Talks Available for Downloading Now

This is not actually the new official entry, which will not be posted until June 1.

This is a reminder that 4 sets of talks, with each set containing 4 talks each, from our In-Depth Immersion Into Inner Growth Through Relationships, are available for download now.  Although all the various aspects of relationship are explored, it is also a complete Course for inner development or spiritual growth.  Go here for more information about what is contained in each talk:

http://livemagnet.com/stayinginthepresent/

For a sample excerpt from one of the talks, go here:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=5vs-vcwdlz4

For more regarding all that we offer, visit here:

http://stayinginthepresent.com

Being D. R. Butler

Well, I’m definitely no John Malkovich; still, this month I’m going to be totally self-indulgent.  Last month I started talking about some principles of Kashmir Shaivism in the first paragraph—a very impersonal approach, and usually more appropriate.  This month I will write a little about myself—rare insights into the inner workings of D. R. Butler’s mind.

Sometimes when I begin writing, my mind thinks, What’s the point?  Not many are actually going to read this anyway.  No one cares that much about it, why bother to keep writing?  You’re getting old; slow down and take it easy.  You’ve written enough for one lifetime.  If you haven’t made your point by now, just let it go.

I know it is only my mind talking to me, running some old trips, tapes, and stories the mind likes to ruminate over, and yet I also know that on one level it’s all true.  No matter how inspired the writings, only a few will read them, and fewer still will really care what they say enough to actually apply them in their own lives.

I also know, of course, that there are people who, mysteriously and inexplicably, many even after years of reading my writings, will still read whatever it is that I write next.  They have proven the principles true in their own lives through applying them in practical ways.  So please don’t feel you must comment to comfort me, to reassure me that you actually do read the writings and find them helpful in your life.  From your feedback in various forms and places, I do know you are actually out there.  Otherwise I really wouldn’t bother.  I would just keep a journal.

Still, from my point of view, all that I am and all that I have to offer is only a small drop in an endless ocean.  Even so, the drop must have some meaningful purpose, otherwise it wouldn’t exist.  This goes for each of us—all us drops in the ocean of Consciousness.

I had an early begin­ning.  At 16, in high school in Vicksburg, MS, I wrote my first ‘course.’  It was available to anyone at my school who wished to learn how to think more positively and better their lives as a result.  I think I charged 50 cents a month to pay for mimeographing costs.  A surprising number of classmates and others started taking the ‘course,’ and years later one of them wrote to me to say that he still reads those lessons and finds them ever-inspiring.

So it was always in my blood, so to speak, or my destiny—however one wishes to look at it, even since I first began the study and practice of yoga, meditation, and the principles of creative thought, and at 15 began a correspondence course on the Truth of Being, written by a Master Teacher (Teacher of Teachers) who had lived for 17 years in the lamaseries of Tibet and Nepal.

He was born in India and educated in England, entering Oxford University at the age of 15.  He was eventually sent to America by his Master in the lamasery in Tibet to first help the people gain the knowledge necessary to raise themselves out of the depression at that time, and also to teach the Truth of Being to whomever was ready and open for the highest teachings.

I supported myself during my 20’s through free-lance writing—primarily short stories and motivational and inspirational non-fiction.  There were a lot of magazines around then that don’t exist today.  One of those articles, titled ‘As You Think, So Shall You Be,’ gathered a lot of attention, and many people wrote to me through the magazine to find out if I had books or a course.

These people, in fact, encouraged me to begin writing a course further exploring the principles presented in my article.  And so the very first lesson of the original Course was printed and mailed out to the original students on August 1, 1975.  That was 38 years ago, at the time this is being written.

Interestingly, as I took the very first Lesson 1 to the printer, Vishnu Press, I ran across Ram Dass and a couple of fellows with him.  We had spent time together several times before that, yet it felt very auspicious to meet him right outside the printer, the very first lesson in my hands as we talked.

Since then I studied a lot, contemplated a lot, experienced many well-known teachers, spent over 20 years in the ashram of a powerful Yogic Master, and have in these years gone through an entire evolution of spiritual understanding.  Now I write about things from my current perspective, which is so different now than it was just 10 years ago.  As for 20 years ago, forget about it.  I was like a spiritual dunce, relatively speaking.  Even so, people read the writings and found them helpful, proving beyond a doubt that I was only the typist and that something far deeper than what I think of as ‘myself’ was behind the content and transmission the lessons provided.

I have observed and experienced all aspects of spiritual training and have presented in the current Course of Training what is most essential to enjoy life and, if desired, to go all the way on the spiritual path.  Or, if you don’t care to go anywhere, then you can learn to be content and fulfilled in this present moment, the only existing moment there is.  This, after all, is the highest goal, for ultimately there is nowhere to go, and contentment is the highest state.

As is written in the Vishwasara Tantra: 
“What is here is also there.  What is not here is nowhere.”

Such an expanded teaching in such a pithy statement.  Yet, if we understand ourselves and the process of our own life, we also understand everyone else and the process of everyone’s life.  When we understand ‘here,’ we also understand ‘there.’  Ultimately there is no difference; it is only a polarity, a point of reference in the physical world.

So I write.  In a sense, I take dictation from some undefined yet vividly clear and anciently familiar inner voice that seems to come through my heart instead of my head.  The writings are the updated principles of Truth, as relevant and applicable to today’s modern world.  The teachings themselves are not ‘updated,’ of course, for they remain eternally the same. That is why they are ‘Universal’—because they apply to all people at all times in all places.  Only the presentation and approach is ‘updated’ for today’s world and the current understanding of contemporary people.

As people go through the lessons of our Course of Training, available through email, they begin to understand the Source of the principles and the spiritual energy inherent in the transmission that occurs when one begins the Course.  I recognize that it comes from a space far beyond the individual mind, no matter how astute one’s mind might be.

If you come here to our ‘blog’ on a regular or semi-regular basis, you know I like to include some of the exchanges from previous months’ comments that other readers can obviously relate to.

Someone wrote, "Sometimes it seems the longer I take the Course, the more I see the ego in action."

Of course it would work this way.  At the beginning, the ego is so large that it controls everything.  It's kind of like not seeing the forest for the trees.

As we do the actual work of personal development, the ego grows smaller, and soon it gets small enough that we can actually see it for the first time.

Of course, what happens then is that we freak out because upon seeing our ego for the first time it appears to be so huge. We do not realize it simply got small enough that we could finally see it.

Then the real work begins.

Another wrote, “I believe I am starting to understand what equanimity is.  I observed a situation that only three days ago caused so much pain, so much distress, and my body looks for the feeling (the body has got a memory), it looks for the usual feeling reaction, but it just cannot find it!  So, it amazes me that there is just no reaction!  I flip out to not feel any intense feeling, to not be able to get into the usual mental description and entanglement about the situation.  So, equanimity means seeing everything like this, like an observer.  Not taking it into a personal level.  This is really cool.”

I love your description of your experience of equanimity.  It is a state that is very challenging to put into words, as there are no verbal concepts that truly capture it.  Yet your experience described it beautifully.

It can be a bit unnerving when we begin feeling equanimity clearly for the first time.  The ego aspect of us feels most comfortable either liking something and feeling good about it, or disliking something and feeling bad about it.  It is a bit disorienting when we truly do not care one way or another, when we start to perceive the true equality of all things.

So the ego will resist the state of equanimity, because it kind of robs the ego of some of its primary activities—like habitually reacting to the same thing over and over, worrying about things, disliking things, and so forth.  True equanimity kind of takes those things out of range.

The ego might jump on the ‘idea’ of equanimity, of course, and even appropriate it to itself, feeling itself to be fully permeated with nothing but equanimity.  Of course the first words or actions that someone does or says that the ego doesn't like, equanimity suddenly vanishes and automatic and predictable reactions take its place.

Not only might it take a while to experience a true state of equanimity, it is also hard to remember it when things come up that trigger habitual negative emotions.  In addition to this, it takes a while to get used to the experience of equanimity, as we are usually so accustomed to either like or dislike something, to feel good about it or to feel bad about it.  Feeling nothing about it is disconcerting until we get used to it through maintaining the experience.

Someone wrote, “It might just be me and the way I see things, but it seems that fewer comments and questions are coming into the blog, as though there has been some strange cosmic slow-down of the dialogue, as you like to call it. Is this just my imagination, and if not, why do you think it is happening, or not happening, this way?”

Be assured that it is not only your imagination, although I agree that it is often more difficult than most people think to distinguish reality from imagination—especially during this time.  Many of us would not believe what most people are imagining these days, or the extent to which they live by their imaginings.

Astrologically—the influence of the planets, moon, and sun upon human individuals—the planet Earth as a whole, including the herd of humanity upon it, is going through an extremely intense time.

Around the end of 2012, a lot of hoopla was made about the changes that would be coming to earth and life on it. These changes are starting to actually manifest more and more, and April, May, and on into June will be a very intense period of time for the world in general, as well as individuals.

One of the effects of this will be that people will have a harder time than usual focusing on spiritual matters or the process of self-development—I can talk about the same unfoldment without using the word 'spiritual'.  ‘Spiritual’ has become an in-word that has many meanings to many different people.  People in general, for example, will during this time find it harder to make it to the blog, to read the other comments, or to actually participate in interaction and exchange in dialogue.

People who participate in our Course of Training might find it more challenging than usual to read their current lesson or to tune into it on an ongoing basis.  In general, people might feel less likely to begin or continue such a Course as ours—as it goes straight into the Truth of the Present Moment—and during this time most people will not be inclined to go there.  They will be too entranced by the melodramas going on around them and within their own thoughts and emotions.

During the planetary transits of the next couple of months, simply do the best you can, focus the best you can on referring to your current lesson, and don't be hard on yourself—don't get judgmental, regarding others or yourself.  Be calm, cool, and poised, no matter how challenged you feel by external forces.  This pressure will soon pass.

The development of equanimity is a very high priority.  Remain in that state of equanimity for as long as possible each time you remember it, and you will develop that particular inner 'muscle'.  We cannot do it without actually practicing, anymore than we can master anything with the physical body without training and preparation.

As we approach the summer months, the intensity of current influences will begin to let up.  Life will feel easier and more pleasant for a change.  The desire for spiritual growth and for interaction with other seekers of Truth will return, perhaps even greater than before.

The best we can do for now is to remember our ultimate aim, our highest priorities, and activate enough will power to tune into those things that deep down mean the most to us.  It is very important that we keep marching toward the Truth, no matter what obstacles or discouragements are tossed in our path.  This often includes the words of other people.

It would be great if all other people were supportive and encouraging, but we are more likely to find the opposite.  The mass of people tend to have a down-pulling effect on other people.  This is why it is important not to allow another’s words to affect you in a negative way.  Listen to your heart always.  Love is where the heart is, and love is the key to the conscious experience and appreciation of divinity.

Of course, that divinity exists whether we experience or appreciate it or not.  It depends on whether we wish to live in the Truth of the Present Moment.  If it is true, why not be aware of it?

For information about the Course of Training written by D. R. Butler and available by email—along with a free Lesson 1—write: drbutler.course@gmail.com

 

Spanish: drbutler.cursoesp@gmail.com

French: drbutler.course@gmail.com

Each New Moment Is a Clean Slate

According to Kashmir Shaivism, each second is created anew by the Perceiver.  What we think of as the 'past' is only mind stuff.  The entire cosmos lasts only this moment.  Then the next moment we create it from scratch all over again.  Of course, most individuals are on cruise control and simply recreate the past moment and go from there, giving us the illusion of time.  This is why I always say that each new moment we have a blank slate and can create anything we can imagine.  Most, however, simply drag the past into the present.

Strangely, many do not realize that change happens only in the present moment.  We think something will change later.  We should be more interested in what is changing now.  Even more than that, we should be more interested in the eternally changeless.  The constantly changing is fascinating to the mind, but the eternally changeless is blissful to the soul.
            
Each present moment the universe is created in Consciousness.  A pure Being sees only the play of Consciousness.  An ordinary individual differentiates and describes situations and events and then automatically reacts to his or her own descriptions.  Most people never realize we are doing everything to ourselves—we are the cause of every effect that affects us.  Nothing outside us has the power to affect us unless we allow it to in our own thinking.

There have been some great exchanges in last month’s comments, and I’d like to share my responses to a few questions or comments that came in:

I'm not asking anyone to be free from emotions. However, breaking free from 'negative' emotions, and especially from 'expressing' them, which creates horrendous karma, is a very important step in sadhana.

In the lessons of the Course we recommend replacing negative emotions like anger, resentment, fear, worry, and agitation with the higher feelings, such as love, joy, cheerfulness, compassion, and lightheartedness. This of course takes will and focus of attention, which is explained in the lessons.

What you're calling a 'mood' is what I call an egotistical melodrama. In reality, true 'moods' are not different from the gunas. We may be influenced by the moods of tamas, rajas, and sattva, but these are very different from negative emotions.

When we have such incredible power in the present moment IF we are conscious of it and IF we apply it, there is nothing that should linger for weeks or months. If there is, we're simply caught in a negative emotion and won't let go—or bother to replace it with something more positive and enjoyable, which is possible in any present moment.

"I just want to know who to blame..."

You don't blame anything. Go beyond blame altogether. Never blame another, and never accept blame from another. What good would it do, practically speaking, to know whether to 'blame' the mind or the ego? They work as a tandem. The two of them together create what we call 'egotistical melodramas.'

"How do we ever get free of what is projected out onto the screen of consciousness which must be the objective world?"

We get free from it by turning our attention to the Subjective realm within, understanding that the outer objective world is only a reflection of the inner world.

"It's been quite a problem encountering people who simply refuse to see things any way but the traditional way."

Like it or not, these people make up the large majority of people we come in contact with in this world. Most people do not understand that the mind creates the reality they see and experience. There is no way we can make them see this.

It is hard enough teaching principles of Truth to people who sincerely wish to understand the Truth. It is impossible to share the Truth with those who have no interest in understanding it.

*    *     *

I do not think that you get it that certain things come up to challenge your standards and ideals. Otherwise, you'd have no basis for declaring yourself 'unsuccessful'. Isn't, after all, that whole concept based on standards and ideals?

What is success? To me, success is being happy and content. Success is loving what you do. Success is thinking well of yourself and others.

As far as being successful in my work or not, who knows? Far too many still know nothing of the availability and power of the lessons. And of those who participate in the lessons of the Course of Training via email, far too many are too lazy or unwilling to refer to their current lesson often enough, which is the physical form of the transformative process for participants of the Course.

And then, how many actually apply the principles presented in the Course in their own lives in practical ways? For too many it is still far too easy to trigger a negative emotional reaction. Too many continue to allow the most limiting thoughts to linger in their minds, producing limiting conditions and situations in their personal lives.

Some people are simply not open to anything save their own rigidly narrow view of things. This is truly sad. Life is hard enough as it is; not understanding how it works makes it feel so much harder.

So, what determines success? 'Making it big' is temporary and often a rocky road. Many who had 'made it big' have had tragic endings.

I'll stick with being content and fulfilled, with being really happy with the way things are and with the simplicity of this present moment.

Try it. Prove the Truth for yourself.

                                       *     *     *

Are you certain your friend is fully capable of recognizing an enlightened being? Certainly not many people have this talent for knowing who is merged with the Absolute and who isn't.

You bring up some points that aren't in accordance with my own way of seeing things, as we are using certain terminology to have different meanings.

In my understanding, when you're free of samskaras, you're free. These deeply ingrained subconscious impressions are very powerful, even in intelligent and educated people.

Simply speaking, samskaras include attachments and aversions, identifications and compulsions, and addiction and inhibition. Of course, when we really look into these, as we do in the lessons of the Course, we see that these six simple categories cover a lot of territory, as we can make long lists of the ways we are involved in each category, which requires acute and honest self-observation.

An enlightened Being is free from samskaras and ego. He or she is no longer controlled by thoughts or habitual subconscious tendencies. One who is Awake sometimes but not Awake other times is not enlightened. We are all Awake sometimes and not other times. Some, through practice and the development of will, become more proficient and consistent about being Awake than others who never bother to practice or to even be aware of the process.

This is basically the answer to your question about different stages of enlightenment. Enlightenment is not like becoming a super hero and suddenly having powers. Enlightenment is being firmly established in the Awareness of the Truth of Being. If the experience is inconsistent, then it is just another person doing sadhana, not an enlightened being. So the stages are simply resting in the state of enlightenment more often, and for longer periods of time. A higher 'stage' is simply a greater degree of consistency.

                                      *     *     *

I thought I was very clear in the entry that I didn't care much for the idea of 'reaching' people. True teachers don't seek out more students. Instead, true students seek out a true teacher.

The only way I might actually care to 'reach someone' is that I know there are many people out there who would enjoy and benefit from the Course as much as the ones already participating. To offer the principles of Truth in ways that they can be understood and applied in the modern world is a great thing. It would be very good if more people, from their own openness, discovered them, but I am not going to send out anyone searching for those people, and I certainly have no desire to 'convince' anyone of anything. If a person is happy with himself as he is, then I am happy for him.

It is no more difficult to be a Master these days than it ever was. And it is true that they have relatively few students around them. An authentic Master does not directly communicate with the masses. They do not even reveal themselves to the profane world. The charismatic personalities with big followings that we hear a lot about are not necessarily true Masters. A true Master does not make much of a public scene, and very few people ever even hear of one.

The principles of Truth offered in the Course of Training via email will never be 'watered down,' unless hundreds of years down the road someone edits the lessons according to their own understanding, or intentionally aiming them for the masses. Then the watered down teachings might become the dogma for a religion. It wouldn't be the first time such a thing has happened.

For now, there is nothing anywhere similar to the Course of Training. Of course, there is no way to understand what this actually means without actually participating to see what happens as a result.

For information about the Course of Training written by D. R. Butler and available by email, including a sample lesson, write: drbutler.course@gmail.com

 

Spanish: drbutler.cursoesp@gmail.com

French: drbutler.course@gmail.com

Self-Interview--Where to from here?

Q:  Another self-interview?

A:  Feedback from readers indicate the previous self-interviews to be their very favorite blog entries. 

Q:  Why do you think that is?

A:  Probably because it’s faster moving and shorter.  The world is different now, you know, than when I was a younger man.

Q:  What way is that?

A:  When I first became a ‘writer,’ which was my goal since I was about 14, the world was patient enough to read a whole article, a whole short story, and any good novel they could find. 

These days everything is much faster.  Young adults today were brought up with fast-moving video and computer games, not to mention the Internet—things that didn’t exist in anyone’s imagination when I was younger.  My older son, Jnani, who’s now a film editor in LA, is almost ready for his Saturn return, yet I remember him playing very intricate video and computer games from a very early age.  As a child, he could grasp things regarding the computer and Internet that my mind was just too slow to deal with. 

Most of what I’ve learned about computers and the Internet, I learned from Jnani and my other two children, Shane and Sara.  Without them I’d probably still be illiterate.  They seem very naturally to know, whereas it seems very unnatural to me to know.

So now the Internet is rapidly becoming the primary media and our primary means of staying in contact with each other.  Things are visual, short, and move very fast.  It’s as though Twitter has influenced the way we communicate.  Today people are easily discouraged by a body of words, as though it is a precarious mountain to be climbed.  A quick visual is much more preferable.  If we have to put too many ideas together, through words, there is too much concentration and focus involved to bother.  Shorter is sweeter. 

We might not have the memory we once did, still we can remember a phrase easier than a paragraph.

Q:  So where do we go from here?  Is the blog still a viable option for reaching people?

A:  The idea of ‘reaching people’ is very strange.  I have no desire to reach anyone.  I am content living in my village of 90.  I don’t have something I’m trying to sell people or to convince people of.  I am already happy with the way everyone is.  I already approve of you.  There is nothing you have to win over.  If you are happy with the way you are, then this is the best form of worship.  The only reason you might need to change anything is because you are to some degree unhappy, discontent, and unfulfilled.  You never have to change for anyone else, but if changing something can enable you to be happier and freer, then you have to go for it.

Q:  What do you think the blog really offers, realistically speaking?

A:  It is important to offer a connection to the Truth of Being available to everyone in the world, at no cost.  The blog has been here since 2008 pointing everyone who comes here in the direction of their own inner Truth.

‘Blog’ is a major misnomer, but we use it for lack of a better word.  This is actually nothing like a real blog.  It is more accurate to say that it comes in the disguise of a blog, in the form or appearance of a blog, still it is offered freely for anyone who is open to receive.

The best part is the community that has formed in the comments following each monthly entry, with participants of the Course from all over the world getting to know each other.  There are a lot of great exchanges.  Working as a group has a certain dynamic that cannot be duplicated by going through the process all on our own.

Many understandings, insights, and realizations occur through interacting with others who share the same values and aspirations.  We get opportunities to clean up any subtle misunderstandings we might have regarding a particular subject or situation, perhaps something we truly need to understand very much.  Working with others offers this advantage of feedback and considering other perspectives.

Q:  So exactly where does the course fit in?

A:  The Course is transformative and actually allows us to experience life in a new way.  The blog can give us glimpses of that state and show us new ways of seeing things, yet the transformative process that happens through the consistency and continuity of the lessons of the Course, where each lesson lays the foundation for the next, it’s like taking another step upward with each step. 

Then there are exercises at the end of each and every lesson that develop certain innate abilities and powers.  What is meant by ‘powers’?  Well, the capacity to concentrate and focus the mind is a tremendous power.  It is one that we ordinarily attribute to ourselves, but in reality we are not even close.  We can’t just decide to be more concentrated and focused, and then expect it to happen overnight without anything from us.

Q:  So you say the course is transformative, but lots of people say things like that.  Why are you so sure that yours is the real deal?

A:  I am so sure because of what I have and am still receiving from my own very powerful teachers.  I have passed on what I have been given.  Besides, I'm not really making a claim that should be accepted on faith.  That would be absurd.  I invite everyone to try it and experience it for themselves, and then there would be no doubt.  Doubt closes the heart.  Try it and see for yourself whether anything happens or not.

Q:  Just off the top of your head, what are the primary principles taught in the Course?

A:  Love your Self.  The divine Consciousness that permeates and pervades the entire Universe dwells within you as your own Awareness of Being.  Know who you truly are, and always honor and respect yourself.  If you cannot honor and respect yourself, then you have a case of mistaken identity.

In fact, honor and respect everything you do. 

Doing something without honoring and respecting what you are doing is wasted energy.  Soon we are depleted and drained, and we wonder why we are so tired and why it seems more and more difficult to do the simplest things.  This is because we generally do not respect ourselves or what we do, and life has become stagnant instead of dynamic and thriving.

See and honor the divine Self within you, which perceives and experiences the world through a particular individual perspective.  You are not so much an entity as you are a particular individual perspective.  What you ordinarily think of as yourself is only a collection of certain energetic patterns.  Your true Being is Universal, manifesting as all individuals at once.

Never see yourself as low, tainted, unworthy, impure, or imperfect.  Seeing ourselves in such ways is the result of wrong understanding.  You are the Universal Self and we share an inner Being that exists everywhere at once.  Each of us experiences it as our own Awareness of Being.  Through your own Awareness you have a direct experience of the Truth.

The only existing time is this present moment, and we see and experience the world according to the thoughts we think.  Thought is creative, therefore only think of what is pleasant, and refuse to consider what is unpleasant.  This one simple principle will make a huge difference in anyone’s life.

We need to make a commitment, not to any teacher or group or philosophy, but committed to yourself and your own process of self-development.  When you are committed to your own inevitable process, this releases an inner energy that might take you places you’d have never dreamed.

We invest in our own commitment, and this way it is possible to grow, to see something completely new.  The only way any such thing as ‘spiritual progress,’ or ‘self-development,’ or ‘inner growth’ can possibly take place, is when we see or experience something NEW, something not seen or experienced before.  This causes an expansion and deepening in our Being.  This expansion and deepening are the fruits of our sadhana.

Q:  So where does the course come in, practically speaking?

A:  Participating in the Course is an outer form of our inner commitment.  The participants of the Course have to do their work in applying the principles of Truth in practical ways in their everyday life.  They have to be willing to read the current lesson once again, hopefully 3 times during the 2 weeks at a minimum, and referring to it as often as possible, hopefully a few times a day.  Each reading brings us back to the state of Being in the present moment, and tunes us back into the transformative energy.

This is a great discipline.  I truly honor those who are willing to surrender to this process.  It is not always easy to read 10 pages about spiritual principles, and it can be especially difficult to make the effort to read it even again, after you have become consciously familiar with the contents. 

This requires a great discipline and a respectable degree of will power, and I honor you greatly if you are sharing this powerful process.  Of course, anyone still reading this right now is sharing the process to some degree.  Otherwise, you would have thought this was ‘too long’ or ‘too boring’ and stopped reading long ago.

Q:  Do you have any kind of vision regarding how the future will unfold from here regarding your own work?

A:  For one thing, we finally have offered real-time online programs, Workshops, Immersions, and so forth.  We are making available both video and audio versions of talks that have been given, and answers to many common questions that have come up. 

To check what is available, go to http://stayinginthepresent.com

People seem to greatly enjoy and value the visual contact and the immediacy of the interaction available through the real-time videos.  So whatever is to come will be an expansion of what we have previously made available, as we learn ourselves more about how to do it and create even greater products to help others help themselves.  We will see what unfolds.  Right now we’re just watching to see what happens next.  It has all been a great surprise so far.  Why should it change now?

For information about the Course of Training written by D. R. Butler and available by email, including a free lesson, write: drbutler.course@gmail.com

Spanish: drbutler.cursoesp@gmail.com

French: drbutler.course@gmail.com

Just For the Love of It

The beauty of the blowing snow showers outside my window might be more enjoyable if it were not 15 degrees on a Saturday afternoon.  As things are, it is a good time to go within and manifest a new blog entry to celebrate February.  Why?  Just for the love of it.

This is where we can meet in the same space all at once.  I don’t mean a particular place, date, and time; the space of Love exists only in this moment, so if you read this three years after it was written, the space of Love is still the same as it is right now.  After all, whenever you read it, is it ‘now,’ isn’t it?

Our chosen title, ‘Just for the Love of it,’ is a particularly favorite theme for me.  If we can live so that every moment is lived just for the love of it, life will be miraculously fulfilling.  Additionally, if we can love everything we do, we will experience happiness and freedom.  Once we love everything we do, our experience of life begins to happen on an entirely different level of Being.

Sally Kempton, who I have known over half my life, wrote the book, ‘Meditate for the Love of It,’ and I agree, if you’re going to meditate, then by God do it for the love of it and no other reason.  I highly endorse Sally as a meditation teacher, for she teaches from experience and I know she is also very grounded in the scriptures.  Only a person who can actually meditate should teach meditation to others.

Take me, for example.  I am supremely unqualified for anything.  All I can do is live in the present moment.  In fact, I can’t get out of the present moment.  I’m a bit stuck here.  When I was younger I thought I was weird, that I didn’t fit in, because I didn’t know what to talk about, I didn’t know how to play all the personality games, because I had none.  I accepted that I was a misfit, and that this was my lot in life.

Then I came across teachers and teachings regarding how living in the present moment is a good thing, not a bad thing.  I learned that it was okay that I didn’t fit in; in fact, if I had ‘fit in’ it would have been a bad sign.  I learned that the personality games and egotistical melodramas were things to break free from, not to make life all about.  If I was a misfit, that was fine with me.  So far nothing has changed in this regard.

We are initiating something new and different this month.  Starting on February 7^th, we will begin a 3-week in-depth Immersion in the subject, ‘Inner Growth Through Relationships.’  We will meet online together for 3 consecutive Thursdays, the 7^th, 13^th, and 21^st.   Our meetings will be conversational and will last an hour each.  During the other days we will meet in a chat room and keep in daily contact, to the degree that we wish to.  If you cannot make the 7^th, there is a package available for the 13^th and 21^st only.  For more information on this, please go here:

http://stayinginthepresent.com

Since I have no choice but to live in the present moment, it was obvious my dharma (duty) was to help others who wished to, to do the same.  The center of this work is the Course of Training via email, which consists of reading two lessons a month and applying the principles in your own life. 

We are also now offering online workshops.  The next online workshop will be March 3, and will be the same topic:  ‘Inner Growth Through Relationships.’  For those in the Immersion, the workshop will be the culmination.  However, the workshop is open to all, whether you participate in the Immersion or not.

Some good exchanges have taken place in the recent comments, and now I will share a collection of responses to the questions of others.

This first response is regarding someone’s comments about our very first workshop, in November, in which there were a few technical glitches (we’ve improved a lot since then):

I loved these questions:  “Sipping his drink, people commenting every second on everything that is said.  Why aren't they just listening?  Why am I getting distracted by them?  Does Ram have to talk to Kay that way?  Is this what a real relationship is?  When is he just going to get to the teachings.  This is so tiring.  Everything he says is in the course.  He only calls on friends from his past, etc., etc., etc.”

Ah, the honesty, the openness—many people think these things, but few have the courage to actually express them and bring them out into the open.

That first workshop, although it was a great experience for all who participated, isn't exactly my most shining memory.  Not only was it our first time, but the platform we were using was totally unsuitable.  We have changed to something much nicer and easier to work with.  There are no longer ‘comments’ onscreen, but only D.R. on full screen.  After 3 workshops, things are starting to run much more smoothly.

I particularly loved the comment, "Everything he says is in the course." I have to admit, this one is true.  Everything I know is from the course.  If I knew something worthwhile that wasn't in the course, then the course would be incomplete.  Of course, the course has not finished for anyone yet, myself included. We are each going as fast as we can, for the Omnipresent and Omniscient Consciousness is compassionate enough to let each individual aspect of Itself progress at our own most comfortable pace.

Then the line, 'When is he going to get to the teachings?' My mind used to do this all the time around the Guru. 'When is he going to stop being so mundane and get to something substantial?  This is getting pretty boring.'

Yet, as my mind was thinking such things, I'd notice that I was beginning to experience this incredible inner energy that obviously had nothing to do with what was going on outwardly. I would go in states of deep meditation or bliss. Yet my mind is going, 'When will he get to the highest teachings?'

We don't offer workshops to present new facts and information you might have never run across. I don't know if there really is something like that. The workshop is an experience of the Present Moment, and moves us along rather quickly in our process, however we describe that process to ourselves. The Workshop is an initiation and offers a transformation on inner levels. It doesn't have the first thing to do with what I talk about.

As for calling only on friends from the past, I have to say that over half the people I called on that day were people I did not know and had never spoken with in real time before.

As far as how I was talking to Kay, Kay has known me and helped me in Workshops for more than 30 years now, and has lived with me and worked fulltime on the Course with me for the last 10 years or so. Her ego is not so sensitive that if I speak to her in a way to most quickly get things done, she's not going to take it personally and feel that she has been treated badly.

Kay understands why I speak to her in whatever way I am speaking to her. What we have developed together over 30 years is not likely to be understood by someone coming across some aspect of our relationship for the first time.

I might speak to her abruptly because that is what is needed in the moment. She understands that. She also knows that later on I will probably coo in her ear.

*****

Regarding your question, the only things that can affect us are our own thoughts, our own awareness, and where our attention is focused.  Others do not have the power to affect us unless we give them that power through believing in the other more than we believe in our Self.

We determine through what we create in inner consciousness what will be real for us in the outer world, which is basically a reflection of what we have created in inner consciousness through the power of thought, imagination, and ideation.

Others can only determine their own experience and feelings. When we blame others for our experiences or feelings we only reveal our ignorance of how the game works.

We always and invariably determine our experience and perception through what we think and choose to believe. Through describing something in a certain way we begin to see and experience conditions and situations manifest exactly according to our descriptions and beliefs.

We experience as reality what we describe to ourselves and assume to be real.

So our own experience has nothing to do with how others think or act.  They themselves are affected by their thoughts and actions, no one else.  We determine our own perception, experience, and all feelings according to what we are thinking and how we are focusing our attention.

With greater awareness, we start to see how we have created through descriptions, thoughts, and beliefs our life as it has manifested.  When we change our descriptions, thoughts, and beliefs, things change in outer life exactly according to the inner changes in thought, attitude, and feeling.

                                                            *****

I am always happy to see your comments and questions. They always come from a good place, and it is great that such inner maturity manifests in one as young as yourself.

Your comments always make it obvious that you have very good understanding. It is now a matter of refining the understanding you already have. This happens in the natural process that occurs as we progress from one lesson to the next every two weeks.

You said, "It’s fascinating to me how much earnest effort is required to consciously choose each thought so that the impact is one we would actually enjoy."

You are right. This is perfect understanding. Many people don't get the 'earnest effort required' part of the equation.  I am so happy that you have started this path at a young age, for you are understanding things that others don't understand until a much later age, if at all.

It takes a long time, through experimentation and application of the principles, to fully grasp the true meaning of certain things.  Do we understand that we are pure and perfect just as we are, that we never made a mistake or a wrong decision, that it was karma and had to happen as it did?  Do we understand there is no way to make a mistake or do the wrong thing?  Things can only happen as they are intended to.  

Nothing is random or coincidental.  The details of conscious life are blended together so miraculously, yet we hardly give thought to what Power or Intelligence magically takes care of all the details—as long as we do our part.

Keep doing what you are doing. You really do have a good understanding of subtleties, and you can develop and expand this through the process of the Course, whatever convenient form the Course appears in for you now. Remain attuned to your current lesson, and you'll do just fine.

                                                            *****

You say, '...we do positive thinking intentionality work, getting good effects, yet without wanting to, undermine those efforts when upsetting mindsets get triggered by some events or perceptions. I wonder how permanent roots can be formed that withstand ups and downs...'

In the course we focus on maintaining a single Identity that is indivisible and indestructible.  This Identity, or this inner Self, does not get triggered.  Nothing in the objective world has enough power to trigger it in any way.  In fact, it is already the 'permanent root' that has already been formed, and which very easily withstands ups and downs—in fact, doesn't even notice them.

The trouble is that instead of remaining focused on our true Self, we allow the samskaras (subconscious impressions and tendencies) to be affected by external stimuli and 'triggered' into something completely irrational and unhelpful in any way, if not emotionally negative and draining, often with the additional results of being disrespectful to others.

A large aspect of the Course of Training via email is that we are taught how to live in a nonreactive state, a state of deep equanimity.   As long as we are subject to emotional reactions, we cannot depend on ourselves to be who we are or to even know what we are doing.

Remain steadfast in your true Self.  There's no reason to keep allowing the samskaras to have their way with you forever.  At any time you choose you can put an end to it, and be Master of your own life.

                                                            *****

Your question regarding ‘how to breathe’ is a great question, and yet it is not so simple to answer as it might at first seem. There is so much to understand about correct breathing. For one thing, only if we are consciously breathing are we actually aware of what we are doing in this present moment. If we're breathing unconsciously, chances are the mind is running on prior conditioning, preventing us from actually experiencing the Truth of the Present Moment.

The breath gives us prana, the life-force that enlivens and animates the body. The more consciously we breathe, the more present we are as we breathe, the deeper we breathe, and the slower we breathe, all combine to determine the energetic level of the prana available to us now, perhaps in a way that was not as powerful or as fully available before now.

Conscious life differs for each individual according to the quantity and quality of prana (or Shakti) available to the individual—and what is available to him is exactly how much he can be conscious of or comprehend at any given moment.

Some of us are immediately open and ready. We understand the Truth with equanimity.  We have nothing to cling to, no attachments to limit us or to restrict our freedom; we experience ourselves as an energetic flow, merged with the Whole of All that happens, and all that doesn't happen as well.

The quality and quantity of prana or life-force available to us at any moment depends on our openness to it and our consciousness of it.  If we are truly open and ready, we are willing to leave past concepts behind, and to open up to a reality so expanded and pure that we see why it was impossible to ever bring it into the 'understanding' of the conscious mind.

We breathe in vibrations from the ethers around us that correspond to our own inner consciousness at the time.  If we are cheerful and lighthearted, if we are open to spiritual awakenings in any unpredictable manner at any moment in our life, then we breathe in the vibrations of others around us on a similar vibrational level; we attract to ourselves even more of the positive energy that we were putting out.  We inhale, not in the 'air' as we ordinarily think of it, but in the ethers around us, energies corresponding to our own predominant energies.

In the same way, we exhale into the ethers, into the world and to others around us, vibrational energies corresponding to what we are inwardly feeling and experiencing. If we are feeling good inside, then others around us feel better without even knowing why.

As you can see, there is a lot to explore for those who are sincerely interested.  This is why we need an ongoing, 'alive' Course of Training, as it is a way of connecting into what needs to be done next, and as a way of understanding all this in a way that is obvious and natural.  If what we need to know next is not already intuitively obvious, it soon will be—unless certain rigid or habitual concepts of the mind prevent us from seeing what is obvious.

Thoughts can easily get in the way if we don't understand them in right perspective.  The Course covers everything we need to know regarding this, to help clarify our understanding of our own knowledge and our own practice.

Yes, there is much too much to cover in this space.  This is why we have the lessons, as a guide and companion along this mystical, mysterious, and magical ride on the way to living in the experience of the Truth in each Present Moment.

For more information about the Course of Training written by D.R. Butler, and a free lesson, write: drbutler.course@gmail.com

The Course is also available in Spanish and French.  Please let us know if you prefer the info in one of those languages.