[MD] dharma, the way, zazen, path, the morning fog, etc...

[Heather Perella]

Hello Kevin,

     Kevin said:  "Same here...but different...maybe. 
Let me know what you think.  I believe the spirit of
God dwells in everyone and that we are separate
persons.  I am not God and God is not me in the same
way that you and I are not each other.  But through
our communications (these email messages to MD) we can
maintain a relationship.  It's through the
relationship that we learn about each other.  It's
through our interactions that we find meaning in one
another and in ourselves.  In this same way I maintain
a relationship with the God that is within
me, which is the same God that transcends me; the
source of all creation.  And it takes effort."

     Yes, I can see this in my life as well.  We can
be tied together with G-d or anything as diverse as a
tree, and still hold our individuality.  I'm not going
to get into the static quality of how this is
possible, because I find to much quality in this kind
of experience to include SQ alone.  DQ is definitely
together with these kinds of relationships, because
these kinds of deep relationships are more than mere
thought or identifying something.  These relationships
are the actions themselves.

     Kevin said:  "Which is to say it takes faith and
love and prayer.  And this is a challenge because
anything that takes effort has to deal with the ego."

     Ok, I see we are moving beyond just SQ (the
identities of quality) into DQ [because of the actions
themselves (beyond just identifying)].  And I note the
challenge of such efforts.  

     Kevin said:  "Fifty-one years of life has taught
me that my ego is only concerned with itself.  It
could care less about you or God or relationships or
anything or anyone else.  But it's a part of me, a big
part.  And I have come to love it.  I just don't let
it occupy the driver's seat so often; an effort that
is mostly about letting go, the toughest thing you'll
never do."

     What is ego?  That is a difficult question.  I
don't know if we could merely point at it, like I
could point at my finger and say there's my finger. 
Ego seems to be what Pirsig called static latching. 
This is when we hold onto certain static qualities
that no longer are valuable, and might be hurting more
than helping.  I looked for this term in Lila and
couldn't find it, but I know he talked about it.  Yet,
from what I remember static latching has to do with
not allowing the DQ in ones life.  Life becomes
stagnant and paralyzed.

     Kevin said:  "What brought me up short Monday
night was a confluence of thoughts and feelings that
helped me see in a very real way that my entire life
is prayer.  I've understood this for some time.  But
Monday night it really hit home.  So I needed to step
back and reflect on this.  It occurs to me that my
participation in this forum may be more mere dancing
around the edges than really getting at the heart of
what's important.  And that bothers me because what's
important to me is people and life, not what I think
about people and life."

     Yes, people and life, not what we think about
people and life.  This is why I think trying to think
and talk about something.  To try to put life into
words and have a theory about life put into some neat
little package of thoughts.  To be able to do such a
task is impossible.

Thanks,
SA



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