#34: Can You Hear the Music?

Hi Folks,

Can you hear the music? Recently scientists have discovered that our galaxy is making a sound of some sort.

Mystics have known of this for thousands of years and refer to it as “The music of the spheres.” Perhaps if string theory is proved in physics we will understand that everything is vibrating with everyone.

But we don’t have to prove this in a scientific sense to benefit from the practice of listening deeply.

Nietzsche wrote: “And those who were seen dancing were thought to be insane by those who could not hear the music.” How often do we dance our own dance rather than worrying about if others think we are crazy or not?

This question is important because it has a lot to do with embracing our individuality and our creative possibilities. We can be a cog in the machine or we can dance our own dance.

Kids are not afraid to dance. But somewhere along the road of life we learn to conform and dance to the music of other people rather than our own.

One key to a happy and fulfilling life is to listen deeply and regularly until we hear the music of the spheres and then we will be honoring our uniqueness rather than hiding it out of fear of ridicule.

Many (most?) adults never dance their own dance. But we don’t have to be like them. Instead, we can choose. A key is to recognize that choosing is not a one-time thing, but a daily choice we need to continually make over and over,

It takes a choice to forgive. It takes a choice to let go of the past. It takes a choice to stop worrying about the future. It will take time and practice, but we can learn to dance to the music of the spheres.

That is my wish for you as it is for myself.

Apophat

#33: Change your Consciousness

Hi Folks,

I have been thinking about you all during this time of unrest in the country, misinformation, and all the anxieties brought to light by the pandemic, gun violence and so much else. As a result, more people than ever have been seeking help for mental health issues

How can philosophy help? One way is to help us keep perspective. One way I do that is to think about the great people who have come before us. For example, Martin Luther King: “Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only light can do that. Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that.”

These quotes I have been sending out in these letter and in my essays in the modules can be memorized. When we memorize important phrases, this can help us in at least a couple of ways. For one, during the time we are memorizing we can’t be focused on negativity.

Second, we have proven now in neuroscience that the brain can be changed, “rewired” so that we stop dwelling on the negative and instead focus on what we can do. While we should all help in one way or another the fight for a more compassionate world, the main thing we can do is change our thinking, change our consciousness.

The Scottish historian and philosopher Thomas Carlye wrote: “Love is ever the beginning of knowledge as fire is of light.”

Yes, it is as simple and complex as that. Love is the answer. But a question remains, how do we learn to love, forgive and find compassion? We need mentors that we can look up to. We can find people who have a “finer vibration,” and hang out with them.

The greatest way, I think, is to meditate and do other “inner exercises.” I believe that the reminder that philosophy provides is the reminder to remember how little we know. When we do this it reduces the amount of time we think and act from a place of certainty. We judge ourselves and others less and with more compassion because we are never sure what it is like for other people or why they do the things they do.

Change your consciousness. Not only will this help the world, it will help you become the change we need. In other words, the greatest good you can do is to become a being that vibrates to a level that impacts all of those around us.

“You see persons and things not as they are but as you are.” I don’t know who wrote or said that, but it means a lot to me.

To Wisdom!

Apophat

#32: Compassion

Hi Folks

The Buddha taught: “Radiate boundless love towards the entire world.”

Have you ever thought about the difference between looking and seeing? It is the same difference as hearing and listening.

For example, you might read a page or more only to realize that you have no idea what you just read because you drifted off. I think the same thing happens when we look but do not see.

My mentor once told me that if you really see someone, you cannot be mean to them. When you really see, rather than look, you see that everyone is suffering in one way or another. This insight can be the beginning of a new understanding of compassion, one of the qualities we desperately need in our country and in our world today.

While philosophy is the search for wisdom it also brings with it a deep opening to compassion. Wisdom and compassion are just two sides of the same coin.

One way to cultivate compassion is to train ourselves to see rather than just look. When I only look, I only see exteriors. But when I see, I can spot the interior beauty that shines within most, if not all, people.

We rarely see unintentionally. In other words, we have to try to see. This takes effort and intention. This is very difficult for people, which is why we need practices that help us.

It helps to start with seeing the beauty of nature, then maybe a pet, then someone you love deeply. Eventually you work to see your “enemies,” the people you dislike or even harmed you. In Buddhism, this is called the lovingkindness meditation. If you look it up, you will find guidance on how to do this.

I learned it from Pema Chodron (highly recommended), but there are other teachers as well.

We know we have to practice sports or piano or surfing. Almost anything we do needs practice. Why not compassion?

When we see the suffering in this world we also see that we need the qualities of love — wisdom and compassion — to make the many needed changes in how we interact with other people and nature as well.

Voltaire wrote: “The discovery of what is true and the practice of that which is good are the two most important aims of philosophy.” Notice the word “practice.”

My hope is that you will not simply learn about philosophy, but that you will commit your life to awakening, where we see and listen rather than look and hear.

To Compassion!

Apophat