Monday, September 17, 2007

Unclutched is Inspired ... Often Humorous

When you are unclutched, you are inspired ... and often humorous!

Here is an example:

" Ambi Mama is leading Brahmin relative" - Survey

A survey has revealed that ‘Ambi Mama' is the leading relative among Tamil Brahmin families worldwide, with six in ten families having one of their own (a 60% repsesentation. Apparently, Ambi Mama held off stiff competition from Mani Mama (with 55% representation) and Baby Chitti (39%) for a well-deserved win. “It's a great day for all Ambi Mamas. All the years of hard work – drinking coffee, criticizing the Indian team selection and complaining about blood-pressure – have finally paid off. Yay!”, said Ambi Mama, a spokesman for the Ambi Mamas Association of Dear Old Rascals (AMBASSADOR), a division of the Hardcore Brahmin Organisation (HBO). [Editor's note – The previous sentence has been roundly condemned by the Society for Prevention of Abbreviations that are Needless, Dumb and Execrable (SPANDEX)]

Mani Mamas all over the world watched in anguish as the final results were announced, plunging them into gloom. “It's no fun being a Mani Mama anymore”, said Mani Mama. “ Maybe if I change my name to ‘Ramesh Anna', I will have a brighter future”, he pondered pointlessly.

Follow the above link for more ...
http://www.bosey.co.in/2005/05/ambi-mama-is-leading-brahmin-relative.html

(Comments are hilarious too)

Thanks to my Bala Gopalan who forwarded this to me.

Monday, September 10, 2007

One way to unclutch

Ramana Maharishi is known for saying, "Ask who is having this thought?" or "Ask who is the one who is angry?" With this, his goal is to separate the two states in which we exist :
1) self/ego state in which we see ourselves only in relation to this life (our current roles, capabilities, status, etc.)
2) Self (capital 'S')/spirit state in which the self/ego diminishes and we adopt the perspective of the spirit inside each one of us (pure consciousness/ awareness)

The question "Who is having this thought?" is not to be answered literally. It is a rhetorical question. If you answer it verbally, you will answer it from the reference point of the self/ego. When you don't answer it and exist in the question, the feeling, the thoughtless reflection ... then the Self is invoked. This is similar to Jiddu Krishnamurti's "listen, but not to the words ... because when you get to the level of the words, you have lost the listening ... listen to the feeling behind the words ... the whole statement, without thought ... then you will see an energy arise within you and a level of understanding which is beyond words"

By asking this question, we unclutch from the self/ego and go deep within to the Self/spirit.

I have tried this and it seems to work well. Many times during the day, I would say "Who is thinking?," "Who is driving?," "Who is upset?" and it seems to take me in to different space ... the thinking stops, the driving stops (the stressful part ;-), and the upset stops. Because the Who, the Self does not care about any of these things. It is infinite, limitless, does not have anywhere to go, does not have anything to do! It just is and has no use for thoughts and upsets.

We could all try asking this question and remain silent ... and see if we can invoke a different Us ... an Unclutched Us.

Thursday, September 6, 2007

Child Abuse - a natural for the clutched mind

The clutched mind works from the mind/head. What is the mind/head? Simply put, it is our goals, fantasies and fears. A random occurrence of them. We connect a lot of these and create a desired identity for our children. This is an identity that they can't possibly live up to, for the simple reason that even we adults can not/do not live up to them.

We insist that our child not get angry and if she does get angry, we promptly get angry in return. The child has to make sense of this ... and she decides "it is OK to get angry if the other person is angry," "it is OK to get angry if you have a reason for it (and who doesn't?)," or worse yet "it is OK to get angry if you are bigger and impose on the other person."

We insist that our child be patient and promptly lose patience if they are impatient. The child decides ....

We insist that our child share their things with other children and turn them down every time they ask us to share our time with them. The child decides ....

We insist that our child focus on tasks like studying/working and not watch TV, and then spend hours in front of the TV. The child decides ....

No wonder the child doesn't learn. Because you have nothing to teach. You end up contradicting your words almost immediately with your actions. The mind/head is not just mad, it is madness itself. It is built to abuse the other (and oneself).

The problem with the mind is that there is no spirit, no flow. It is hatched out of some canned rules ... a canned identity ... a fantasy ... somewhere in the past and the future. It is always in conflict and always under construction. It wants something that is not and clearly cannot practice it now (in the present).

The unclutched spirit, on the other hand, works from the heart. It has no goals, fantasies and fears and does not create identities. It relaxes and allows the being to flow ... to attend to things in their own order and timing. It believes in the intelligence that flows through every living being ... indeed all of creation. It is never in conflict. It relishes what is available now.

If a child gets angry, the unclutched remain calm. The child decides that it is possible to be calm even when others are angry.

If a child is impatient, it has the awareness/flow/energy to turn on unbelievable patience. The child decides ....

If the child doesn't share, it gets down to the business of sharing something with everyone, not punishing through exclusion (this is frequently expressed as "if you won't share, we won't share with you"). The child experiences sharing and decides that this is a better way.

If the child watches too much TV, it gets down the business of focusing itself and creating some real alternatives that are appealing to the child. The child decides that it is possible to focus and create better alternatives.

The unclutched do not despair that the child does not have x, y, and z but instead see what they do have in the present moment (a situation/a need) and leverage it to demonstrate the desirable x, y, and z.

The unclutched do not abuse their children or themselves. They do not practice madness of the mind/head ... they practice sanity of the spirit/heart.

Wednesday, September 5, 2007

Unclutch? ... Why?

"Go to a party. Listen to the laughter, that brittle-tongued voice that says fun on the surface and fear underneath. Feel the tension, feel the pressure. Nobody really relaxes. They are faking it. Go to a ball game. Watch the fans in the stands. Watch the irrational fit of anger. Watch the uncontrolled frustration bubbling forth that masquerades under the guise of enthusiasm or team spirit. Booing, catcalls and unbridled egotism in the name of team loyalty. Drunkenness, fights in the stands. These are people trying desperately to release tension from within. These are not people who are at peace with themselves. Watch the news on TV. Listen to the lyrics in popular songs. You find the same theme repeated over and over in variations. Jealousy, suffering, discontent, and stress. Life seems to be a perpetual struggle, some enormous effort against staggering odds."

- from Mindfulness in Plain English, Bante Henepola Gunaratana


The above description may be a bit harsh, but there is no denying that this is the main undercurrent in our lives ... craving, restlessness, dissatisfaction, fear & tension. Many masters in many traditions have insisted that there is no peace because we are clutched to an "unimportant" and "highly detrimental" reality. Clutched to ourselves. Our concerns. Born not to be free, but to struggle. What we are taught by our well-meaning parents and in schools/colleges as the right way actually stands in the way.

Welcome to "Unclutched - The Only Way to Live" - a place where I hope to collect my personal experience on how we wreak havoc on ourselves and others around us ... and how we may stop doing that for a more joyous life.


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