The Clear Sky Theory

I will listen to Dass. My mind is now just like the blue sky; even as I type, many clouds drift above, but I'm focused on one particular cloud. This cloud from the looks of it is definitely irregular. I can't quite figure it out... I hear myself say, "Look for the silver lining!" I didn't see it, so I blinked. Not even a second had passed, but all of a sudden, there were no clouds. Cloudless and clueless, I waited for a cloud to pass, but day turned to night, and the moonlight began to shine bright. The phenomenon felt profound, yet I was restless; there were no clouds, just the moon and the stars.

The Cloudless Night Sky


This was a big change in scenery, but I took a deep breath. The central idea behind the metaphor had remained the same. "Our mind," now, " is like the [night] sky, and [within it] our thoughts" shine bright as stars (Dass, 102). Then, I began focusing on the moon. I felt as if I was stuck on it... I observed the blue Earth. It was covered with many clouds. Truly, there was little blue to be seen at all. Again, I felt trapped. Somewhere between my thoughts and my mind, I was imprisoned within my own space.

Trapped on the Moon!


Right then, a breeze picked up; I realized that I was still on Earth, but I guess I had spent the night on the moon because the night sky was slightly different this time. The stars seemed different, and to my surprise, I was now looking up to only a half moon! Then, a cloud drifted into view and blocked the moon. I felt calm; the cloud had somehow saved me. Then, I realized that tonight the cloud was my thought and the moon was my perception of myself. I realized that if the mind is indeed comparable to the sky then everything we understand is under the lens of the mind's perspective. At times, my thoughts are clouds, and at times, they are stars. Sometimes, I'm on the moon, but with time I change, so my moon must change as well. That is why there was only a half-moon in the sky when I returned to Earth.


The New View (without Rosie)!


Eventually, there will be no moon and that's when I will adapt a new perception of myself, and the moon shall reappear as I develop this new perception to myself. I realize that I'm the "caterpillar pointing up at the butterfly and saying, 'You'll never get me up in one of those things'" (Dass, 103).

Our Skies Are Also Colored



As I continue listening to Dass, I realize that I've begun the process of "letting go" (Dass, 102). I'm disconnected with mind which is the sky, and I am in turn lost within my own self-perception. At times, I'm on the moon, and I see my thoughts as the clouds, but from Earth, I see the stars as my thoughts as well. All this is very confusing, but in order to keep a clear view on the clouds and the stars, the skies must be clear. And, as the blue sky clears, we will undoubtedly be able to view many more stars and even perhaps be able to view other planets. This will help us realize that we are all in one solar system/galaxy/universe. But this will only happen if we have clear skies. Imagine a blue planet from Earth within the range of your vision... If you have a blue sky, you are sure to miss it!

This Is a Clear Sky


That is why we must all clear our skies. It is the only method by which we can truly see each other. We are all spread out in the universe, and we must be able to 'let go,' so that we can all move on together. We must make this leap! Perhaps this is the only way for us to move on from space to hyperspace, by 'letting go.'

Ram Dass & Paul Gorman: "How Can I Help?"

One really shouldn't judge a book by its cover. As I read the title of Dass and Gorman's book How Can I Help?, I thought of it as a ridiculous title. Everybody knows how to help another person, but it's seldom for people to go out of their way to help another. I do it, but after every single person I help, I say to myself, "I can't help them all..." So even after helping someone, I always felt a little guilty and wondered why I even help at all when I can't help them all. Then the question for me wasn't How CAN I Help? but rather how DO I help?


When you need help, you want less talk and more action


As I progressed through the book, I reconsidered my initial thought after reading just eleven pages. The first few chapters of the book were very satisfying to read. Later on when I was walking through the mall, I felt as if everyone could hear what I was thinking because I would imagine a situation when someone needed help and then their need was immediately answered by the closest person; for instance, the Macy's employee dropped her rack of refill clothes, and I pointed at the closest person (in my mind) and told her in my thoughts to help that employee, and then, she did! Right then, I realized the "vision of how helping [flows] from trust in ourselves and in others" (Dass, 8). Helping is a process which manufactures trust in industrial quantity!


The A-Frame of Trust


I decided that to help the most amount of people, to affect positive change in the most amount of lives, I have to view everyone as being completely gullible - similar to Lennie from Of Mice and Men. When I see somebody from this perspective, I feel natural compassionto help them, just like a reflex, but there's a problem with this view. Everybody isn't like Lennie... Lennie was an extremely gullible child, but the general population is the exact opposite. Every time that I take a walk on the drag or through campus, I get a vibe from the crowd that everyone around me is self-sufficient, completely able to handle every situation. This isn't surprising as I am roaming within Longhorn territory where everyone is a leader, but then, I addressed my own concern as even leaders are people. Again, I realized Dass's wisdom as "there are clearly many ways in which we hesitate to reach out" (Dass, 11). Hesitations force us to halt the traffic on the trust intersection, thus rendering everyone unable to feel natural compassion.



Don't hesitate to jump in the ocean of trust!


I realized how much this was correct as I pondered about how many times I wanted to help someone but reasoned against it. When I hesitate in a logical fashion, I simply can't help someone, and with that, I rested my initial discomfort with the title of the book. Before one can help another, they must physically, mentally and spiritually be capable of helping. There is only one need which then exists is to read this book from cover to cover because it enables everyone to step out of their individual planes of existence and stand together in unity, in one plane and in one unified existence where we are all connected similar to how one limb connects to another. So for example when one limb is in need of help, there is no question as to how do I help, rather the entire body simply helps with each part contributing in a unique fashion. I hope this blog has helped in a unique fashion as well.

Help by the Beatles