The Ishaya Foundation Newsletter - January 2008 Memory Imagine a person that has lost his memory. All of his past and his identity is wiped out and nothing is left. How difficult is it to function in this world in a meaningful way without memory? Now take this situation and put all of humanity into that same position. Humanity, that has forgotten the truth of what we are, is trying to manage a world to the best of what the 5-10 % level of the mind can handle. It is like a king who is wandering around in rags through the alleyways thinking that he has nothing and nowhere to go. Waking up from this state of deep amnesia is what awakening is all about. It is simply bringing back the full awareness of the truth of what is. It is simply replacing the erroneous thoughts and beliefs about reality with those that are Reality. The Ascension Attitudes are keys to perfect memory. The Ascension Attitudes are reminders and statements of the Absolute. Even if our memory of the true nature of our self is corrupted and dysfunctional in the waking state we now have a tool that will effortlessly takes us back to that truth. And even if we don’t fully experience that right away we are nevertheless returning to a level of consciousness that can appreciate the true reality and expand more deeply into it at any time we choose to Ascend. Once we remember the way to pure consciousness then all we need to do is to remember to use that way and go there. By simply remembering to think the Ascension Attitudes the natural flow of expansion will follow. And with regular practice the perfect memory of our true nature, the Ascendant One, becomes established. No experience or thought or feeling can shadow That when our memory is functioning in the way that it was designed to function. Experiences are experienced to their full value and nothing is forgotten. Perfect memory allows us to see the reality in each moment. Not as we project from the past experiences but as it is truly now. Nataraja Ishaya Pada I Sutra 11 Memory is the absence of loss of the experience of the objects. Objects are rarely experienced exactly as they are. Previous impressions of experience collide with current sensory data to distort or color all images. The mind’s natural function, to experience clearly and remember perfectly, is obscured when the nervous system is stressed. The experience will be improperly stored if it is not clearly cognized. This is the typical experience of the Waking State -- partial or complete loss of the experience almost immediately. The less is lost, the more is remembered. Patanjali writes this sutra in the negative (absence of loss) to imply that memory is the natural state of the mind when it is functioning properly. When the experiences are not lost, memory is automatic. This means that when stress does not cloud the nervous system, eidetic memory is the normal state of human life. Flawless memory is our birthright; anything less is not using the machinery as it was designed. “Loss”, pramosah, can also be rendered “theft” or “stealing away.” Our experiences are stolen away; the memory fails. Who or what steals away the experience? Stress is the physical answer; conditioned responses, beliefs and judgments are the mental answers. The nervous system is trained to eliminate experience. The vast majority of sensory and mental input is filtered out before it reaches the conscious mind by the Hypothalamus and the Reticular Activating system in the brain stem. This of course serves a useful purpose -- it keeps the mind from being overwhelmed by excessive data -- but it also has the unfortunate effect of keeping the mind locked away from knowing anything as it truly is, right now. And this keeps the boundaries of the Waking State firmly in place. MSI, Enlightenment! This is going to be a monthly column dedicated to different ways that we can further the practice of Ascension in our daily life. These are simple guidelines and applying them will help you to get more out of your Ascending. The commitment in the form of time given to the practice of Ascension is essential. This is basic common sense in the mastery of any art: the more you give to it, the more you get out of it. A deeper experience and appreciation of Ascension follows quickly as the habit of Ascension is grounded in the daily life. We suggest in the beginning that it is good to commit to the practice for at least six weeks before making a decision whether to continue with it or not. That is because Ascension is a very subtle practice. For some people the benefits of it are obvious right away but for some it may take a while to really notice them. Commitment is everything! Pada I Sutra 20 Ordinarily, stabilizing the intellect in Ascendant consciousness is preceded by faith, effort and memory. …Having developed sufficient faith to believe it is possible to erase the old internal programs (which is exactly enough faith to inspire one to take the effort to rearrange the schedule for a few short breaks in the day), the only other requirement for developing the level of the intellect that can maintain Ascendant Consciousness is memory. Memory is the best movement of the mind, for it is the only one that has the capability of clearly reflecting the Reality of the Ascendant. If one moves effortlessly to the Ascendant even once, and perfectly remembers the path, one can again move there effortlessly at will. Further, if one clearly remembers exactly what the experience of Ascendant Consciousness is, one is but a hair’s breadth removed from Perpetual Consciousness. The crystalline structure of consciousness being perfectly clear, the Infinite light of the Supreme reflects flawlessly in it. None of this is complicated or difficult. Faith in progress is naturally and inevitably reinforced as one begins to experience growth as a result of correctly practiced Ascension. The desire to find time to Ascend naturally develops as one experiences more and more clearly the marvelous improvements in health, happiness, and every area of human life as a result of Ascending. And memory naturally blossoms and becomes flawless as repeated experience of the Ascendant dissolves more and more of the limiting stresses from the central nervous system, thereby opening an ever-broader and clearer channel to the full and permanent experience of the Ascendant Consciousness. MSI, Enlightenment! The Way to Remember God Remember what was said about the frightening perceptions of little children, which terrify them because they do not understand them. If they ask for enlightenment and accept it, their fears vanish. But if they hide their nightmares they will keep them. It is easy to help an uncertain child, for he recognizes that he does not understand what his perceptions mean. Yet you believe that you understand yours. Little child, you are hiding your head under the cover of the heavy blankets you have laid upon yourself. You are hiding your nightmares in the darkness of your own false certainty, and refusing to open your eyes and look at them. A Course In Miracles Retreats 2008 A retreat is a wonderful way to grow into full appreciation of the depth and power of Ascension. The greatest value of Ascension comes from closing the eyes and taking it inward. This builds the platform where Praise and Gratitude and Love literally can become the ground that you stand on. Everything begins within your own self. The healing of the world happens from within your own self. What does it take to connect more deeply with the truth inside of you? It does take some time and practice mostly because of our old habits and stresses in our nervous systems. But even with those it is remarkable how quickly consciousness moves beyond all of it -- in an instant of using an Ascension Attitude. Imagine giving all of your time and attention whole heartedly to that inward process for a longer period of time? Taking the time of 10-17 days on a retreat is an absolute treat for the mind and the body. Consider it a wise investment in the vehicle that has been given to you for this earth adventure. Why settle for using only 5-10% of what is available? http://www.theishayatradition.com/retreats.html What's New! The Ishaya Foundation website is bursting with new activity. It is well worth taking a tour and seeing what is new. You can now register and pay online for courses and retreats. http://www.theishayafoundation.org/signupinfo.html All the books by MSI are available in the bookstore and the ebooks you can download for free at any time. Notice that there is also Ascension book audio on this page. Our Christ picture that some people have asked for can also be bought from the book store. Go and have a look! http://devabookstore.org You can listen to recent radio interviews on this page on Ascension. The Teaching is alive and on air. http://www.theishayafoundation.org/radio.html The course schedule page is also teeming with different events. Check in and invite your friends to come to the free intros in your area. And remember that it is good to audit First Sphere courses often. http://www.theishayafoundation.org/courses.html Our Websites The Ishaya Foundation http://www.theishayafoundation.org Hong Kong website http://www.theishayafoundation.asia European website http://www.theishayafoundation.eu ------------------------------------------------- This is the 31st edition of the Ishaya Foundation newsletter. If you wish to unsubscribe please email mailinglist@theishayafoundation.org. To contact us, please email contact@theishayafoundation.org or phone 1-888-ISHAYA1