My reading this episode is an excerpt from my book, Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment, where I describe the moments that led up to my enlightenment experience. It occurred as I was reading a transcript of Franklin Merrell-Wolff’s Induction talk, so this reading is a mix of my words and quotes from Merrell-Wolff’s talk. To help with context, I added a few additional quotes from Merrell-Wolff’s “Induction Paper” to those that appeared in the original book.
It is not lost on me that a transcript of a talk that Franklin Merrell-Wolff gave specifically to attempt to induce a spiritual experience in the listener is what ostensibly triggered my awakening. The whole point of my creating the Induction Series is that evidence suggests words that originate from a particular state of being have the power to cause change. We all know this at some level. “He who has ears, let him hear.”
This is podcast # 10 in The Induction Series. The aim of this series is to focus on “inspired” writings, those that carry the “living word.” Franklin Merrell-Wolff called them “mystic writings” and said that “when the ‘Voice of the Silence’ speaks into the relative world, the Meaning lies between the words, as it were, rather than in the direct content of the words themselves.”
Richard Rose said that “If you are interested in looking for Essence, from the point of the Process Observer you can be stimulated only by writings of inspiration rather than reason or direction” and referred students to his poem “Three Books of the Absolute.” While Rose used the term “inspirational,” clearly these are not necessarily inspirational, uplifting writings like one typically finds collected under that banner.
Photo by Kelly Sikkema on Unsplash
If you enjoy The Induction Series, please leave a review on Amazon of my book Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment. There are currently 88 reviews and once we reach 100 reviews that boosts the visibility of the book. You don’t have to purchase the book on Amazon to leave a review, and a few minutes of your time will help others seekers find the book. Just click the link above and leave a few words in a review. Thank you!
If you enjoy the podcast, consider supporting it by purchasing a book, t-shirt, or film at the store.
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Selected Links and Topics from this Episode:
Listen the original audio recording from 1970 of Franklin Merrell-Wolff’s Induction talk.
“And what you do, you can get into an infinite regression. You look at your ego. All right, here am I and all of a sudden it dawns upon you that which is looking at the ego is really the I. So you stick that one out in front. You look at it again, but then you realize it couldn’t be, because here is a something that is observable.” ~ Merrell-Wolff
“I, Shawn, was ever an object, and ever a thing destined to die. It was obvious and undeniable that I was and always would be doomed to die. In the face of that stark realization, I felt my self fading away, but there was no fight. I did not run from death because there was nowhere to run. The runner himself was vanishing, and as that happened something became startlingly clear—the nothingness that I was fading into and had so feared was already inside me.”
This episode’s reading features two dialogues from the book Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi. Covering the period 1935 to 1939, the book is an excellent resource for the teachings of Ramana Maharshi and was a constant companion while I lived in a cabin on Richard Rose’s farm. Ramana Maharshi’s teaching are best not read cover to cover. Instead, read them in small doses and let their spirit move you.
This is podcast # 9 in The Induction Series. The aim of this series is to focus on “inspired” writings, those that carry the “living word.” Franklin Merrell-Wolff called them “mystic writings” and said that “when the ‘Voice of the Silence’ speaks into the relative world, the Meaning lies between the words, as it were, rather than in the direct content of the words themselves.”
Richard Rose said that “If you are interested in looking for Essence, from the point of the Process Observer you can be stimulated only by writings of inspiration rather than reason or direction” and referred students to his poem “Three Books of the Absolute.” While Rose used the term “inspirational,” clearly these are not necessarily inspirational, uplifting writings like one typically finds collected under that banner.
Photo by Sri Ramanasramam
If you enjoy The Induction Series, please leave a review on Amazon of my book Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment. There are currently 67 reviews and once we reach 100 reviews that boosts the visibility of the book. You don’t have to purchase the book on Amazon to leave a review, and a few minutes of your time will help others seekers find the book. Just click the link above and leave a few words in a review. Thank you!
If you enjoy the podcast, consider supporting it by purchasing a book, t-shirt, or film at the store.
QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Selected Links and Topics from this Episode:
“Reality is simply the loss of the ego. Destroy the ego by seeking its identity. Because the ego is no entity it will automatically vanish and Reality will shine forth by itself. This is the direct method.”
“You see, the one who eliminates all the not I cannot eliminate the ‘I.’ To say ‘I am not this’ or ‘I am that’ there must be the ‘I.’ This ‘I’ is only the ego or the ‘I’-thought. After the rising up of the ‘I’-thought, all other thoughts arise. The ‘I’-thought is therefore the root-thought. If the root is pulled out all others are at the same time uprooted. Therefore seek the root ‘I,’ question yourself ‘Who am I?’ find out its source. Then all these will vanish and the pure Self will remain ever.”
This episode’s reading is a selection called “The Basis of Awareness” from Instant Zen, a translation by Thomas Cleary of the writings of zen master Foyan. Foyan was a 12th century Chinese Zen master and is one of the few Zen masters that Cleary felt equal to the great ones of the Golden Age of Zen from the 7th to 10th centuries.
As befitting Zen, this is a very short reading.
This is podcast # 8 in The Induction Series. The aim of this series is to focus on “inspired” writings, those that carry the “living word.” Franklin Merrell-Wolff called them “mystic writings” and said that “when the ‘Voice of the Silence’ speaks into the relative world, the Meaning lies between the words, as it were, rather than in the direct content of the words themselves.”
Richard Rose said that “If you are interested in looking for Essence, from the point of the Process Observer you can be stimulated only by writings of inspiration rather than reason or direction” and referred students to his poem “Three Books of the Absolute.” While Rose used the term “inspirational,” clearly these are not necessarily inspirational, uplifting writings like one typically finds collected under that banner.
Photo by Kunj Parekh on Unsplash
If you enjoy The Induction Series, please leave a review on Amazon of my book Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment. There are currently 63 reviews and once we reach 100 reviews that boosts the visibility of the book. You don’t have to purchase the book on Amazon to leave a review, and a few minutes of your time will help others seekers find the book. Just click the link above and leave a few words in a review. Thank you!
“When you are looking inward, furthermore, there is no seeing subject. Some people swallow this in one gulp, so their eye of insight opens wide and they immediately arrive at their homeland.” Compare this to Douglas Harding’s work: “All I need to do to see into my Essential Nature is to turn round the arrow of my attention at this very moment and see that I am looking at this word processor out of nothing whatever….”
Not ready to read the book Instant Zen? Try another short writing by Foyan: “Sitting Meditation.”
This episode’s reading is a selection called “To Think of Time” from Walt Whitman’s 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass. Describing the writing as “soaring” may seem cliched, but if you listen and allow the words to work their magic you may feel the expansion and uplifting that Whitman strives to transmit as the covering of self slips from the Self.
Bear in mind, this work with transport you back to the worldview of 1855. I’ve defined a few of the archaic terms in the show notes below and hope you feel Whitman’s call for a greater humanity despite his use of terms which some would judge as “unenlightened” at the least. Don’t miss the feeling underlying his words.
This is podcast # 7 in The Induction Series. The aim of this series is to focus on “inspired” writings, those that carry the “living word.” Franklin Merrell-Wolff called them “mystic writings” and said that “when the ‘Voice of the Silence’ speaks into the relative world, the Meaning lies between the words, as it were, rather than in the direct content of the words themselves.”
Richard Rose said that “If you are interested in looking for Essence, from the point of the Process Observer you can be stimulated only by writings of inspiration rather than reason or direction” and referred students to his poem “Three Books of the Absolute.” While Rose used the term “inspirational,” clearly these are not necessarily inspirational, uplifting writings like one typically finds collected under that banner.
Photo by Kunj Parekh on Unsplash
If you enjoy The Induction Series, please leave a review on Amazon of my book Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment. There are currently 57 reviews and once we reach 100 reviews that boosts the visibility of the book. You don’t have to purchase the book on Amazon to leave a review, and a few minutes of your time will help others seekers find the book. Just click the link above and leave a few words in a review. Thank you!
I have a beautiful hardcover copy of Whitman’s 1855 edition of Leaves of Grass, so was disappointed to find none on Amazon. There is one quality paperback version, however.
This episode’s reading is a short excerpt of spiritual poetry from the TAT Foundation publication Beyond Mind, Beyond Death. It’s the first volume published by the TAT Press, and I consider it a “desert island” book–one you return to again and again for insight and inspiration. The reading opens with “Just Look” by J.C. Its final line, “Drop all else and come to Me” is particularly poignant considering this seeker passed away several years ago. The poem reveals the frustrations of a person not knowing where to turn, but also the inner knowing that speaks to all, offering guidance. “The Other Side” by Bob Cergol clearly originates from the Silence, illustrating the position of both seeker and that which is sought, but this time definitively stating that “in that nothing is your Being/And in that Being– everything.”
This is podcast # 6 in The Induction Series. The aim of this series is to focus on “inspired” writings, those that carry the “living word.” Franklin Merrell-Wolff called them “mystic writings” and said that “when the ‘Voice of the Silence’ speaks into the relative world, the Meaning lies between the words, as it were, rather than in the direct content of the words themselves.”
Richard Rose said that “If you are interested in looking for Essence, from the point of the Process Observer you can be stimulated only by writings of inspiration rather than reason or direction” and referred students to his poem “Three Books of the Absolute.” While Rose used the term “inspirational,” clearly these are not necessarily inspirational, uplifting writings like one typically finds collected under that banner.
Photo by Benjamin Davies on Unsplash
If you enjoy The Induction Series, please leave a review on Amazon of my book Subtraction: The Simple Math of Enlightenment. There are currently 54 reviews and once we reach 100 reviews that boosts the visibility of the book. You don’t have to purchase the book on Amazon to leave a review, and a few minutes of your time will help others seekers find the book. Just click the link above and leave a few words in a review. Thank you!
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QUESTION(S) OF THE DAY: What was your favorite quote or lesson from this episode? Please let me know in the comments.
Selected Links and Topics from this Episode:
“your true heart e’er knows the way –/Just find and follow its golden ray”
“Look, just Look/Look and See”
“What shape was made with flesh and bone/That made this form your form alone?”
“From the other side there comes the call/’Your self is here, not there at all.'”
A comment from Bob Cergol about the poem: “The idea was to paint a picture of how the ‘I’ arises out of experience and loses its connection with the Source and then re-finds itself. When and how did your sense of ‘I’ first appear? What was the first sound that awakend ‘I’ in you and closed your ear to the Silent Source? What sight first cemented you in this vision of reality that blinded you to the True Light?”
