Ancient Wisdom New Spirit-Investigations into the Nature of "Being"

by Peter Ralston

1994

Description

Although preceding Peter Ralston's two popular books on the topic The Book of Not Knowing and Pursuing Consciousness, this book is adapted from audio recordings of consciousness work being done "live" with Peter. It is a collection of a series of talks and lively dialogues with students exploring the nature of Ralston's unique communications.

Library's review

True innovators are, by definition, ahead of their time. Therefore, they remain largely unrecognized, except by a few. How many of us wished we had met Bruce Lee, sat in a session with Carl Jung, or walked around Walden Pond with Henry David Thoreau? Too late for that, but not too late to take

notice of Peter Ralston. His creativity, commitment, and clarity shine through his teachings as he articulates higher principles based on direct experience and piercing insight. A superlative martial artist and caring teacher, he has been to the mountaintop and bathed in the underground spring of Being. His insights speak to us all.-Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior

For the last twenty years Peter Ralston has directed workshops and the apprentice program at Chen Hsin in Oakland, California. Skilled in a wide variety of martial arts, he teaches in Europe, at Esalen, and has conducted staff trainings for LIfespring and other human potential organizations. His previous books are Cheng Hsin: Principles of Effortless Power, Cheng Hsin: The Art of Effortless Power, and Reflections of Being.

Contents

Acknowledgments
Preface by Richard Grossinger
Introduction-Gathering the communication
The Cheng Hsin spirit
The cornerstones of the Cheng Hsin endeavor-Honesty; Not-knowing and questioning; Direct and authentic experience; Grounded openness
Current forms in which Cheng Hsin is pursued
The art of faciliation
Listening that makes a difference-
Listening for a new experience
Examples of 'Hearing'
Changing your experience
The nature of 'Experience'
Belief is only hearsay
Is it live or memorex?
Interjecting peerecptive-Mimics into our cognition
Experiencing the models
An insight (Breakthrough) is an experience, but it's only known as a concept
Experiencing a concept
The relation between belief and suffering
Listening for being
The skill of hearing: Merging with the experience
Insight: Get, lose it, get it back
Unformed mind
'Doorways'
An open question
Trapped in an ability
Outisde the stream of humanity
The power of being in your body
Responsibility
Being present
Being in your body
Changing your mind
Feeling-Awareness and the force of life
Feeing is a form of intelignece
Concept isn't experience
Even mind is life force
Developing functional interactive skill
Laying some groundwork
Where to look
It's all about relationship
Relationship (thus effectiveness) is found in an experience of THEM
The 'Before' place
It's only ONE relationship
The power of questinoning
What is the center of the truth?
Questioning
The principles vs. winning
A commitment to mastery
On the nature of communication
The question of communication
Communications vs. being at effect
Long dialogue I
Short dialogues
Long dialogue II
The truth vs. minipulation
Integrity and communication
The communication is not the form
Being and communication
What is enlightenment?
A direct experience isn't an 'Experience'
The context of 'I'
The context of time
The 'Tabloid'
The 'Lollipop talk'
The function of pain
The 'lollipop talk'
Thinking beyond objectificaton-On the formation of 'Mind'
Thought and emotion are distinctions within the same event
How does objective perception determine concept?
Perception without associaton
Perceiving our projections
Creating 'Mind'
The mind as creeatively reproduced mimicry of sensory perception
Mind, self, and survival

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