Hi Faune,
Thanks for the interesting link. The site does seem to be very varied. Some of the content I wasn't so sure about but I did I really like the interview with Sri Ananda Giri. I have never heard of him or the Golden Age Foundation before though - had you? I have always been drawn to the idea of peeling away our ego-based programming as a way of uncovering Truth rather than chasing an ideal or projected concept of what truth/enlightenment might be, which would really amount to more illusion. I recently encountered a Buddhist meditative technique called "neti, neti" which applies that approach to meditating itself. The idea is that you begin meditating with the question "Who am "I"?" Neti (a word which I think is derived from Sanskrit) stands for "not this/not that" and the idea is as you meditate, listening with full awareness for the "answer" to this question, as thoughts/feelings/sensations of any kind appear you calmly identify them as "not me" and turn your attention away from them - accepting them and letting them dissolve into emptiness. By a process of ongoing negation (almost like unpeeling an onion - must be one helluva big onion in my case!!), the idea is that the "real you" or the higher power, that is beyond you, will thereby reveal itself. Have you encountered this technique before? I find it quite challenging at times - particularly as it does really call into question almost every aspect of identity and urges, as you say, to "unlearn" everything we've so far learnt to be and do and think.
It can feel quite isolating too. What I like about what Chunyi Lin says, is that you can put your trust in your "Master"'s guiding energy, whether that be Chunyi himself, or Jesus or Siddartha Gautama or Lao Tzu or simply a sense of unknown powerful presence. I find it heartening that his approach is so open and flexible and reminds us all that there are many paths and many seekers - and many sources of known and unknown support along the way!
best wishes
Ingrid :0)
