Hale Dwoskin interviews Larry Crane

Replies to This Discussion

Permalink Reply by Lisa [Hootless Crew] on August 3, 2011 at 3:50pm

Frank - you are too funny....

 

Horse is on his way to you as I write this....he wanted a little holiday....just kidding ;)

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Evan on September 22, 2011 at 6:37pm

I love this discussion.

 

This particular aspect of Larry's personality and approach is something I am becoming more drawn to, even moreso after meeting Omer in person and getting a better idea of what the 90 program is actually like.

 

This is the idea of commitment.

 

Dedicating yourself to the process and staying with it, accepting that it is in fact a choice. What you put in is what you "get" out of it. In fact, even as I write this I realize I am doing so, and am probably going to play the piano next, instead of focused releasing.

 

Hale says that as well - though as Mario said he has much more of a "whatever you do you do and it's all good" than Larry's approach. 

 

Larry uses analogies like training for a championship. I like this because the bottom line for most of us is that we are human and have developed HABITS or have convinced ourself into something other than truth. If we, as powerful as we are, have decided that xyz is true about us and limiting, seeing through that generally requires some awareness and what one might call effort.

 

This is the catch of the "but you are already an infinite being right here right now" - this is of course true, but if you are suffering, does hearing that intellectually stop the suffering? I like how Eckhart says this in power of now, forget the exact words but along the lines of "does it matter if you only know intellectually that the pain is an illusion? Does that free you from the pain?"

 

If you actually are feeling full and happy and complete and satisfied then this is great. If you are not experiencing this all the time- having deeply convinced yourself through, oh I don't know, years and years of having it beaten into you since age 0 on this planet that you're not not complete, you need schooling, you need a job, you need to get married, you need to leave an inheritence, you need a legacy. "You're already complete" ON ITS OWN with no signposts to discovering what this means and some way of dedicating yourself to this truth means little.

 

I have been increasing the time and depth spent to inquiry releasing and am seeing increasingly significant "results", even though it's always yielded good ones for me. 

 

This has involved conscious, sometimes annoying waking up earlier or staying up later, and sitting down to meditate and release more than I "want' to. 

 

Also, my intention / attention has been more on the truth than the goals, because that is part of my commitment.

 

I would previously release and do work on goals and use it as a barometer for how much I was releasing. If I'm making more money i'm "doing a good job" releasing. While i believe that on one hand this is technically true, if you are keeping score you are by nature not released.

 

This is not being "released" but using releasing as wanting a result.

 

I notice about myself that if I am even CHECKING or keeping score to see what has happened, I am not released. How ironic. If you are released on something you are not keeping score on how well you are doing with it. This doesn't mean you do not like or do not enjoy the thing. There are plenty of things you like and are released on. Maybe you love ice cream. Are you concerned about how much ice cream is showing up at your door via releasing? Or is it just something you enjoy when it happens.

 

Interestingly in this influx of releasing particularly releasing the constant score keeping,  I've made more money in the last 2 months than ever and a lot of it was "coming from nowhere into my lap." (for those keeping score, hah)

 

This is where my mind would like to turn into a philosophical "yes but isn't commitment to releasing being attached" - blah blah, mind interrupting from doing anything actually useful. 

 

Commitment is required for most people to see results in anything and for most of us structure such as courses and retreats etc help one to maintain that commitment.

 

I make my living as a musician. I have never met anyone in my field who is a great jazz musician who did it by the butt system. We have to play our instruments. It requires commitment and there are literally 0 musicians on this planet who can claim otherwise. Even mozart studied and took the time to write it down and create. What I believe the butt system CAN do is remove the blocks so that this is a joy filled experience that you do with passion because you love it. It still requires the instrument in your hands though, and you still ultimately can choose not to play it and lose your (in my case) callouses. The butt system can not play the instrument for you and debating whether or not the butt system COULD work and make you play great without the time on the instrument seems silly to me and is your mind tricking you and distracting you from just playing. I believe there is significance in that analogy as it applies to releasing or whatever modality you choose.

 

For me, ultimately, it is about commitment to a process you believe in while releasing attachment to the results. Am I going to reach John Coltrane's level of depth and musicianship? To my brain logically signs point to no way. But I am committed to what I love because I choose to be. It does nothing for me to say "so and so already played like this and sounded like this when he was 25. What's wrong with my process. Why am I spending money on lessons? why is he there and I am not there?" - this does little for my process which I am committed to.

 

Also, and this is probably a huge thread on it's own if it's not already, NEVER forget that Lester thought he was dead. He did not even have a system and he was not trying to go free so he could "be do and have it all." This is not an easy, in fact near impossible situation to recreate. As a smaller analogy it would be like trying to train as intensely on your own as an army ranger who is doing an exercise that could literally kill him. This is another purpose of coaching and support etc.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Shannon Cecilia on September 28, 2011 at 11:53pm

Interesting point about Lester's situation, Lisa.

 

Some self-help retreats create a crisis so that the mind will go into crisis mode and make changes that might not be made otherwise.  

 

And then there are those for whom it simply happens.

 

I sincerely hope that all of us are in the second category at some point in our lives.

 

Lisa J said:

I can't address all of Frank's points but I do believe that if the retreats and courses keep people releasing then that's the important thing. 

 

But basically Frank you have everything you need to go all the way to Freedom.  If you would keep releasing constant you could go free.  How many of us can keep the releasing constant or are we distracted from the ultimate goal.  Lester had his back up against the wall...he was completely focused on his freedom...you could do this also...you don't need fancy retreats or weekend course..If you could release all of your wanting approval or control or safety...you could go free on just that.

• ▶ Reply

Permalink Reply by Marc Davies on October 5, 2011 at 6:39pm

I love both Hale and Larry's work. In my opinion, they are like different flavors of the same ice cream. Mix n match or choose another flavor if you wish. I'm sure neither Hale nor Larry would want to encourage dependency.They are not demi gods but they are definitely worth listening to.

Peace to all

 

 

 

• ▶ Reply

▶ Reply to Discussion

• ‹ Previous
• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• Next ›
• Page