Love Is All You Need
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:50 AM | Comments (0)
December 26, 2009One More Difference Between Men and Women
Since the beginning of time, pundits, psychologists, and philosophers have been waxing poetic about the differences between men and women.
Many well-researched theories and observations have been postulated -- everything from variations of XY chromosomes to moon cycles to shopping habits.
Though I am not a pundit, psychologist, or philosopher, I would like to take this moment to propose yet another difference between the sexes -- something I've been noticing for years, but never completely understood until this morning's opening of Christmas presents:
1. Men and women wrap presents completely differently.
Presents wrapped by women look really good. The edges are square. The tape is in all the right places. There are no unnecessary wrinkles, crunched up paper, or rips. The presents women wrap could easily be photographed for a catalog or Good Housekeeping centerfold.
Presents wrapped by men are usually a joke. Asymmetrical. Random. Pitifully sophomoric. Like an old pair of sweat pants stuffed into a drawer a little too quickly before the dinner guests arrive.
2. Men and women open presents completely differently.
Women look for the seams and the tape and use their tapered fingers in mysteriously delicate ways so the wrapping can be flawlessly removed, flattened, folded, and used again in the future.
Men are huns. They rip. They tear. They plunder the paper as if it was a small village needing to be taken over immediately.
The remains of the wrapping, no matter how beautifully conceived by the giver, ends up in a balled-up heap of chaos on the floor -- unusable for anything but kindling or throwing at other males across the room.
NEXT WEEK: Nail care
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 03:18 PM | Comments (0)
December 25, 2009MERRY EVERYTHING: Beyond the Story
One of the great benefits of having a living Master, is that you eventually realize how unbelievably tricky the mind is and how it likes to package your experiences in nice, tidy little boxes. While your heart is gleefully understanding the timeless truth, your mind is feverishly trying to make sense of everything.
Experience is then replaced by the story of the experience -- and the story, no matter how captivating or well-told can never be anything more than an approximation of what really happened.
OK. You are forewarned.
What follows are some of my stories -- magical moments I've with Maharaji over the years. If you've seen them before, here they are again. If you haven't seen them before, here they are for the first time. They are not perfectly written, but they DO point to what is perfect -- the timeless moment of love, gratitude, joy, playfulness. breakthrough, and surrender that dwells within each of us, regardless of the stories we tell...
The Reception
So Far Beyond the Blues
A Timeless Moment in Amaroo
Three Questions
The Whisper
The Joy of Heckling
Waiting for Maharaji
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:32 AM | Comments (0)
December 24, 2009Putting the IS Back in Christmas
OK. Maybe there's a hundred presents under your Christmas tree. Maybe there's one. Doesn't matter. Soon you'll be opening them (or it) and making the decision whether or not to open slowly (saving the wrapping paper) or tearing like a maniac. The givers, assuming they're in the room, will be watching you for telltale signs of whether you like what they bought you, and you, aware that you are being watched will be a little too expressive -- in a kind-hearted attempt to calm the fears of your loved ones.
That's the surface stuff.
The real present you'll be receiving is the PRESENT, as in the present moment -- the moment of the world winding down and absolutely nothing else happening except the timeless act of appreciating the fact that YOU ARE LOVED. So, here's to the PRESENT moment. Here's to opening the present moment and discovering all that is contained within. It fits! It doesn't need to be returned! It's what you've always wanted!
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 04:46 PM | Comments (1)
December 22, 2009Real Giving
Every year, about two days before Christmas, I experience something I am not particularly proud of.
Thinking about the gifts I've bought for my wife and kids, I get the feeling that I don't have enough for them. This feeling has almost nothing to do with how many gifts I've bought or how "good" the gifts are. Beyond the quantity and quality of my offerings is the sense that my efforts to express my love for them is lame and doesn't really measure up to how I feel -- and that, somehow, they will be disappointed.
Indeed, there have been some "nights before Christmas" where I've left the cozy warmth of my home to return to the mall, looking for the perfect gift. Ouch! It's humbling to witness this behavior in me. And it's humbling to admit it. But it's also healing.
As a student of Maharaji's, I realize that practicing Knowledge is not about fixing one's flaws or patching up quirks of personality. Nevertheless, practicing Knowledge does provide the kind of perspective that makes it much easier to realize that if I'm feeling enough, then what I have to give others will be enough.
The deep love we feel for others begs to be expressed and yet the mind will never be satisfied with the form of its expression. No poem, no song, no diamond, no ipod, no trip around the world will ever be enough.
In the end, the only thing we really have to give -- is ourselves. And that is plenty.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 07:26 AM | Comments (1)
December 21, 2009HO! HO! HO! Give Everything You Have
Give everything you have, and after you have given, give what's left. After you give what's left, give what remains. After giving that, give the feeling of having given. After giving the feeling of having given, give what you get for having given. Then give again, never stopping, always giving. And should it come to pass that you forget, forgive yourself immediately. Then begin again, giving everything you have, and after you have given, give what's left.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 08:41 PM | Comments (0)
December 18, 2009Lao Tzu On the Ancient Masters
"The ancient masters were subtle,
mysterious, profound, responsive.
The depth of their knowledge
is unfathomable.
Because it is unfathomable,
All we can do is describe their appearance.
Watchful,
like men crossing a winter stream.
Alert, like men aware of danger.
Courteous, like visiting guests.
Yielding, like ice just about to melt.
Simple,
like uncarved blocks of wood.
Hollow, like caves,
Opaque like muddy pools.
Who can wait quietly while the mud settles?
Who can remain still until the moment of action?
Observers of the Tao do not seek fulfillment.
Not seeking fulfillment, they are not swayed by desire for change.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 01:50 AM | Comments (1)
December 17, 2009Absence Makes The Heart Grow Fonder (But So Does Presence)
In my brief experience on planet Earth, I've noticed that one of the results of entering into the Master/Student relationship is the awakening of longing -- the sweet aching of the heart that moves a person towards the very best of what life has to offer.
Longing deepens us. It enlivens us. It engages, expands, and urges us to connect with love -- what the ecstatic poets, since the beginning of time, have referred to as the Divine Beloved.
The paradox? We have everything we need RIGHT NOW and, at the same time, our hearts long for that which is beyond time and space.
Yes, absence makes the heart grow fonder, but so does presence -- especially the presence of one who cares about the heart growing fonder, no matter what it takes.
Of course, it's hard to talk about all of this stuff without sounding like a complete nut job, but so what? The attempt to communicate this divine paradox is one of life's great pleasures.
Ultimately, the form this attempt takes matters far less than the blessing that comes from the effort to communicate it. Water is water whether it's liquid, ice, or gas. And longing is longing whether it's expressed in word, song, or silly putty.
So here's to more longing in 2010 -- not the longing of absence, but the longing of presence (like when you're watching a movie you totally love and while you're watching it are simultaneously looking forward to the next time you can watch it) -- and all of this without disconnecting, for one nanosecond, from the experience of watching it NOW.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 02:49 PM | Comments (0)
December 15, 2009Not All There? Says Who?
Twice in the past two days a curious thing happened to me. In separate conversations with two friends at two different times, I was told that two other, mutual friends of ours were "not all there."
After sharing their assessments, each of my friends looked at me as if expecting some kind of acknowledgment about the brilliance of their comments. None was forthcoming. And WHY it wasn't was because I had a completely different experience of the people they were referring to.
"Not all there" was not a phrase I would use to describe these folks. Yes, they were quirky. Yes, they were different. And yes, their "social skills" left something to be desired. But so what? That didn't make them "not all there" -- just refreshingly unique.
Which one of us is so "there" that we have the right or the wisdom to judge another person's "thereness?" None of us. In fact, some of the most "all there" people I know appear to be the "least there" in the eyes of those whose favorite hobby seems to be judging.
"Just not lest ye be judged."
Oh, and speaking of the "there/not there" paradox, don't forget to buy someone you love my book of poetry for the holidays. Or my book about the "out of the cave" caveman who invented the wheel. Both make great gifts or paperweights. And while you're in the shopping mood, try this. (Remember, no judging!).
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:39 AM | Comments (1)
December 11, 2009There Is No Door
I could tell you that my Master
is the one who opened the door,
but that would be a lie.
There never was a door.
I was never on the other side.
We were always in this together,
he and I.
If you call the realization of this Oneness, the opening of a door,
so be it,
but since I'm in a good mood today,
I'll save you the trouble of
hacking your way
through a love drunk's
excess of metaphors.
There is no door!
Never was, never will be.
The knocking you hear
is only the sound of your own heart beating.
The One for whom it beats has always been with you,
so what's all this monkey business about a door?
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 06:40 AM | Comments (5)
December 10, 2009Happy 52nd Birthday, Maharaji!
Please join me in wishing Maharaji (aka Prem Rawat) a very happy birthday! May all the seeds he's planted bloom into fragrant flowers everywhere. And may YOU, oh reader of this blog, continue to be grateful for all the blessings in your life. Time to celebrate!
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 09:24 PM | Comments (7)
December 07, 2009No Matter What
Sweet expressions of love and appreciation for Maharaji from around the world...
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 10:37 PM | Comments (2)
December 04, 2009TWO WOLVES
One evening an old Cherokee told his grandson about a battle that goes on inside people.
He said, "My son, the battle is between two wolves inside us all.
"One is Evil. It is anger, envy, jealousy, sorrow, regret, greed, arrogance, self-pity, guilt, resentment, inferiority, lies, false pride, superiority, and ego.
"The other is Good. It is joy, peace, love, hope, serenity, humility, kindness, benevolence, empathy, generosity, truth, compassion and faith."
The grandson thought about it for a minute and then asked his grandfather: "Which wolf wins?"
The old Cherokee simply replied, "The one you feed."
(Thanks to Eldad Benary for the link)
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 11:17 AM | Comments (0)
December 02, 2009A Sign of the Times
I've been doing some fascinating research lately on the origins of common objects in our lives -- things we see daily, but often take for granted.
Like the Stop Sign, for example.
Most people think the Stop Sign was created to regulate traffic. Not true.
According to Dr. Ellison Burke of the Global Institute for Cross-Cultural Studies, the origin of the Stop Sign has nothing to do with traffic -- and dates back several thousand years.
Historical references to the Stop Sign have been noted in more than 27 civilizations, most notably Babylonia, Egypt, Mesopotamia, Sumeria, Crete, Rome, and the Han Dynasty.
According to social scientists, each of these civilizations experienced one or more periods of rapid growth now referred to in the literature as "Societal Acceleration Syndrome" -- the way in which daily transactions speed up in proportion to a civilization's escalating Gross National Product.
In other words, speed has become one of the most statistically predicable indicators of a civilization's development and, as I will get to later in this posting, eventual decline.
My research doesn't end here, however.
In each of the above-mentioned civilizations, there have always been a small, but vocal, group of citizens who -- concerned about the quickening pace of daily life -- have warned about this phenomenon.
Indeed, a joint longitudinal study conducted by the American Archeological Institute and the Asian Society for World Growth, has revealed that this "small, but highly committed group of citizens" has made repeated efforts to diffuse their respective society's "escalating addiction to velocity."
In Sumeria, for example, a fringe group of philosophers and poets routinely posted "Styopsian" signs at strategic intersections throughout the country -- not to stop traffic, but to stop unnecessary "mind movement."
Their effort resonated with the citizenry and eventually led to the widespread appearance of what modern day sociologists now refer to as "stop signs" -- in urban centers, small villages, cattle crossings, universities, and even cornfields.
One of the most curious facts I've unearthed in my research is this: For the past 2,000 years, Stop Signs, regardless of the country of origin, have always been hexagonal.
Apparently, each side of this iconic 8-sided, cross-cultural symbol of hoped-for stillness, has been imbued with a secret teaching of great import:
1. Slow down
2. Pay attention
3. Look around
4. Pause
5. Look within
6. Breathe deeply
7. Appreciate
8. Move consciously
And so... the next time you see a Stop Sign, you may want to remember that you are in the act of receiving a very ancient message -- one that preceded Starbucks, Twitter, YouTube, MTV, and email by thousands of years.
Next week... the YIELD SIGN.
ED NOTE: It has recently come to my attention that some readers of this blog have questioned my research methods and the veracity of my findings. A quick Google search of "Dr. Ellison Burke" and the "Global Institute for Cross-Cultural Studies," they claim, reveals not a single link. Frankly, I am baffled by their assertions and have assigned five of my brightest research assistants to get to the bottom of this immediately. In the meantime, you may want to contemplate the semi-ancient words of modern day social scientists, Simon and Garfunkel:
"Slow down, you're moving too fast. Ya gotta make the morning last..."
PS: Here's what helps me slow down, pay attention, look around, pause, look within, breathe deeply, appreciate, and move consciously.
Posted by Mitch Ditkoff at 12:56 AM | Comments (2)
