Conversations With Chris Bernard

I followed the link at the end of the traier and r...

2012-03-11T12:03:10.928-07:00

I followed the link at the end of the traier and rented the movie.

I'm glad I did. Thanks.

Yes that the common trend most parents do presuriz...

2012-01-30T02:22:18.373-08:00

Yes that the common trend most parents do presurize their children. Proper guidance is necessary.

Very interesting, even to one who has been interes...

2011-05-05T14:05:21.605-07:00

Very interesting, even to one who has been interested in this sort of thing for some time. Thanks for the videos!

Dan you were speaking about living in the moment a...

2011-02-22T03:40:02.224-08:00

Dan you were speaking about living in the moment and asked: "Does this mean that we should not plan for the future, or have goals that cannot be realized immediately? Can living in the moment and planning for the future find a balance?"

As Ekarte Tole said, "the moment is all we have, might as well make friends with it". So while I am in this moment, I know that its

(cont.) She and I had gone over this earlier while...

2011-02-15T03:39:35.135-08:00

(cont.)
She and I had gone over this earlier while I was putting chemicals in the pool and I was tickled at the way she approached it again.

She took in a deep sigh and said, “How did you know I was talking about that”? I said, “I know.”

I told her you have to appreciate what you have when you have it or it is just like not having it at all. I asked her, “Do you

I have enjoyed reading this topic immensly. Dan, I...

2011-02-15T03:38:20.026-08:00

I have enjoyed reading this topic immensly. Dan, I will address a question you asked, "Can living in the moment and planning for the future find a balance?" and I will do it with a story I wrote for a blog a few years ago. It was an eye opening experience for me and one that I remind myself of often when my world seems out of balance.

Spring Story

Isn’

When individuality and unity are not integrated, t...

2011-02-11T03:19:29.822-08:00

When individuality and unity are not integrated, there is authority separate from us and karma (cause and effect.) The paradox of integrated individuality and unity is that not only are we individuals, digging in our gardens now, but everyone that is living, ever will and ever has in all time and in unity. We move from one to the other through "awakened imagination," or our capacity

The biblical story of Abraham and Issac as always ...

2011-02-11T03:19:00.741-08:00

The biblical story of Abraham and Issac as always seemed to me to be an example of blind faith for the secular of us and trusting in God for the faithful. I do see the point of relinquishing all preconceptions to follow the divine in the moment as reflected in the story.

Yet there is something that makes me wonder if we become more true to ourselves when we are free to question

Freedom is a continuous dance between the past and...

2011-02-06T16:28:29.426-08:00

Freedom is a continuous dance between the past and the future, taking place in the now.

It is an essential part of what we are and yet it can be curtailed in so many ways, by situations, by ourselves, our histories, our fears, our pain.

But we can always rise above them and experience that freedom which is always there (because it is part of us) as the people of Egypt have

I don't see your post as a departure from the ...

2011-02-06T03:29:35.751-08:00

I don't see your post as a departure from the intent of my post, Mark, and appreciate your remarks. Observations about our constructs of time are important, as they shape our lives and experience. "Possibility, which may appear to some as Impossibility, divines a great appreciation of Freedom" This is an important statement to me Darsh, as it includes the divine in possibility

I also believe engaging with Possibility, which ma...

2011-02-06T03:29:06.066-08:00

I also believe engaging with Possibility, which may appear to some as Impossibility, divines a great appreciation of Freedom. It conceives the Hope wherewithout We could not live possibly. I enjoy you have posted something interesting actually.

I appreciate your observations. Time measurement ...

2011-02-06T03:28:30.829-08:00

I appreciate your observations. Time measurement is an artificial construct of thought as you say, but I would not go so far as to become an idealist w/ the idea & deny it's impact on sentient beings. The impermanence of the physical world demonstrates this. As Jacob Needleman said, 'time management is self management.' We have all the time in the world- but to me the question

Time impies a past, present, future. But time is ...

2011-02-06T03:27:43.831-08:00

Time impies a past, present, future. But time is only an idea, it is only a thought - a concept. The past and future don't exist. So, does freedom, psychologically speaking, could mean to be free of the idea of time - right? And if we are free of idea-making (thought), then we stand a pretty good chance of being here in the immediate moment - no? If we're not free, we cannot be

It seems like common sense to fully embrace each m...

2011-02-06T03:27:16.612-08:00

It seems like common sense to fully embrace each moment, to be, act, think, feel all from now; to do anything else is to waste a great deal of our lives. And yet it is precisely that state of being which most of us have such a hard time attaining.

Our circumstances are the result of many complex processes, but if one believes in karma then it all comes down to oneself anyhow. There is

The freedom from something is not true freedom. Th...

2011-02-03T02:43:53.914-08:00

The freedom from something is not true freedom.
The freedom to do anything you want to do is also not the freedom I am talking about.
My vision of freedom is to be yourself.
It is not a question of getting freedom from something. That freedom will not be freedom, because it is still given to you; there is a cause to it. The thing that you were feeling dependent on is still there in

Freedom comes only through knowing the answer to &...

2011-02-03T02:43:22.096-08:00

Freedom comes only through knowing the answer to "who am I?" No faith, proclamations, documents, laws et al has one iota of impact on finding the answer. The whole key is awareness, the whole answer is simply to Be Here Now.

"Freedom" means freedom from the mind. Then you are simply in a silence, and in that silence you melt, you merge with the whole. And to melt

Perhaps that 'freshness' you speak of comi...

2011-02-03T02:39:59.581-08:00

Perhaps that 'freshness' you speak of coming into the moment/challenge/circumstances or event is within that sentinel event & not within us as such? We bring all our previous experiences/knowledge & understanding to the moment and something wonderful is available to us then. The freshness of the new, coupled with our creative experiences offers immense possibilities for growth

I think your comments are interesting, especially ...

2011-02-03T02:39:06.001-08:00

I think your comments are interesting, especially w/respect to working with the moment, or as I've heard it expressed, 'working with our karmic script'. It seems to me that to the extent that we interrupt the moment with our particular egoic self, we miss the entirety of the karmic event unfolding right in front of us. In the moment is the movement of life and the tasks we are

I think it is possible for us to present ourselves...

2011-02-03T02:37:11.311-08:00

I think it is possible for us to present ourselves completely fresh to each moment and actually live in that possibility instead of being limited by the past. If we come as we are to the moment, then we are bringing all those same thoughts, feelings, relationships, and attitudes right along with us, and they will dictate our present and by doing so, continue to dictate our future present. I

I like this: " But I wonder what it real...

2011-02-03T02:34:19.643-08:00

I like this:

" But I wonder what it really means to participate in life, especially since in my current life stages, I have given up the ideas of goals and long term plans and surrendered, for the most part, to the calling of the moment.

"

I can say similar thing for myself. I can say for the first time in my life, or better to say..., hmm what to

With my bipolar mind and attention span of a dull ...

2011-02-01T20:12:06.082-08:00

With my bipolar mind and attention span of a dull two year old, I got lost from the thought of freedom and the last 2 paragraphs, even though I do see a relationship.

I really liked this article as I personal agenda about freedom and yes, if we are able to see past the sum of our experience's, then it can give us freedom.

How to do this? Purposeful efforts!

I see self image as the picture we have of ourselv...

2011-01-05T03:33:45.213-08:00

I see self image as the picture we have of ourselves, and identity as our self in relation to others, our public image. Of course, the two are dynamic and integral to ego, requiring mental constructs. In my experience, I need to get beyond mind to have a viewpoint in presence. Thoughts and feelings may arise, I notice them, but no mental activity is required for them, no analyzing, identifying

Like Jimi Hendrix said life is but a joke. God is ...

2011-01-05T03:18:59.576-08:00

Like Jimi Hendrix said life is but a joke. God is laughing to a humorless audience. I mean that's it, nothing more to be said yet humans go on commiserating in perpetual misery. There is nothing to get. Nothing to understand. Hard to grasp but perhaps the only truth. Cause and effect. What cause and effect. The Force creates and destroys and nothing we do interferes.

For me, Alija, it was not so much a matter of cont...

2011-01-05T03:17:26.313-08:00

For me, Alija, it was not so much a matter of controlling my mind as giving up control, or moving beyond mind. Letting thoughts come and go, not attaching memories or concepts to them, helps quiet the mind. A quiet mind is not something you can create, it happens with detachment from what goes through mind. Not detachment in an uncaring way, but simple recognition of what comes to mind, and then

Hi Molly, I agree with you very, very much. Nothin...

2011-01-05T03:16:18.172-08:00

Hi Molly,
I agree with you very, very much. Nothing of said is new as you mentioned above.
To live in presence is the ultimate goal, it is the enlightenment. Sometimes I feel the tears down my face reading some articles about living in Now and seeing myself relative to such thoughts.
I am not yet able to control my mind due to my too big desire for too many books I´d like to read