Ancient wisdom for transitional times

These are my notes for the talk Heather Mendel and I gave at the Central Coast Book and Author Festival yesterday. We each chose three talking points drawn from our own tradition. My points are are in bold below, followed by aphorisms I used to expand them.

Revising your view of the world

• Consciousness is our very existence; it is our Being. - Mark Dyczkowski
   
    Maya - illusion - to count or measure

Behold the universe in the glory of God and all that lives and moves on earth. Leave the transient; find joy in the Eternal. - Isa Upanishad

Observe constantly that all things take place by change. - Marcus Aurelius

Cosmic Consciousness is the Highest Common in the Cosmos, the Unity that pervades the diversity of the Universe. -GB

Freeing the mind from the fetters of materialism is like untangling a scarf from thorn bush. - GB
   
We have come into this exquisite world to experience ever and ever more deeply our divine courage, freedom and light. - Hafiz
Those who seek security from matter alone can never have any real sense of security. GB

Where the old tracks are lost, new country is revealed with its wonders. -Tagore


Conscious evolution: taking charge of your attention/free will

•  Prioritizing: "Attention is the key." - Ganesh Baba

What we pay attention to grows. - GB

Man now has a mandate to turn a new leaf in life: auto-evolution, the only alternative to auto-extinction.  - GB

Unlike Darwinian evolution this far, the next phase of evolution is conscious. It is up to us whether we continue to evolve or not. - GB

We must lose no time in realizing the gravity of our present predicament as a specific species geared to free will. - GB

Find the One everywhere and in everything and there will be an end to pain and suffering. - Anandamayi Ma

Nowhere to go but the heart - Rumi

Practice: conscious action

•  Acting from a new perspective
•  Walking with feet in two worlds

The hand of human destiny oscillates between unity and diversity, spirit and nature, pure consciousness and action in the world of form. - GB

The words "yoga" and "religion" have the same meaning: the reunion of spirit and matter.   - GB

Posture:
When your back is straight, you look forward instead of down. Both your physical and mental perspective shifts. - GB

Straight back, open heart.  - GB
   
Breath:
The breath connects the world of space and time to the world beyond space and time. - GB

One person breathing slowly and deeply in a stressful situation where others are taking shallow unconscious breaths changes the atmosphere. - GB

Breathe in abundance/gratitude; breathe out surrender.  - EN

Being present/service:
Have no ambition, above all pretend nothing, but be at each instant the utmost that you can be. - GB

I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy. -Tagore

The fight for the survival of the fittest must now be changed to the fight for the survival of the weakest.  - GB

Kindness is the light that dissolves all walls between souls, families, and nations.— Paramahansa Yogananda

Take more time, cover less ground. -Thomas Merton

Put your heart, mind, and soul into even your smallest acts. This is the secret of success. - Swami Sivananda