note that Maitraia Buddha (future Buddha) is depicted sitting, not in lotus mudra (position) as the traditional Shakyamuni Buddha, but rather he's depicted as sitting on a seat, with one leg bent (like a half lotus) and one leg hanging down. If you're a westerner, try that position for sitting, and you'll find it more comfortable. And who knows, maybe you'll become the next Buddha.
Within the scope of Rim Rock's Meditation suggestions, the focus is not on a person's ability to tolerate pain, but rather on being comfortable while getting closer to spiritual enlightenment. At another meditation retreat in Thailand, there's a focus on 'sleep deprivation.' Neither sleep deprivation nor any other types of uncomfortable behavioral imperatives are used at Rim Rock. We're not a boot camp for sainthood.
Spiritual meditation can be described in myriad ways, but here in a nutshell is how Rim Rock and its staff approach the concept:
>>> Get comfortable. That is usually, but not only, by sitting. Indeed, the Buddha himself had some meditations while standing, and some while lying down. However, a comfortable sitting position is as good a place to get started as any.
>>> Get situated in a natural environment. Though many spiritual people do meditations in a man-made environments (temple, church, holy parks, etc), nature is best. An altar is not essential. Neither are icons, such as images of Buddha or Christ on a cross (he was in dire pain, for God's sake!). Nor do meditations need to be done while focusing on a sculpture of a penis (Hindu) or any athropomorphic statues, like monkey/elephant/tiger saints (Hindu again) or Virgin Marys (how could she be a virgin, for Christ's sake, if she bore a child? Oh, silly me, almost forgot .....God inseminated her). The list of meditative images goes on and on. Nature rules. The Buddha and Jesus and Mohammed and nearly all other religious icons gained their enlightenment within a natural environment. It was only later, that their followers supposedly co-opted statues to focus upon - in order to gain spiritual insight.
>>> Avoid distractions, unless it is something, like your favorite music, that's gets you higher. In other words, don't engage in conversation or listen to music, or stare at something, unless doing any of those things brings you tangibly to a higher state of consciousness. If you're trying to meditate and there is something distracting or bothersome going on - either put off the meditation, or go re-situate yourself to better. People say, if a person is spiritually developed enough, that person can 'tune out' distractions. To some extent that 's true. But much better is to get to an environment, if possible, where there is scant need to 'tune out' distractions. That's one reason why Rim Rock is so well suited to spiritual meditation - it has several key qualities conducive to natural, distraction-free meditation. There are even ultra-secluded places on and near the property which are particularly well suited for in-depth meditations.
>>> Don't fix a set time to meditate. This goes against most teachings which mandate a specific time period for meditation. Not having a fixed time frame, enables you to be freer. If the meditation is not progressing, you can put it off. Whereas, if the meditation is particularly satisfying, then you can keep going with it. The meditation doesn't just last as long as you're sitting still. It can last on through the day, and on in to the evening. It's akin to doing drugs, though in this case you're not ingesting drugs, but rather stimulating your brain's natural ability to produce mind heightening drugs. Similar to a drug trip lasting hours, the mind drugs can also last hours. Once, while on a drive with an enlightened Tibetan friend named Lama Tharchin, I asked whether high state of consciousness was cumulative. In other words, do deep satisfying meditations carry on to subsequent meditative states. Immediately, he smiled and responded with an enthusiastic 'yes!' - while nodding in the affirmative several times.
>>> What feels good gets you higher. Granted, that sounds like a hippie anthem, but it's true. Similar to the old adage; The truth shall set you free, feeling good and truth get you higher. So does a lovely natural environment and your favorite music. The great American author, Kurt Vonnegut, said these last words on his deathbed, "Thanks for all the great music." It may sound simplistic, but it's one of the great secrets spiritually enlightened beings: good and true thoughts heighten consciousness. Try it and see. In line with the idiom, 'it rings true' - you've known since you were a baby that certain things you hear and experience are just plain true. That's why everyone loves a beautiful landscape or seeing two tiger cubs play-fighting - these are things that we know are right and make us feel good. An ancient part of each person's brain has a sort of archaic memory - where sounds, smells, sights, sensations ring true. That's one part of the which can get particularly stimulated in deep meditation, though at least a part of it is active all the time. The stimuli are rarely isolated. Most often, the sounds, smells, sights and sensations are experienced like a string ensemble. When a meditation is going particularly well, the ensemble stimulates various parts of the body, including the heart/love chakra, in very satisfying ways.
>>> Higher states of consciousness can be felt physically. You've seen the pictures (or in real life) of Hindu women with the red mark on their foreheads, just above the space between their eyebrows. That's called 'the spiritual eye.' It's not just a curious cosmetic mark. It actually marks a place where any woman or man can feel a physical sensation from being spiritual high. You may also have seen pictures of Indian saddhus or Brahmacharia (renunciates) who have white markings on their foreheads which usually form two parallel lines - either vertical or horizontal (never both directions). Those are also places where spiritual sensations can be felt - during times of heightened spirituality. Of course, people from any part of the world can experience such thing, though it seems to be just the Hindus who apply the cosmetic markings. Further along, it's possible to physically feel a sensation going up from the forehead to the apex/middle of the skull. That's called the 'Brahma Chakra' in the Hindu tradition. Even further along, in a person's spiritual development, it may be possible to feel lines going down from the Brahma chakra to each of the ears. There are other physical sensations associated with spiritual prowess, but those are the main ones dealing with a person's head.
>>> Keep the high going. As an add-on to the previous paragraph; After meditating, you don't want to go and have a crabby conversation with someone about finances or go to argue with a meter maid about a parking ticket. Save that for awhile later. Instead, try to maintain the natural high you achieved during your meditation. There comes a phase, perhaps later, when you can 'enter the marketplace with open arms' - which is a phrase denoting inter-acting with all sorts of people and situations with joy, as opposed to stress and worry. We're all looking to lessen stress (for ourselves and others), and interact on a higher plane with others. Meditation is a great vehicle for that.
Here are some thoughts that may get you higher, on a day by day basis:
>>> Give yourself credit for achievements. Even the little things. Don't be so modest as to say to yourself, "Oh, I haven't achieved anything." You don't have to compare yourself with Mother Theresa or Mahatmar Ghandi. If you fixed a button for a little girl's blouse, or made a child giggle, those are achievements of sorts. If you sent a card to someone and told them you appreciate they're assistance, that's something. Same goes if you sprouted a seed, and got it to grow in to a useful or attractive plant. Give yourself a break. Don't put such high standards on your endeavors. Or if you happen to have one or two goals that are stratospheric, give yourself other mini-goals that are more down to earth and attainable. You'll feel better when appreciating your achievements, however small, and you'll get higher in the process.
>>> Appreciate being alive. The chances of being born a human, and being born healthy are astronomical. Think about the billions of other life forms, including bacteria, and then think about the odds of being born a human. One in a bazillion. Not only that, consider the epoch you and I were born within. So many interesting things are happening in every field of human endeavor. Sure it's easy to get down about sad news we hear and see everyday from newscasters - but that's what sells (and brings advertisers), so they know the formula for being a successful news outlet. As long as you're alive, you have opportunities to assist others. Even if it's a seemingly small thing, like assisting a kid doodle a dinosaur, or planting a cucumber seed, it has relative worth.
>>> Look at the world with the eyes you had as a five year old. Chances are you had your own interesting world back then. Is that world so different nowadays? Yes it is, but then again, it's not completely different from years ago. When I was a kid, I used to thik that every person was doing the job that he/she wanted to do. The postman wanted to deliver letters, the butcher wanted to cut meat, etc. Now I'm older and cynical, but wait a moment, much of that is still true, particularly for people who venture off the beaten track to do things they always wanted to do (but were told they couldn't). Remember when you used to get crushes on other kids, right and left? Well, why can't we get crushes like that now? Oh, that's right, because we're older and mature, and crushes are for kids. Next time you're in town, look at the younger folks, and see how similar they are to the kids you knew when you were a schoolkid. Not much different, eh. On that note, appreciate that all this 'generational' divisions were fed by the media is mostly bunk. Babies born this year will go through the same general phases as babies born in your birth year. And the ones who survive to the age you are now, will likely be going through the same self-doubts, same anxieties, and similar aspirations & dreams as those you've been dawdling on lately.
>>> The Beatles sang, "The love you give, is equal to the love you get." Sounds a bit corny, but it fits. The more smiles you toss around, chances are the smiles you'll get in response. It helps if they're sincere smiles, not facial calisthenics. The selfless things you do to assist children may not get reciprocated back to you just then, but chances are they'll get reciprocated when that child grows up - and he/she may quite likely assist someone younger - in a similar manner. Although I'm not dogmatic about karma (the jury is still out for me on whether 'karma' is all its claimed to be), I do believe in that nice sounding adage, "What goes around, comes around." It has a nice ring to it, and things which have a nice ring to them, are usually true.
Rim Rock 'Way Stations'
Choose your own personal path at Rim Rock
We're at the early stages of developing what's on offer at Rim Rock, but we're gearing toward assisting visitors with one of more of the following options. Each of the categories mentioned below are inter-related, so picking one to focus upon doesn't preclude the others.
The items mentioned below are more like 'way-stations' along the life's path, rather than required check points. And like a buffet, you can pick as many or as few as you like, and tarry as long or as briefly as you like at each 'way station' - though it's recommended you follow the sequence, if you choose to focus on more than one item.
Some people need to detox from years of indulgence. Others need to simply continue their on-going process of cleansing their body and glands. Regardless of whether or not you've been living a clean life, chances are you can benefit from additional cleansing. Each person who chooses to focus on this option is dealt with on an individual basis - in order to gauge which type of fasting regimen is recommended for that individual. The emphasis at Rim Rock, is on cleansing at safe and comfortable levels, so as not to release too much stuff - too quick for the body to comfortably deal with.
2. Lessen or Eradicate Addictions
We often hear, in news reports, about drug addictions, but there are many other addictions which affect people from all walks of life. Addictions are basically things or concepts which, if a person is deprived of them, they cause that person serious anxiety or withdrawals. One addiction which is growing by leaps and bounds is, not surprisingly, addiction to computers and internet. At Rim Rock, we use a gentle combination of methods to assist those who choose to lessen their addictive habits.
Not only is lessening attachments a basic premise of Buddhism, it's also a great tool for improving one's life, whether one gives a hoot about Buddhism or not. All people have attachments to things, whether they be physical attachments, like tangible possessions or conceptual attachments, like needing to be admired. The number of common attachments is as limitless, as their eradication is satisfying.
Pretty much everyone has stress and anxiety to some degree. There are tangible things that each individual can to lessen such things. Not surprisingly, they relate to the topics mentioned above. So, even if you come to experience Rim Rock without partaking in any particular program, we can almost guarantee that just by being here, will alleviate some measure of stress and anxiety. You've got to see it to believe it.
5. Developing Personal Creativity
Think back to your most enjoyable moments. Chances are, some of those experiences were probably when you were younger, and doing creative things. Arts and crafts can obviously be creative, but there's a wealth of other ways to express one's creativity. At Rim Rock, the sky's the limit, with music, hiking, music, dance, meditation being just some of the ways to express one's creativity. Kirtan is a Sanskrit word for 'walking single file with others while singing or chanting' - and kirtans are yet another way to squeeze some more enjoyment out of being.
6. Towards Spiritual Enlightenment
At Rim Rock, we have a sort of 'patron saint' though we try not to get dogmatic about it (don't want to have our karma run over our dogma). His name is Milarepa, and he can be described as; 'a Tibetan singer of spiritual poems who roamed the Himalayas 900 years ago.' Some, who are familiar with his story, consider him a living Buddha. Among other things, Milarepa was a supreme master of meditation, who walled himself in to mountain caves and fasted for years on end. We won't go that far at Rim Rock, but we can look to Milarepa for inspiration.
7. Giving Back
It's all well and good to improve one's physical and mental condition, yet there should be some degree of balance involved. A sort of 'giving back' or 'sharing' the insight gained from one's journey of self-improvement. The old saying; 'tis better to give than to receive' rings as true today as when it was first spoken.
Rates for lodging and seminars offered at Rim Rock
Free E-book for filling out our brief survey
Just a few questions, to gauge what interests you - in regards to your personal spiritual growth. Click here
For taking the brief survey, you get the choice of one of three ebooks written by Ken the proprietor of Rim Rock Retreat:
1. Fasting For Health and Highness
2. Life Story of Milarepa
3. Farmsteading in Thailand
For a full list of Ken's books, go to http://www.adventure1.com
Related sites:
Boomerang Rock Climbing and Adventure Park
http://thailandrocks.com
Books written by Ken Albertsen
http://www.adventure1.com
Work Exchange and Home Stay
http://www.wonderfull.com
Ancient kilns found at the Boomerang site
http://www.thailandrocks.com/kilns.htm
Yoga & Meditation Retreat
http://chiangraiyoga.com
