Monday, July 31, 2006

Dispelling Our Illusion
By Don Iannone

Listen to yourself.
Not just the words
...but also the images
...rising and falling
in your mind.
They seem as many
...but not so.
There is only one.
You are that.
I am that.
Don't torment yourself
with meaningless riddles
...about this and that.
Rid yourself
...of anything that appears
...as more or less than one
...for it is illusion.
All notions of separateness
...whether labeled as good or bad
...do nothing but feed the ego self
...which is self-perpetuating
...and feeds on its creations
...including all others it births.
Move beyond your pain
...whatever your angst
...by realizing you are its creator
...and as such can end it
...by releasing all thoughts of self
...and resting in peace
...in your own emptiness.
For there
...and only there
...the boundary between peace and yourself ends.

15 comments:

Dan said...

All beings thank you for this masterful teaching, Master Don.

The password for this comment:
omwwx

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

And to you Dan...thank you and I bow.

Margie said...

Amazing Don!
Words of wisdom!
Thank you!

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Margie...thanks. Glad you liked it.

Darius said...

Well said. At the same time, I find that the experience of intractable and steadily increasing pain that is physical - resulting from progressive nerve, muscle, bone, and connective tissue damage, and not a form of angst - poses unique and thankfully bizarre and unusual challenges that few people have to try to get their minds/spirits around!

Still, I find the direction you point in - of ceasing to identify primarily with the egoistic self - is the only way to go. Yet I do find it much tougher when the thing that pulls you back into yourself isn't stray or self destructive thoughts, but a painful bodily progression. So far I've found it harder to put distance between myself and my body in this circumstance than between myself and my ego.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Darius...thanks for your note. My heart goes out to you and all those who suffer such terrible things. What you said about the direction I was pointing to is dead on. That's exactly what I had in mind. Wishing you healing blessings.

polona said...

words of wisdom indeed!
don, you're so prolific i can hardly keep up with you :)

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thanks Polona. Just trying to keep up with You.

Thanks Leif. Appreciate you stopping by.

Pat Paulk said...

Emptiness can be a peace in itself. Very good!!

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thanks for stopping by Pat, and yes emptiness, contrary to popular belief, isn't a bad thing. Too often we fill ourselves to the brim with everything imaginable, only to discover that these things do not bring peace. Moreover, our emptiness is our true nature. Empty but filled with possibilities.

CE said...

Wisdom in a nutshell. Another great teaching!

dumbdodi said...

How true, we are creators of our own pain and angst. The whole poem is a lesson or should I say a crash course about LIFE

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thanks Imemine and Dumbdodi. Dumbdodi...you've been enrolled in this course for xx years and guess what you are passing with flying colors.

Linda Jones Malonson said...

Still, there are those of us who love roller coasters, even if they do scare the hell out of us.

Don Iannone, D.Div., Ph.D. said...

Thanks Amias. Life has its ups and downs for all, and the mind constantly rises and falls with thoughts and feelings. So from that standpoint the mind and mental experience is a roller coaster.

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