“I’ve heard this all before!”
"In my early youth, when I was just a budding youngster, I tirelessly passed though more reveries about my future life than I could effectively manage. Daily, I would conjure up new ones; shifting ongoing between wanting to be an artist, a writer, a savior of damsels in distress. —At times, I would even dream myself to be a future explorer who would inevitably discover and solve our world’s most distant and exotic mysteries. There were virtually no limits to my imaginings. One particularly strong inspiration that inspired my inner muse more extensively was brought on through the emergence of the early Hong Kong Kung Fu movies. After seeing my first martial arts movie, I was so inspired by the nobility and dancelike movements of the physical art that I became altogether determined to see every movie and read every martial arts magazine or book I could find. Granted, there was little available back then, so my hometown’s especially well supplied public library secretly became one of my most frequent haunts, through which I could order for my reading anything I could find on the subject. As a result, I spent more than my share of free time jumping through the air and spinning and twirling like a top, with legs and arms doggedly targeting imaginary challenges—effectively I was parroting everything I had seen in the movies or might have read about in those grainy cheap handbooks. In my imagination I was doing what I thought all emerging marital artists did. My belief was that if I watched everything and read everything I would eventually “know it all,” and I would emerge victorious, armed with an invincible prowess. A few years later, though still quite young, I happened upon a public Tai Chi and martial arts performance that was being presented at a local park. It was on this unexpected sunny spring morning encounter that a newly arrived teacher had decided to reveal his skills to my small town audience. He did very little himself; instead he tasked a few of his best students with the martial presentation, which they performed devotedly and enthusiastically. I was instantly smitten; so much so, that I thereafter set out to save every cent I could get my hands on so I could take his classes. After all—I had already “seen and read it all;” I was an “expert” in the field, and it would be a perfect place for me to fit right in and do my thing. It didn’t take long; after just a few short lessons I was struck with an undeniable truth; having “seen and read it all” meant very little. Even having watched those students performing in the park now meant nothing more than a fleeting moment of inspiration. —What I had previously imagined to be so very obvious wasn’t at all obvious. There were layers upon layers of hidden knowledge, technique, and experience beneath those early surface impressions. In the summer of 2006, I travelled by invitation to the interior Himalayan Mountains to a remote valley where I met and lived with a highly elusive, reclusive, and mysterious group of Masters, where I was given full exposure to their timeless body of knowledge; knowledge that has long belonged to what is now my own remembered tradition, the Amartya Saura’parampara. I learned a great deal during my time there—delving fully and deeply into every aspect of their wisdom teachings. Much of what I learned there I had heard before, said in some way or another, and much more of what I learned there I had not heard for many lifetimes. As for those things I was familiar with, I was able to travel into the deeper hidden layers of it, which doesn’t fully come to bear until this kind of moment truly avails itself. Which, by the way, requires a truly willing humility to let go of any pre-imagined ideas of what one has previously imagined in the conceived context of “I’ve heard that before.” I travel extensively to various places around the world and frequently offer lectures and seminars involving knowledge that relates directly to the higher and inner realizations and actualizations of our human-to-divine consciousness. In my shorter lectures of two or three hours, I commonly talk of those things that have been said somehow or somewhere before, but am I also careful to always add a few vital bits that have not been said before. So too, as is always true with the best and most valuable knowledge, particularly in such short time segments, the greater face of the knowledge remains somewhat a mystery until the day comes when the listener finds it in him or her to delve more deeply into the true and essential heart of it, through learning the underlying hidden teachings within. On a recent trip to Ireland I was the central speaker for the conscious concert. I’ve rarely had quite the experience that I had in Ireland; meeting so many truly kind hearted people. Everywhere I went I was met with open arms and generous hearts. Especially so, the organizers of the event, and the attending audience were genuinely beautiful, wherein I saw in their eyes the authentic sparkle of that spiritual enthusiasm that is so very vital for the spiritual path. And, there were a few roosters in the audience that came with the hens—so to speak. Where there are a few roosters perched together in one space there’s sure to be a few feathers puffing up to show their colors; colors that say things like, “I’ve heard this before.” In effect, I think the underlying current in what they are saying, in their own rooster-like way, is I have all I need to wake up and live a truly spiritual life. And, there we can agree fully. Everyone has it in them—it’s all there waiting to be discovered. But so too,when I see that, I find myself frequently transported back into that youthful time when I thought I had “heard it all” and mistakenly thought that just hearing or viewing something might be enough. Today, we can find nearly anything we might imagine in books, learn from various teachers, or search for in that endless resource we know as the Internet. A seeker of true knowledge could easily get lost in the shear volume of information. Some might become endless gatherers of information, drinking in virtually anything and everything they can find. Others can easily find themselves walking relentlessly through a labyrinth of successive seminars of every sort in search of the next high that might promise them that final realization. In truth, realizations alone are never enough; they might bring relief or direction, but knowledge requires something more. It requires a genuine joining of realization and actualization! The most essential ingredient on the spiritual path is our ability to hone our receptive humility in listening. The second most important ingredient is our ability to hone our discrimination. And thirdly, be forbearing; learn to walk through the offering until it is finished with you. The path is strewn with bits of truth mixed with false imaginings. There are always more ways to interpret those bits of truth, which have nearly always been said before. Be present with the truth when it shines on you, and be willing to fully delve into its depths, until its secrets have come to life as your natural and effortless expression. My recommendation: Dream on, be that awe-filled child, open your mind and heart to the possible. —But, beware of those all-to-easy-conclusions, and that dreaded pitfall: “I have heard that all before.” Learn to listen again, in innocence. Be patient, and be generously appreciative when someone reminds you of that shine that represents your true and meant reality. Remember this: if you have heard the truth before, but you are not yet fully awake, then you have not yet heard it in the way that it is meant to set you free." |
In my own life I remember 2 situations, where I thought„I have heard it all“. It was never true.
The second time when I thought so, it resulted from a disappointment with the last spiritual books I read, since they couldn´t give me anything that I didn´t already know before.
So I began not to expect finding anything new in a spiritual book or conversation anymore.
I even stopped having spiritual questions, for who would be able to answer them?
I decided, that I will probably not find truth from the outside, but eventually only in myself. This might be true but what I also thought for many years out of this realisation was,
that I do not want to have a spiritual teacher.
That has changed fun-damentally :-) about six years ago,
when I touched the Solar Knowledge through one of Aaravindha´s students.
In that study-group it suddenly happened, that several
missing links fell in my lap.
I surprized myself by asking one question after the other and was even more surprized, when I got them answered... By that time I doubtlessly knew, that something is different in this group, because such a depth in the knowledge I nowhere found before.
Can you imagine what a joy that was?
These experiences fortunately changed my mind
and I started to get interested
in the teacher of my teacher, :-) <3 :-) Aaravindha Himadra :-) <3 :-)
I almost couldn´t wait the new Teacher-Training to start.
Since I met Aaravindha, my life and also myself have changed a lot.
Life feels so much more beautiful and fulfilled,
in (literally) every sense :-)
It´s such a great pleasure to be with Aaravindha and to learn through him.
So many things that „I´ve heard before“ became so much deeper thanks to his insights - and still do become.
One of the things I didn´t know,
when I thought, that „I´ve heard it all“ was, that
a real teacher teaches you in finding the truth in yourself.
And what I´m on the way to find out is,
that a true teacher knows to teach from the inside
- where we are all One.
Thank You so much for that amazing journey!
Love always <3 <3 <3
Natifa
