Greetings from Russell's Remnant:

Sisyphus, renowned for his cleverness and knavery, lived by thieving. When the famous thief Autoycus began stealing Sisyphus’ cattle Sisyphus marked the hooves and caught him, and then seduced Autoycus’s daughter. Sisyphus then treacherously ousted his brother from the Thessalian throne, but he overreached himself in telling the river god Asophus where Zeus had abducted his daughter Aegina. Asopus nearly avenged himself on Zeus, so Zeus ordered his brother Hades to fetch Sisyphus to the underworld, but Sisyphus tricked Hades into putting on his own handcuffs and kept Hades captive until Ares released the god of death. Sisyphus had told his wife not to bury him, and when he went to Hell he complained of this dishonor and was allowed to return to the land of the living to avenge himself. But he refused to return to hell -- and finally Hermes had to drag him back. In the underworld for good, Sisyphus was sentenced to roll a huge bolder up a hill, one which kept rolling back down after reaching the top. This was his eternal punishment. (Mythology - Cliff Notes)

Albert Camus, in Le Mythe de Sisyphe, suggested that to him, Sisyphus’ task is typical of human endeavor, and its apparent futility should occasion the toiler’s happiness.

The Greeks imagined the world of the dead as the scene of fruitless labors. This may be true, but remember that Russell Whitesell often pointed out that we are right now as dead as we will ever be. This is our "hell."

Russell also told disciples to "Be the observer." Let the Great Law handle everything.

The Christian scripture point out - "If thy eye be single thy whole body shall be full of light." There must be a one-pointedness. How can there be one-pointedness if there is a thinker and the thing thought about? That is duality and separateness. Separateness is warned against by D.K.

The Buddhist teach of mindfulness and the practice of meditating on the breath.

Practice doesn’t begin until we see that there is no escape from the simple activities (like Sisyphus) - watching the in-breath, the out-breath. Even if we achieved enlightenment, we still have to watch our life in the next breath moment. There is no escape. The rest of eternity is just pushing the rock. Just be with the experience of pushing, moment after moment. Don’t get caught up in thoughts about it. Drop any need for reward, for acknowledgment. Instead of creating elaborate scenarios for what you should be doing, you just push the boulder. Do the dishes. Follow the breathing.

Develop mindfulness and concentration on the breath. If attention is drawn away from the breath, the gentle perseverance of returning to the breath both strengthens concentration and cultivates the ability of letting go. The breath will get subtle, but we watch it as it is; we needn’t do anything. It’s a fascinating process. There is no goal except knowing what’s happening right now.

Thoughts are mental objects. They can be seen passing, like bubbles through the field of awareness. In observing, thoughts, it is important not to comment or judge their content, but only to see them clearly as they arise. When were are watching the breath and thinking occurs, we can note "thinking, thinking" and come back to noting the breath. Coming back to the breath helps us discover the power of letting go and deepens our ability to relinquish mind’s conditioned grasping. The deepening of concentration is a natural process. Each time we return to the breath, our concentration gets stronger.

The only way out of suffering is to take life breath by breath. Come to each moment in a fresh way, with the beginner’s mind. Look at each breath as if for the first time. In real practice, you’re dying and being born from moment to moment. Everything is new. Let life be what it is - to push your boulder. Awakening isn’t the day you finally push the boulder up the hill and it stays. It is right there in the midst of the pushing. It has to do with letting go of that which brings torment and suffering to whatever we do. "I" pushed this boulder up this hill. Awakening is dropping the "I."

Suffering is the dance of what is. As long as one sees the suffering as "my" suffering, there is that duality again. "I am suffering." Let us just suffer and drop the "I."