Magic Valley -

 RECAP

Thus having seen that”I” am an alien in a beautiful world of beings who are in a state of waking sleep, “I” realize that “I” have an inner urge to mimic that which “I” am around all the time. Since we have gathered to work together for the purpose of maintaining, enhancing and expanding consciousness, we will practice the Art of Being Conscious—ABC’s of the new life. The art includes architecture, which is to understand relationships, the way things are really laid out. This art includes building, to put things together properly. The art includes co-operating and using that which is built. These are the requirements of a craftsman in the ABC’s of awareness, the ART OF BEING CONSCIOUS through Architecture, Building and Co-Operation. Appropriately, this college is planned to provide schooling in the “fine arts”, and the finest art is that of being.

To perfect any art requires practice. We are dealing with an art that involves survival—which is staying  conscious. We can ask those working with “I” to remind me when they see me dropping into the spell of mimicry. We can practice the four ingredients outlined above for six months. We will then meet and discuss the next steps to be taken, if any, at that time. 

The outward work to be done at the college is symbolic of the inner purpose we have of being here. The buildings have been asleep for some time. The outside shows signs of aging. The interior, which is not seen by the passerby, is in a deplorable state of disintegration. As the outer and the inner work of salvation is accomplished, so will the outer and inner work of consciousness proceed. Our purpose is to salvage that which was lost, passing from death to life. No matter what we do here, if we are not being conscious, are efforts and attainments are as the rattling of empty beer cans. 

The first experiment—agape—is known only as inner function. However, the other three, (1) being considerate, (2) being harmless and (3) having an harmonious mood, are essential for the tolerance and endurance of those people among who we dwell. There is a danger of being exposed as the real aliens we are, which will arouse the reaction of hate common to all who have reason to be afraid. In the past, many aliens have failed this test and were executed. The point is—AVOID HEEDLESSNESS.

Magic Valley contd.

 1. AGAPE.

    As in any locality, the ‘natives’ feel very comfortable and secure there because of the depth and strength of their agreements. All of them feel that everything they do is right, proper and/or justified. They can become very upset at any suggestion to the contrary. We may know that other behavior and ideas are right, proper, and or justified, but these ideas would be in serious conflict with the ideas, rules and training of their world. 

Therefore, we are in a particularly favorable place to practice agape at all times, consciously. 

2. CONSIDERATENESS.

    People want to be non-disturbed in their manners, customs, likes, dislikes, beliefs and so forth. They become highly irritated if any of these are threatened. Therefore, since we are Aliens here, one of the things we can experiment doing is to be consciously considerate and to pay attention to their manners and customs. In this experiment, we will be considerate without expecting them to be the same.

3. HARMLESSNESS.

     One of the major preoccupations of the people in the world we are in is the ‘need’ to escape being responsible for ‘I’ in every way. They feel that ‘I’ is a victim of many things, which give them the comfortable illusion, they suggest to ‘I’ and each other that ‘I’ owns aspects of self, occupations and things—instead of being. Since this need to escape responsibility keeps them in a state of conflict, struggle, and resistance, we observe that they are in the process of destroying themselves. We can experiment with observing their need to escape responsibility and be harmless ourselves by not joining them in the deadly game. As we find it necessary to associate  with them, we will remain conscious and not pick up the illusion of fragmentation of the “I”. In other words, we will be wise as serpents, which is to WATCH  EVERYTHING, and to be harmless as a dove, which is to NEITHER AGREE OR DISAGREE — just make cooing sounds.

4. HARMONIOUS MOOD.

    In as much as we arrived in this Alien world poorly equipped  in either ability or any other means to survive, we have found people to be helpful and compassionate to provide for us until we are relatively capable of making some contribution. We do not know the basis of their graciousness, whether it is love, fear, guilt, unconsciousness, or whether they think we are one of them, but there is one thing we can certainly do at all times. that is to contribute to a pleasant, harmonious mood.

Thoughts for the fall 1971 Magic Valley Workshop

BACKGROUND OBSERVATION

Whenever a person disclaims agreement with the ideas, ideals, purposes and leaders of any institution, he becomes an alien to that institution. An institution is something which has been instituted by man according to his purposes, ideas, ideals, and standards. Institutions draw their strength from forces generated by agreement. Through collective agreement about what is good and bad, right and wrong, important and unimportant, the supporters of an institution seek psychological security and safety. To protect and uphold the institution, it's leaders must have police power to punish, banish, extract fines and so forth. Since the unity of their agreement is based upon a belief in their definition of reality, they feel that anyone who does not agree with them still knows what is right but thinks and does wrong anyway. Thus, the basis for the very existence of the institution is anti-agape, which is to think in opposites,  judge everyone and everything as good or bad, feel compelled to want everything changed in accordance with their agreement of reality. In their zeal to help everybody be 'saved' from evil, the institution promises that it can provide special benefits which will protect them from future sorrow and guarantee eternal peace and happiness- later. Through the strength of their common agreement, the members look upon the institution as something more important than the individual. At this point, the institution has become a principality--an entity greater than life.

Some of the more common institutions are those of nations, governments, political parties, churches, businesses, marriages, families, communities, and even schools. When a member of an institution comes in contact with certain ideas about the Real World and begins to experiment with them to see if they describe accurately what he can experience, he will find the anti-agape is merely an illusion and not based upon a fact. He discovers that his confidence in the reality of anti-agape was only through agreement. As soon as he makes such a discovery, he is suddenly alien to the institution and the agreements which he formerly lived by and for. He begins to experience a deep change in his life. He is both dying and being born. He is literally leaving his old world just as a seed dies to the seed world and is born into the plant world, or a pupa dies to the cocoon world and is born into the moth world. He is being born into the real earth world as he dies to the world of the womb, where everyone is trying to regain the non disturbed state. In his dying to the conditioned world of anti agape, he starts to be born into the world of agape, which is conscious understanding and true love. 

Once an individual is alien to his old way of thinking, he cannot stop. He must go further, whether he wishes to or not. He can proceed by forming new beliefs, assumptions and conclusions, but if he does, his life will lead to violence, for he will have something to prove and something to defend. On the other hand, he can proceed slowly by experiments, keeping in motion, accepting difficulties as challenges, stimulated by interest rather than needs. This is the way of a wise man. Therefore, it is possible that we may find it worth while to have four basic experiments. (to be continued)

 

What’s going on here vol 2 no.1

 Attention

It has been observed for some time that one of the valuable keys to a higher level of being is awareness of directing attention. The vast majority of individuals are unaware of the value of directed attention. 

Attention is attracted by a multitude of stimuli; some noise attracts the attention and some Not-I says “That is totally unnecessary” and the emotion of anger arises; a few minutes later a musical melody attracts the attention and the person starts tapping in time to the music; then on the radio a news item attracts the attention by stating that AIDS is epidemic and fear arises. This goes on all day. Never once was the attention consciously devoted to any purpose or idea long enough to actuality anything. 

It has been said that one becomes what one pays continuous attention to. Do you suppose that when one doesn’t pay attention to anything that one becomes nothing?

Let us visualize for a little while the activity of paying attention to thinking and acting, health, wellbeing, enthusiasm, thankfulness, paying attention to the need of of many about us for attention, approval, and appreciation. It takes very little attention to see a need and supply that need. This little exercise of visualization will show possibilities of service few have noticed. 

Now is the time to focus the attention and act upon the little outline above. In a very short time one will experience a higher state of being, expressed in many ways. 

The attention is to be focused outward at all times. Any in-turning of the attention results in an ever lower state of being. The person with total attention on self is what is referred to as psychotic; on the other end of the scale is a person who’s attention is totally turned outward. This person is called anything from a mystic to a super successful person, depending on what outside area the attention is focused on.

This is an experimental that is of great value to pursue. May you experience the joy of it. 

Teaching ideas

 137. Once a decision is made with feeling, it is the rule of attitude-action until recognized and unmade or re evaluated. It is not what happened to us but the decisions that were made about what happened.

138. If we are finding fault we are looking through a misconception. 

139. The awareness owns nothing. It is an a server and reporter ONLY. X renders Not-I’s inoperative, when they are observed and reported. They cease to be conditioning. They cease to operate the body.

140. Putting oneself in a good light could be called lying.

141. All the teaching is in four words:

         Self-knowing, which never ends

         Faith- which never completes

         Grace- which is without end

          Love- which is boundless

142. Every inch of life is the spiritual work.

143. The price of liberty is eternal vigilance. 

144. Are we brave enough to dump all authorities? If we are going to be free individuals we first get rid of authorities. If we have authorities, we will have conflict.

Teaching ideas

 14. We are sowers of seed. What kind of seeds do we sow? Peace? Love? Joy? Our mood, attitude, is our seed. We live in that which we radiate.

20. We cannot control circumstances or how people treat us. We can choose our responses. That is freedom.

21. If we're looking for the ideal, it is impossible for us to be able to make a choice or decision. If we are not looking for the ideal, it is easy.

24. If we let circumstances determine how we feel, we are not in charge of our inner state. When we are responsible we can feel anyway we choose to feel. What (or who) keeps me from feeling good right now?

25. Guilt-fear of being embarrassed. 

27. Goal: Struggling after a predetermined result. Very stressful. Aim: A direction to go.

From various writings

 There is nothing wrong with wanting to be non-disturbed. It’s only when we feel entitled to it.

We don’t need to straighten out anything or anybody. 

We have power when we accept blame.

EXPERIMENT

1. We are aliens here, the people, natives all feel that everything they do is right, proper, and/or justifiable-And get quite upset at any suggestion to the contrary-we may think that we know something different is right, proper, and/or justifiable; but that idea is based on the rules of another world so we practice

                                                              AGAPE

                                               CONSCIOUSLY AT ALL TIMES

2. The people here like to be non-disturbed in their manner, customs, likes, and dislikes, reactions, etc. They get highly irritable at any disturbance of these. Therefore, we being aliens here can do well to be

                                                        CONSCIOUSLY CONSIDERATE          

  AND PAY ATTENTION TO THEIR MANNER AND CUSTOMS.

           BE CONSIDERATE AND NOT EXPECT THEM TO BE.

The beings in this world we find self in have a custom or seemingly “a need” to feel constantly that the Individual is not responsible for I in any way. That “I” am a victim of something. In order to have these (to them) comfortable illusions, they suggest to I and each other, that I owns aspects of self, occupations and things instead of being. Seeing that this destroys these beings we are with, we will BE HARMLESS and not join in that particular game, or by the necessary associations with them and not being conscious, pick up the illusion and be HARMFUL to I, or if “I” have already picked up the custom, STOP.

                                     BE WISE AS A SERPENT, WATCH EVERYTHING, AND HARMLESS AS A DOVE, NEITHER, AGREE OR DISAGREE, JUST MAKE A COOING SOUND.

4. In as much as we arrived in this alien world poorly equipped (to say the least about inability) to survive and found those present to be compassionate enough (from whatever reasons we know not-love, fear or guilt, sound asleep and thought we to be of them, etc.) to provide for us, until now we are relatively capable of making some contribution. One thing I can at least contribute, at all times, is to set a pleasant harmonious mood wherever I am.

                                                                              RECAP

          Having seen that I am an alien in a beautiful world of beings that sleep walk - operate rather mechanically, and feeling the inner urge to mimic that which I am around all the time, some few have gathered to work for the purpose of maintaining, enhancing and expanding consciousness by the art and practice of:

BEING CONSCIOUS 

By being ARCHITECTS and BUILDERS of increased CONSCIOUSNESS.

ABC

The art and craft of being conscious.

We are learning the ABC’s of a new life. We will consciously practice the four possible arts of survival (staying conscious) as outlined above (……..)