*Lost Coin Development* : Class Notes 3/20/2007

*Administrative*

Retreat

:         We'll try for April 28th

:         Shoken : Making the teacher/student relationship formal.  Commitment on both sides.  If you've already done it, please do it again.

Permanent Group

   - 20 permanent members, 5 floating.
   - 20 will be divided into smaller groups of 5
   - Meet w/ Daniel at his place in smaller groups.  Help develop a sense of progress.
   - Daniel w/ work with & train a couple of students to facilitate their own groups teaching the basics.  "Nothing teaches you the basics like teaching the basics".

Tuition

   - Daniel would like full year payment rather than quarterly.
   - If you pay 1 year up front 5% off + 1 retreat.
   - If financially can't commit, please send email to Daniel saying you can't manage it but are doing it in your hearts.
   - Exchange of money is clean & straight.  Fundraising, donations, etc are more complicated w/ side effects of guilt, power and other weird stuff.

Formal Talks

   - Everyone is welcome to come to the Zen Center on Monday evenings.

*Class Discussion : Intentional Suffering*

   - Shaolin : Hardest martial arts and Buddhist monastery.  Bodhidarma came from India and taught at Shaolin monastery in China.  Spawned both Zen & Kung Fu.  Monks defended those that couldn't defend themselves.  Very hard to finish the training.

   - The desire to do this kind of training is Intentional Suffering

   - Daniel trained in Aikido, Kung Fu, and Zen.  Zen was harder physically.  Daniel had a natural desire for this kind of training.

   - The Fourth Way discusses "The Way of the Fakir", to suffer w/ body intentionally.  Our training at Lost Coin Development is actually harder.  It's more elusive than physical suffering.

   - To objectively observe self and see negativity is difficult.  The minute you start to see it, you trick yourself out of observing it.

   - Which "I's" are capable of Intentional Suffering?  Map the I's or groups of I's (complexes).**

   - Do Intentional Suffering of staying awake in class.  Straight    posture helps.**

   - The "I" that is more objective has a goal to wake up & will do what    it takes to wake up.

   - Almaas's book : Truth & Compassion.  The one that has the goal to    wakeup automatically becomes compassion.

   - The Obective "I" takes effort. Struggling to be awake is a small    suffering.

   - Indulgent "I's" are mechanical & require no effort.

*Buffer*

:         When a salesman says "To be honest w/ you", it means he's not used to be honest and it strikes him as exceptional to be honest.

:         Buffer doesn't let the "I's" bump into each other

:         If you walk around thinking "I am a kind person" all the time, you have a buffer between that & all the times that you're not nice.

*Group Work*

   - In small groups, one person is active, the others reflect the "I" that they are observing in the active person.  Just reflect the I, not the whole person.

   - See the person as a series of I's.  Your job is to help them identify the "I's"

   - When reflecting, what kind of feelings did you have in your body.

   - Observe how person is host to different "I's".  Address observations to "I's" not whole person.

   - Describe the "I" that was speaking as you see it.

   - Get used to look at things in terms of "I's"

   - In permanent groups look for the repetitive "I's"

   - Don't withhold truth behind trying to be too polite.  Be honest but not rude.

   - Do exercise in spirit of learning and growing.

   - Look for Consistency : If everytime you find yourself say something    different than everyone else, you are probably projecting.

   - This is an exercise in mechanics.  The more objective we are to our    machine, the less we're a slave to it.

   - Body reaction is emotions.  Certain "I's" have physical sensations.

   - Exercises will reveal "I's" most mechanical, most dominant.  It's    not bad, just  taking over the show & you didn't elect them.  Exercises gives opportunity to elect the best "I" to lead the show.

   - As soon as you see the mechanical "leader", you will have more    control immediately.

   - The mechanical "leader" I takes you around the same circle over and    over.

*Follow Up Discussion*

   - Which "I's" are most involved in  Inner Considering.  It's the fear-related "I's".  It covers the essence.

   - When you enter a system, it's so easy to forget why you came in.  To work on self.

   - 1st law of all spiritual developmental growth is you work on self.

   - The historical Buddha set under a tree to look at self.  Not to look at the tree or the people passing by, but at himself.

   - It's OK to be supportive and caring to others, be the real work is on yourself, not others.

   - In Fourth Way definition: Good = Awake.  Bad = Asleep.

   - When you wake up you tend to develop more non-mechanical "Is", which tend to be more wholesome than the mechanical ones.

   - Exercise: Learn to feel things in body.  Think of something that makes you nervous, anxious.  *Fear is nothing more than physical reactions accompanied by a couple thoughts.*

   - Daniel wants us to get this integration of system:
      * Any emotions you have is physical sensations & accompanying thoughts.  Waking up is removing physical sensation & accompanying thoughts.*

   - If you hate everybody but love one person, that's not love, that's picking sides.

   - Rare for relationships to last 30-40 years happily.

   - More conscious relationship have the choice to retain some of the initial Romantic Chemistry & build a close and intimate relationship.
