How did you discover your real nature?
You are asking about the specifics in my case. Before I give you the details, I have to forewarn you that this is not a one-size-fits-all path to the truth. The way to the discovery of our true nature varies from one seeker to another. It may be a sudden and dramatic experience or a subtle, seemingly gradual path. The touchstone, in all cases, is the peace and understanding that prevails at the end of the road.
Although a first glimpse of reality is an event of cosmic proportions, it may remain unnoticed at first and work its way in the background of the mind until the egoistic structure collapses, just as a building severely damaged by an earthquake remains stand- ing for some time and collapses a few months later, gradually or suddenly. This effect is due to the fact that the glimpse does not belong to the mind. The mind, which until now was the slave of the ego, becomes the servant and lover of the eternal splendor that illuminates thoughts and perceptions. As a slave of the ego, the mind was the warden of the jail of time, space and causation; as a servant of the highest intelligence and a lover of the supreme beauty, it becomes the instrument of our liberation.
The glimpse that ignited my interest for the truth occurred while I was reading a book by J. Krishnamurti. It was the point of departure of an intense quest that became the central and exclusive focus in my life. I read Krishnamurti’s books again and again, along with the main texts of Advaita Vedanta and Zen Buddhism. I made important changes in my life in order to live in accordance with my spiritual understanding. I renounced what many people would call an excellent career, because it implied my involvement as a scientist with the design and development of sophisticated weapons for the French military.
Two years after the first glimpse, I had achieved a good intellectual understanding of the nondual perspective, although a few questions still remained unanswered. I knew from experience that any attempt to fulfill my desires was doomed to failure. It had become clear to me that I was consciousness, rather than my body or my mind. This knowledge was not a purely intellectual one, a mere concept, but seemed to somehow originate from experience, a particular kind of experience devoid of any objectivity. I had experienced, on several occasions, states in which perceptions were surrounded and permeated by bliss, light and silence. Physical objects seemed more remote from me, more unreal, as if reality had moved away from them and shifted toward that light and that silence which was at the center of the stage. Along with it came the feeling that everything was all right, just as it should be, and, as a matter of fact, just as it had always been. However, I still believed that awareness was subject to the same limitations as the mind, that it was of a personal, rather than universal, nature.
Sometimes, I had a foretaste of its limitlessness, usually while reading Ch’an or Advaita texts or while thinking deeply about the nondual perspective. Due to my upbringing by materialistic and antireligious parents and to my training in Mathematics and Physics, I was both reluctant to adopt any religious belief and suspicious of any nonlogically or nonscientifically validated hypothesis. An unlimited, universal awareness seemed to me to be such a belief or hypothesis, but I was open to explore this possibility. The perfume of this limitlessness had, in fact, been the determining factor that sustained my search for the truth. Two years after the first glimpse, this possibility had taken a center stage position.
That is when the radical change, the “Copernican shift,” happened. This event, or, more precisely, this nonevent, stands alone, uncaused. The certainty that flows from it has an absolute strength, a strength independent from any event, object or person. It can only be compared to our immediate certainty to be conscious.
I was sitting in silence, meditating in my living room with two friends. It was too early to fix dinner, our next activity. Having nothing to do, expecting nothing, I was available. My mind was free of dynamism, my body relaxed and sensitive, although I could feel some discomfort in my back and in my neck.
After some time, one of my friends unexpectedly began to chant a traditional incantation in Sanskrit, the Gayatri Mantra. The sacred syllables entered mysteriously in resonance with my silent presence which seemed to become intensely alive. I felt a deep longing in me, but at the same time a resistance was preventing me from living the current situation to the fullest, from responding with all my being to this invitation from the now, and from merging with it. As the attraction toward the beauty heralded by the chant increased, so did the resistance, revealing itself as a growing fear that transformed into an intense terror.
At this point, I felt that my death was imminent, and that this horrendous event would surely be triggered by any further letting go on my behalf, by any further welcoming of that beauty. I had reached a crucial point in my life. As a result of my spiritual search, the world and its objects had lost their attraction. I didn’t really expect anything substantial from them. I was exclusively in love with the Absolute, and this love gave me the boldness to jump into the great void of death, to die for the sake of that beauty, now so close, that beauty which was calling me beyond the Sanskrit words.
As a result of this abandon, the intense terror which had been holding me instantaneously released its grip and changed into a flow of bodily sensations and thoughts which rapidly converged toward a single thought, the I-thought, just as the roots and the branches of a tree converge toward its single trunk. In an almost simultaneous apperception, the personal entity with which I was identifying revealed itself in its totality. I saw its superstructure, the thoughts originating from the I-concept and its infrastructure, the traces of my fears and desires at the physical level. Now the entire tree was contemplated by an impersonal eye, and both the superstructure of thoughts and the infrastructure of bodily sensations rapidly vanished, leaving the I-thought alone in the field of consciousness. For a few moments, the pure I-thought seemed to vacillate, just as the flame of an oil lamp running out of fuel, then vanished.
At that precise moment, the immortal background of Presence revealed itself in all its splendor.
Excerpt from Eternity Now, by Francis Lucille
Did Jesus start a new religion? ...
Jesus himself said that he had come to set the captives free—but what is it that
makes us captives? The answer from mainstream Christianity would be that he came
to set us free from sin, but what if that is a deliberate distortion of Jesus'
true message? What if Jesus actually came to set us free from
religion—specifically a religion controlled by the power elite?
Who killed Jesus? The power elite!
The power elite of the Jewish religion provided the drive and the
"justification," and the power elite of the Roman empire executed it. But why
did the religious establishment want to silence Jesus so desperately that they
were willing to kill him? Because Jesus' true teachings were the ultimate threat
to the establishment's power over the people.
What did Jesus really teach that was such a threat to the establishment? The
Jewish religion was based on the belief that people needed forgiveness of their
sins, which they could obtain ONLY through the established religion and its
hierarchy. As long as people believed this, the religious authorities had
ultimate power over the people and their privileged positions were secure. Jesus
attacked the very core of this religion by stating that the Living Christ has
the power to forgive sins and that people can contact the Living Christ directly
within themselves – "The kingdom of god is within you" – without going through
an external religion. You obtain forgiveness from sin by finding the Living
Christ within yourself and transcending the state of consciousness that IS sin,
namely what Jesus called "death."
So think about this logically. Is it really plausible that Jesus came to start a
religion that would become exactly like the religion that had him killed? Since
the formation of an official Christian religion – and especially after the
appearance of the Catholic Church – mainstream Christianity has made the exact
same claim as the religion that had Jesus killed. How can this possibly be what
Jesus wanted or wants today?
The stark reality here is that Jesus did not come to start a religion that would
be dominated by the power elite and used to enslave people's minds in a rigid
mental box defined by dogmas and doctrines. When Jesus told his apostles to go
out into the world and make all people his disciples, he did NOT mean to make
them members of a rigid, dogmatic religion that claims his name while
suppressing his true message.
In reality, Jesus came to give us a set of universal teachings for transcending
the state of consciousness in which we blindly follow the blind leaders that
make up the power elite groups seen throughout history. Jesus came to set us
free from the power elite, and in the first couple of centuries, this is what
many Christian groups preached and lived. Jesus' early followers were not called
Christians but "Followers of the Way," meaning the universal way of Christ that
cannot be confined to a dogmatic religion. Then an official church emerged, it
was taken over by the power elite, and now those who preached Jesus' true
message were called Gnostics and later heretics that were burned at the stake.
It is high time to do away with the falsity and hypocrisy of the Christian
religion and rediscover the true way of Christ, namely the inner way that does
not rely on an external religion but only on our own willingness to follow
Jesus' call to look at the beam in our own eye and transcend the human state of
consciousness. ONLY by attaining the Christ consciousness will we truly overcome
"sin."
..... from askrealjesus.com
makes us captives? The answer from mainstream Christianity would be that he came
to set us free from sin, but what if that is a deliberate distortion of Jesus'
true message? What if Jesus actually came to set us free from
religion—specifically a religion controlled by the power elite?
Who killed Jesus? The power elite!
The power elite of the Jewish religion provided the drive and the
"justification," and the power elite of the Roman empire executed it. But why
did the religious establishment want to silence Jesus so desperately that they
were willing to kill him? Because Jesus' true teachings were the ultimate threat
to the establishment's power over the people.
What did Jesus really teach that was such a threat to the establishment? The
Jewish religion was based on the belief that people needed forgiveness of their
sins, which they could obtain ONLY through the established religion and its
hierarchy. As long as people believed this, the religious authorities had
ultimate power over the people and their privileged positions were secure. Jesus
attacked the very core of this religion by stating that the Living Christ has
the power to forgive sins and that people can contact the Living Christ directly
within themselves – "The kingdom of god is within you" – without going through
an external religion. You obtain forgiveness from sin by finding the Living
Christ within yourself and transcending the state of consciousness that IS sin,
namely what Jesus called "death."
So think about this logically. Is it really plausible that Jesus came to start a
religion that would become exactly like the religion that had him killed? Since
the formation of an official Christian religion – and especially after the
appearance of the Catholic Church – mainstream Christianity has made the exact
same claim as the religion that had Jesus killed. How can this possibly be what
Jesus wanted or wants today?
The stark reality here is that Jesus did not come to start a religion that would
be dominated by the power elite and used to enslave people's minds in a rigid
mental box defined by dogmas and doctrines. When Jesus told his apostles to go
out into the world and make all people his disciples, he did NOT mean to make
them members of a rigid, dogmatic religion that claims his name while
suppressing his true message.
In reality, Jesus came to give us a set of universal teachings for transcending
the state of consciousness in which we blindly follow the blind leaders that
make up the power elite groups seen throughout history. Jesus came to set us
free from the power elite, and in the first couple of centuries, this is what
many Christian groups preached and lived. Jesus' early followers were not called
Christians but "Followers of the Way," meaning the universal way of Christ that
cannot be confined to a dogmatic religion. Then an official church emerged, it
was taken over by the power elite, and now those who preached Jesus' true
message were called Gnostics and later heretics that were burned at the stake.
It is high time to do away with the falsity and hypocrisy of the Christian
religion and rediscover the true way of Christ, namely the inner way that does
not rely on an external religion but only on our own willingness to follow
Jesus' call to look at the beam in our own eye and transcend the human state of
consciousness. ONLY by attaining the Christ consciousness will we truly overcome
"sin."
..... from askrealjesus.com
One becomes Calmed by Stilling all Agitation!...
The brahmin MÄgandiya asked the Buddha about how to become calmed:
Not dwelling in the past, stilled in the present, one prefers no kind of future!
Without irritation, without agitation, without regrets, without worry, neither
boasting, nor proud, but humble and modest, one is indeed a restrained sage...
Withdrawn, not opposed to anything, not wanting anything, all unconcerned,
aloof, gentle, independent, for such one there exists neither craving or fear
for any kind of existence, nor craving or fear for any form of non-existence...
Such calmed one is indifferent to sense pleasures, detached, not clinging to
any kind of property! For him there is nothing more to take up or lay down!
For whatever others might accuse him, he remains tranquil and not agitated!
Neither opposed to anything, nor attracted to anything, with nothing of his
own, not perturbed by what does not exist, such tranquil one is truly calmed!
Sutta-NipÄta 849-861 Edited excerpt.
Not dwelling in the past, stilled in the present, one prefers no kind of future!
Without irritation, without agitation, without regrets, without worry, neither
boasting, nor proud, but humble and modest, one is indeed a restrained sage...
Withdrawn, not opposed to anything, not wanting anything, all unconcerned,
aloof, gentle, independent, for such one there exists neither craving or fear
for any kind of existence, nor craving or fear for any form of non-existence...
Such calmed one is indifferent to sense pleasures, detached, not clinging to
any kind of property! For him there is nothing more to take up or lay down!
For whatever others might accuse him, he remains tranquil and not agitated!
Neither opposed to anything, nor attracted to anything, with nothing of his
own, not perturbed by what does not exist, such tranquil one is truly calmed!
Sutta-NipÄta 849-861 Edited excerpt.
Divine Equality...
If you don't make yourself equal to God, you can't perceive God; for like is known by like. Leap free of everything that is physical, and grow as vast as that immeasurable vastness; step beyond all time and become eternal; then you will perceive God. Realize that nothing is impossible for you; recognize that you too are immortal and that you can embrace all things in your mind; find your home in the heart of every living creature; make yourself higher than all heights and lower than all depths; bring all opposites inside yourself and reconcile them; understand that you are everywhere, on the land, in the sea, in the sky; realize that you haven't yet been begotten, that you are still in the womb, that you are young, that you are old, that you are dead, that you are in the world beyond the grave; hold all this in you mind, all times and places, all substances and qualities and magnitudes; then you can perceive God.
Wanting to know God is the road that leads to God, and it is an easy road to travel. God will meet you everywhere, he will appear to you everywhere, at times and places when you don't expect it, while you are awake and while you are asleep, while you are traveling and while you are at home, while you are speaking and while you are silent; for there is nothing in which God does not exist. And don't think that God is invisible. Who is more evident than God? That is why he made all things, so that through all things you can see him.
~ The Hermetic Writings [3rd Century].
Wanting to know God is the road that leads to God, and it is an easy road to travel. God will meet you everywhere, he will appear to you everywhere, at times and places when you don't expect it, while you are awake and while you are asleep, while you are traveling and while you are at home, while you are speaking and while you are silent; for there is nothing in which God does not exist. And don't think that God is invisible. Who is more evident than God? That is why he made all things, so that through all things you can see him.
~ The Hermetic Writings [3rd Century].
Fear and Love...
Most souls choose to exist within Divine Consciousness because they fear
non-existence.. and therefore deprive themselves of the Highest State of
Unconditional Love and Freedom.. To become Nothing is to Become God.. It is a
decision that only You can make.. Fear is the wall that prevents You from the
eternal Bliss of non-separation called Pure Awareness.. This fear of death is
reflected within the mind also as the fear of the death of ego, death of mind,
and death of body.. Remember, Fear is the opposite of Love.. You must conquer
Fear to find Love...............namaste, thomas
non-existence.. and therefore deprive themselves of the Highest State of
Unconditional Love and Freedom.. To become Nothing is to Become God.. It is a
decision that only You can make.. Fear is the wall that prevents You from the
eternal Bliss of non-separation called Pure Awareness.. This fear of death is
reflected within the mind also as the fear of the death of ego, death of mind,
and death of body.. Remember, Fear is the opposite of Love.. You must conquer
Fear to find Love...............namaste, thomas
The Independence of Solitude...
"What I must do is all that concerns me, not what people think. This rule,equally arduous in actual and intellectual life, may serve for the whole distinction between greatness and meanness. It is the harder, because you will always find those who think they know what is your duty better than you know it. It is easy in the world to live after the world's opinion; it is easy in solitude to live after our own; but the great man is he who in the midst of the crowd keeps with perfect sweetness the independence of solitude."
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (Essays & Poems)
— Ralph Waldo Emerson (Essays & Poems)
Surrender...
'THERE is a kind of inner communion with the psychic being which takes place when one willingly gives up desire, and because of this, one feels, a much greater joy than if he had satisfied his desire. Besides most usually, almost without exception, when one satisfies a desire it always leaves a kind of bitter taste some where.'
'WHEN One feels really out of sorts, queasy, helpless, unable to breathe to move, to think or do anything -- and suddenly consciousness - the vibration of love comes in the body - consciousness for a split second - Everything lights up.'
'IF you have once opened yourself to the Divine, if the power of the Divine has once come down into you and yet try to keep to old forces, you prepare troubles and difficulties and dangers for yourself. You must be vigilant and see that you do not use the Divine as a cloak for the satisfaction of your desire!.'
'THEY do have FAITH, but tell themselves, "Well, I have faith in the Divine, but this world, I see quite well what it's like! First of all, I suffer so much, don't I? I am very unhappy, far more unhappy than all my neighbours" - for one is always far more unhappy than all one's neighbours - "I am very unhappy and, truly, life is cruel to me. But then the Divine is divine, He is All-Goodness, All-Generosity, All-Harmony, so how is it that I am so unhappy? He must be powerless; otherwise being so good how could He let me suffer so much?"
'SURRENDER is the decision taken to hand over the responsibility of your life to the divine. Without this decision nothing is at all possible; if you do not surrender, the Yoga is entirely out of the possible; if you surrender, the Yoga is entirely out of question. Everything else comes naturally after it, for the whole process starts with surrender.'
' THERE are two paths of yoga, one is of tapasya [discipline], and the other of surrender. The path of tapasya, is arduous. Here you rely solely upon yourself; you proceed by your own strength. You ascend and achieve according to the measure of your force. There is always the danger of falling down. And once you fall, you lie broken in the abyss and there is hardly a remedy.'
'WHAT you want from Yoga for? To get power? To attain to peace and calm? To serve humanity? None of these motives is sufficient to show that you are meant for the path.'
'ONCE you have set foot on the path of Yoga, you must have a resolution of steel and walk straight on to the goal, whatever the cost.'
'BY surrender we mean - a spontaneous self-giving of all your self to the divine, to a greater Consciousness of which you are a part. Surrender will not diminish, but increase; it will not lessen or weaken or destroy your personality, it will fortify and aggrandize it.'
'THE most important surrender is the surrender of your character, your way of being, so that it may Change. If you do not surrender your very own nature, never will these nature changes.'
'YOU have certain ways of understanding, certain ways of reacting, certain ways of feeling, almost certain ways of progressing, and above all, a special way of looking at life and expecting from it certain things- well, it is this you must surrender.'
'YOGA means union with the Divine, and the union is effected through offering- it is founded on the offering of yourself to the Divine.'
'WHEN you eat, you must feel that it is the Divine who is eating through you.'
'IN the integral Yoga, the integral life down even the smallest detail has to be transformed, to be divinised.'
' I have never seen people who have left everything in order to go and sit down in a more or less empty contemplation [for it is more or less empty], I have never seen such people making any progress, or in any case their progress is very trifling.'
.......Mother of Pondichery
'WHEN One feels really out of sorts, queasy, helpless, unable to breathe to move, to think or do anything -- and suddenly consciousness - the vibration of love comes in the body - consciousness for a split second - Everything lights up.'
'IF you have once opened yourself to the Divine, if the power of the Divine has once come down into you and yet try to keep to old forces, you prepare troubles and difficulties and dangers for yourself. You must be vigilant and see that you do not use the Divine as a cloak for the satisfaction of your desire!.'
'THEY do have FAITH, but tell themselves, "Well, I have faith in the Divine, but this world, I see quite well what it's like! First of all, I suffer so much, don't I? I am very unhappy, far more unhappy than all my neighbours" - for one is always far more unhappy than all one's neighbours - "I am very unhappy and, truly, life is cruel to me. But then the Divine is divine, He is All-Goodness, All-Generosity, All-Harmony, so how is it that I am so unhappy? He must be powerless; otherwise being so good how could He let me suffer so much?"
'SURRENDER is the decision taken to hand over the responsibility of your life to the divine. Without this decision nothing is at all possible; if you do not surrender, the Yoga is entirely out of the possible; if you surrender, the Yoga is entirely out of question. Everything else comes naturally after it, for the whole process starts with surrender.'
' THERE are two paths of yoga, one is of tapasya [discipline], and the other of surrender. The path of tapasya, is arduous. Here you rely solely upon yourself; you proceed by your own strength. You ascend and achieve according to the measure of your force. There is always the danger of falling down. And once you fall, you lie broken in the abyss and there is hardly a remedy.'
'WHAT you want from Yoga for? To get power? To attain to peace and calm? To serve humanity? None of these motives is sufficient to show that you are meant for the path.'
'ONCE you have set foot on the path of Yoga, you must have a resolution of steel and walk straight on to the goal, whatever the cost.'
'BY surrender we mean - a spontaneous self-giving of all your self to the divine, to a greater Consciousness of which you are a part. Surrender will not diminish, but increase; it will not lessen or weaken or destroy your personality, it will fortify and aggrandize it.'
'THE most important surrender is the surrender of your character, your way of being, so that it may Change. If you do not surrender your very own nature, never will these nature changes.'
'YOU have certain ways of understanding, certain ways of reacting, certain ways of feeling, almost certain ways of progressing, and above all, a special way of looking at life and expecting from it certain things- well, it is this you must surrender.'
'YOGA means union with the Divine, and the union is effected through offering- it is founded on the offering of yourself to the Divine.'
'WHEN you eat, you must feel that it is the Divine who is eating through you.'
'IN the integral Yoga, the integral life down even the smallest detail has to be transformed, to be divinised.'
' I have never seen people who have left everything in order to go and sit down in a more or less empty contemplation [for it is more or less empty], I have never seen such people making any progress, or in any case their progress is very trifling.'
.......Mother of Pondichery
The Supreme Dharma...
Dharma means not holding onto any concept,
so the Supreme dharma is to reject all dharmas.
If you reject everything what will happen?
All the burdens of all the religions and concepts
will fall from your mind bringing you to the perfect
Peace and Love, and this is your dharma.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
so the Supreme dharma is to reject all dharmas.
If you reject everything what will happen?
All the burdens of all the religions and concepts
will fall from your mind bringing you to the perfect
Peace and Love, and this is your dharma.
- Papaji
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"The Truth Is"
Sri H.W.L. Poonja
Yudhishtara, 1995
I Need do Nothing...
Just realise the One Mover behind all that moves and leave all to Him. If you do not hesitate, or cheat, this is the shortest way to reality. Stand without desire and fear, relinquishing all control and all responsibility.... What is wrong in letting go the illusion of personal control and personal responsibility? Both are in the mind only. p.151
It is your idea that you have to do things that entangle you in results of your efforts-the motive, the desire, the failure to achieve, the sense of frustration-all this holds you back. Simply look at whatever happens and know that you are beyond it. p.148
You give reality to concepts, while concepts are distortions of reality. Abandon all conceptualisation and stay silent and attentive. Be earnest about it and all will be well with you. p.154
Nothing is done by me, everything just happens. I do not expect, I do not plan, I just watch events happening, knowing them to be unreal. p.191
All will happen by itself. You need not do anything, only don't prevent it. p.242
If you just try to keep quiet, all will come - the work, the strength for work, the right motive. Must you know everything beforehand? Don't be anxious about your future - be quiet now and all will fall into place. p.248
Be empty of all mental content, of all imagination and effort, and the very absence of obstacles will cause reality to rush in. p.260
Deepen and broaden your awareness of yourself and all the blessings will flow. You need not seek anything, all will come to you most naturally and effortlessly. p.261
The very notion of doership, of being a cause, is bondage. p.298
In the light of calm and steady self-awareness inner energies wake up and work miracles without any effort on your part. p.311
Just turn away from all that occupies the mind; do whatever work you have to complete, but avoid new obligations; keep empty, keep available, resist not what comes uninvited. p.375
Nisargadatta Maharaj
It is your idea that you have to do things that entangle you in results of your efforts-the motive, the desire, the failure to achieve, the sense of frustration-all this holds you back. Simply look at whatever happens and know that you are beyond it. p.148
You give reality to concepts, while concepts are distortions of reality. Abandon all conceptualisation and stay silent and attentive. Be earnest about it and all will be well with you. p.154
Nothing is done by me, everything just happens. I do not expect, I do not plan, I just watch events happening, knowing them to be unreal. p.191
All will happen by itself. You need not do anything, only don't prevent it. p.242
If you just try to keep quiet, all will come - the work, the strength for work, the right motive. Must you know everything beforehand? Don't be anxious about your future - be quiet now and all will fall into place. p.248
Be empty of all mental content, of all imagination and effort, and the very absence of obstacles will cause reality to rush in. p.260
Deepen and broaden your awareness of yourself and all the blessings will flow. You need not seek anything, all will come to you most naturally and effortlessly. p.261
The very notion of doership, of being a cause, is bondage. p.298
In the light of calm and steady self-awareness inner energies wake up and work miracles without any effort on your part. p.311
Just turn away from all that occupies the mind; do whatever work you have to complete, but avoid new obligations; keep empty, keep available, resist not what comes uninvited. p.375
Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Final Reality of Pure Awareness...
The Final Reality of Pure Awareness is our goal for Realisation.. We were created by Divine Thought as separate identities with the lower Reality of God ,Known as Divine Consciousness.. This is our natural state of existence..this is our separate identity within the Single Identity of Divinity.. This is the "White Light" and Unconditional Love that flows through You and around You.. You are Divinity.. as Jesus said;" Is it not written, that Ye are Gods?".. We are One but have been issued the decree to be separate within Divine Consciousness for the purpose of Creation and Destruction..as one needs the other for continuity.. but, We have forgotten our Divinity and became the fallen angels into materiality.. To attain Freedom from these pains of illusions, It is necessary to Awaken to the Reality of Divine Consciousness and then to further Awaken to the end of all separation and identification and return Home to Pure Awareness as Nothing...........namaste, thomas
Pure Awareness...
Stand in your original state of wholeness,
the state before you were born when there
was no knowledge "I am" and therefore
no need or want of any kind. All suffering
will end as soon as you stand in pure
Awareness.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
the state before you were born when there
was no knowledge "I am" and therefore
no need or want of any kind. All suffering
will end as soon as you stand in pure
Awareness.
- Ramesh S. Balsekar
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"A Net of Jewels"
Ramesh S. Balsekar
Advaita Press, 1996
What happens in Samadhi ...
WHAT HAPPENS IN SAMADHI AND HOW TO DIRECT IT TO THE ULTIMATE
TRUTH?
In seeking samadhi, you are trying to see the Truth through the absence of all activities,
because you do not see the Truth during the activities. But Truth (your svarupa)
is not to be found in either the presence or the absence of activities which constitute
the mental realm. Therefore, you must go beyond both, to get at the Truth.
The world ties you down by its presence here. The world ties you down by its absence
or non-existence in samadhi. You must transcend both, in order to reach the
Truth. It is beyond both activity and passivity. It is knowledge knowing everything
and knowledge not knowing anything, at the same time. It is simultaneously active
and passive; that is, you must transcend both to come to Truth.
You desire samadhi only for the happiness you suppose you derive from it, just as
you desire an object for the pleasure you hope to derive from it. Mandukya-karika
advises you to take away the desire from both and you will be in your own centre. But
it does not suggest how that desire can be taken away. It can only be done by knowing
that the happiness experienced in either case is not the outcome of either the samadhi
or the object, but that it is your own real nature and therefore intrinsic in you.
All effort to achieve one’s own real nature is meaningless; because it stands already
achieved. So the desire for the fruit vanishes, and you stand in the Reality.
........Shri Atmananda
TRUTH?
In seeking samadhi, you are trying to see the Truth through the absence of all activities,
because you do not see the Truth during the activities. But Truth (your svarupa)
is not to be found in either the presence or the absence of activities which constitute
the mental realm. Therefore, you must go beyond both, to get at the Truth.
The world ties you down by its presence here. The world ties you down by its absence
or non-existence in samadhi. You must transcend both, in order to reach the
Truth. It is beyond both activity and passivity. It is knowledge knowing everything
and knowledge not knowing anything, at the same time. It is simultaneously active
and passive; that is, you must transcend both to come to Truth.
You desire samadhi only for the happiness you suppose you derive from it, just as
you desire an object for the pleasure you hope to derive from it. Mandukya-karika
advises you to take away the desire from both and you will be in your own centre. But
it does not suggest how that desire can be taken away. It can only be done by knowing
that the happiness experienced in either case is not the outcome of either the samadhi
or the object, but that it is your own real nature and therefore intrinsic in you.
All effort to achieve one’s own real nature is meaningless; because it stands already
achieved. So the desire for the fruit vanishes, and you stand in the Reality.
........Shri Atmananda
The Creator...
The Creator Himself, at one and the same time, knowledge, the knower,
and the known ... There exists nothing which is not united to Him and which
He does not find His own essence. He is the type of all being, and all
things exist in Him under their most pure and most perfect form.......
— Kabbalist Moses Cordovero, Page 74 of Kabbalah: The Way of The Jewish
Mystic by Perle Epstein, 1st edition from my mother's library
and the known ... There exists nothing which is not united to Him and which
He does not find His own essence. He is the type of all being, and all
things exist in Him under their most pure and most perfect form.......
— Kabbalist Moses Cordovero, Page 74 of Kabbalah: The Way of The Jewish
Mystic by Perle Epstein, 1st edition from my mother's library
Final Bliss...
Once unfettered and delivered from their deadweight of dogmatic
interpretations, personal names, anthropomorphic conceptions and
salaried priests, the fundamental doctrines of all religions will be proved
to be identical in their esoteric meaning. Osiris, Krishna, Buddha, Christ,
will be shown as different names for one and the same royal highway to final
bliss, Nirvana......... — The Maha Chohan
interpretations, personal names, anthropomorphic conceptions and
salaried priests, the fundamental doctrines of all religions will be proved
to be identical in their esoteric meaning. Osiris, Krishna, Buddha, Christ,
will be shown as different names for one and the same royal highway to final
bliss, Nirvana......... — The Maha Chohan
Was Jesus Christ the only son of God? ...
Answer from Jesus:
Everything in the world of form is created from God’s substance. Without him was not anything made that was made. Therefore, every living soul is a son or daughter of God.
However, there are many devout Christians who feel very strongly that I was someone special, and there is some validity to this belief. I am not thereby saying that I completely agree with this belief, I am merely saying that it is understandable why so many Christians hold on to this belief. Let me explain.
What does it truly mean to be a son or daughter of God? God has given you free will, and God has given you the ability to create. Originally, your soul was created in the image and likeness of God, meaning it had a unique individuality. However, your spiritual parents did not create your individuality as something that was set in stone. You have the free will and the creative potential to build your individuality upon the foundation laid by your spiritual parents. This is indeed what you were meant to do.
Therefore, life can be seen as a process through which your soul is constantly building its sense of identity. In an overall sense, you are meant to keep building your sense of identity until you reach a point where you realize that you are an individualization of God and that you have the full creative powers of God himself/herself. That is why I said: “Ye are Gods.”
However, when a soul falls into a lower state of consciousness and forgets its spiritual origin, the soul begins to build a false sense of identity, a pseudo identity. From God’s viewpoint, that false identity, as a mortal human being, is not real. Yet, as long as your soul accepts that sense of identity, the pseudo identity becomes the only reality that your soul knows. Therefore, that sense of identity becomes the soul’s reality. Because the soul knows nothing else, the soul does not realize that the pseudo identity is unreal and temporary. To the soul, this is the only sense of identity there is.
From God’s viewpoint, a lost soul is still one of his sons or daughters. Yet, if you go inside the box of the soul, inside the soul’s sense of identity, that soul does not see itself as a son or daughter of God. Therefore, in the here and now, the soul is not acting as a son or daughter of God. If a soul does not accept its divine origin, it cannot express its divine potential. If a soul does not accept its potential to be the Christ, then the soul cannot be the Christ in action.
When I appeared on earth 2,000 years ago, only a few people had come to a full realization of their Christhood. Therefore, one might say that I appeared at a time when there was no other son or daughter of God on earth. I had realized the fullness of my sonship, and therefore I was and I acted as a son of God. In other words, when you look at this situation from a specific viewpoint, it is possible to say that Jesus Christ was indeed the only son of God who appeared in that particular place at that particular time. Therefore, I can understand that some Christians have strong feelings for this idea (I am not saying that I share those feelings).
Unfortunately, most people never understood that the statement that I was the only son of God was correct only from a certain viewpoint. The carnal mind has a tendency to create idols. Therefore, people were quick to turn me into an idol and to start believing that the statement that I was the only son of God was universally true.
Let me make it very clear that every living soul is, in reality, a son or daughter of God. If the soul does not identify itself as a son or daughter of God, then that soul cannot express the fullness of its divine potential. Therefore, from an earthly viewpoint, the soul is not a son or daughter of God. The soul has the potential to act as a son or daughter of God, but that potential is not realized. Yet, I want to make it very clear that I am not the only person to appear on earth with a full recognition of his or her divine identity and origin. I am not the only person to appear in the fullness of Christhood.
There have been others before me and there will, I sincerely hope, be others after me. In fact, I hope that some of the readers of these teachings will be counted among them............ from askrealjesus.com
Everything in the world of form is created from God’s substance. Without him was not anything made that was made. Therefore, every living soul is a son or daughter of God.
However, there are many devout Christians who feel very strongly that I was someone special, and there is some validity to this belief. I am not thereby saying that I completely agree with this belief, I am merely saying that it is understandable why so many Christians hold on to this belief. Let me explain.
What does it truly mean to be a son or daughter of God? God has given you free will, and God has given you the ability to create. Originally, your soul was created in the image and likeness of God, meaning it had a unique individuality. However, your spiritual parents did not create your individuality as something that was set in stone. You have the free will and the creative potential to build your individuality upon the foundation laid by your spiritual parents. This is indeed what you were meant to do.
Therefore, life can be seen as a process through which your soul is constantly building its sense of identity. In an overall sense, you are meant to keep building your sense of identity until you reach a point where you realize that you are an individualization of God and that you have the full creative powers of God himself/herself. That is why I said: “Ye are Gods.”
However, when a soul falls into a lower state of consciousness and forgets its spiritual origin, the soul begins to build a false sense of identity, a pseudo identity. From God’s viewpoint, that false identity, as a mortal human being, is not real. Yet, as long as your soul accepts that sense of identity, the pseudo identity becomes the only reality that your soul knows. Therefore, that sense of identity becomes the soul’s reality. Because the soul knows nothing else, the soul does not realize that the pseudo identity is unreal and temporary. To the soul, this is the only sense of identity there is.
From God’s viewpoint, a lost soul is still one of his sons or daughters. Yet, if you go inside the box of the soul, inside the soul’s sense of identity, that soul does not see itself as a son or daughter of God. Therefore, in the here and now, the soul is not acting as a son or daughter of God. If a soul does not accept its divine origin, it cannot express its divine potential. If a soul does not accept its potential to be the Christ, then the soul cannot be the Christ in action.
When I appeared on earth 2,000 years ago, only a few people had come to a full realization of their Christhood. Therefore, one might say that I appeared at a time when there was no other son or daughter of God on earth. I had realized the fullness of my sonship, and therefore I was and I acted as a son of God. In other words, when you look at this situation from a specific viewpoint, it is possible to say that Jesus Christ was indeed the only son of God who appeared in that particular place at that particular time. Therefore, I can understand that some Christians have strong feelings for this idea (I am not saying that I share those feelings).
Unfortunately, most people never understood that the statement that I was the only son of God was correct only from a certain viewpoint. The carnal mind has a tendency to create idols. Therefore, people were quick to turn me into an idol and to start believing that the statement that I was the only son of God was universally true.
Let me make it very clear that every living soul is, in reality, a son or daughter of God. If the soul does not identify itself as a son or daughter of God, then that soul cannot express the fullness of its divine potential. Therefore, from an earthly viewpoint, the soul is not a son or daughter of God. The soul has the potential to act as a son or daughter of God, but that potential is not realized. Yet, I want to make it very clear that I am not the only person to appear on earth with a full recognition of his or her divine identity and origin. I am not the only person to appear in the fullness of Christhood.
There have been others before me and there will, I sincerely hope, be others after me. In fact, I hope that some of the readers of these teachings will be counted among them............ from askrealjesus.com
Christ has never left...
The super-duper secret is that We Are Christ.. I know that you find that
impossible to believe and understand but it is the Truth.. The only reason that
we do not Know this fact is that we are completely covered by the illusion of
being something else.. Until, we gain the courage to dissolve this belief in the
make believe self called ego, we will remain blind to our own Being.. This is
the "Meaning of Life".. This is why You are here.. to awaken from this nightmare
of pretend self and Realise that You are indeed Christ, just as Jesus
did.................namaste, thomas
impossible to believe and understand but it is the Truth.. The only reason that
we do not Know this fact is that we are completely covered by the illusion of
being something else.. Until, we gain the courage to dissolve this belief in the
make believe self called ego, we will remain blind to our own Being.. This is
the "Meaning of Life".. This is why You are here.. to awaken from this nightmare
of pretend self and Realise that You are indeed Christ, just as Jesus
did.................namaste, thomas
The Great Liberation...
When the great liberation from his ego is attained, his entire physical organism will reflect the experience. All its muscular tautness will vanish; hands, shoulders, neck, facial expression, and legs will relax spontaneously of their own accord as his mind relaxes. He will be transformed.
— Notebooks Category 3: Relax and Retreat > Chapter 3: Relax Body, Breath, Mind > # 35.......Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 3: Relax and Retreat > Chapter 3: Relax Body, Breath, Mind > # 35.......Paul Brunton
We are already within Reality...
At this very moment, We are within Reality.. We exist as Light within Light and
Love within Love.. This is Divine Consciousness.. This is who we are and where
we are.. We keep fooling Ourselves into believing that we are the illusion that
we are viewing.. This is much the same as watching a film in a movie theater and
becoming so involved with the movie that we forget that we are watching it and
start to believe that there is nothing but the movie.. This is the delusion of
the ego.. We as Consciousness can project ourselves anywhere within this film
and become any character within this film, even non-human forms.. And yet, we
argue about the characters that we play.. such as, My character is better than
yours, or my delusion is better than Yours.. It is such foolishness and a waste
of time.. This is why All Mystics that have Awakened, have constantly told You
to Wake Up.. Is this the day that We Wake Up?.............namaste, thomas
Love within Love.. This is Divine Consciousness.. This is who we are and where
we are.. We keep fooling Ourselves into believing that we are the illusion that
we are viewing.. This is much the same as watching a film in a movie theater and
becoming so involved with the movie that we forget that we are watching it and
start to believe that there is nothing but the movie.. This is the delusion of
the ego.. We as Consciousness can project ourselves anywhere within this film
and become any character within this film, even non-human forms.. And yet, we
argue about the characters that we play.. such as, My character is better than
yours, or my delusion is better than Yours.. It is such foolishness and a waste
of time.. This is why All Mystics that have Awakened, have constantly told You
to Wake Up.. Is this the day that We Wake Up?.............namaste, thomas
Detachment...
There are always moments when one feels
empty and estranged. Such moments are
most desirable for it means the soul has
cast its moorings and is sailing for distant
places. This is detachment - when the old
is over and the new has not yet come. If
you are afraid, the state may be distressing;
but there is really nothing to be afraid of.
Remember the instruction: whatever you
come across - go beyond.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
empty and estranged. Such moments are
most desirable for it means the soul has
cast its moorings and is sailing for distant
places. This is detachment - when the old
is over and the new has not yet come. If
you are afraid, the state may be distressing;
but there is really nothing to be afraid of.
Remember the instruction: whatever you
come across - go beyond.
- Nisargadatta Maharaj
` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` ` `
"I Am That"
Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj
The Acorn Press, 1973
Jesus and the Money-changers...
The Christian Church calls this "Righteous Anger" instead of willful desire..
but, this was ego and should be recognised as such.. Can anyone be completely
without ego while still within the material worlds?.. I don't Know.. but, that
is not important.. What is important is to Realise that You are not the
body,ego, or mind.. If You can Know this State of Consciousness and Know that
You are It, then the ego of the world does not stick under your
shoe.........namaste, thomas
but, this was ego and should be recognised as such.. Can anyone be completely
without ego while still within the material worlds?.. I don't Know.. but, that
is not important.. What is important is to Realise that You are not the
body,ego, or mind.. If You can Know this State of Consciousness and Know that
You are It, then the ego of the world does not stick under your
shoe.........namaste, thomas
Hey Mommy, Look at me!...
This is the ego.. the ego is strong within youth because the ego tries to grow by feeding upon the mental energy of attention and acknowledgement.. the ego may even do things that may cause anger within the parent.. anger is a delicacy within the ego and causes it to grow quickly.. This is the reason for wars.. War usually begins as a hunger for the material and quickly gathers the ego of power and domination.. Remember Love is the furthest side of ego.. there is selfish love and there is unselfish love.. selfish love is only seen when love is demanded before it is given.. unselfish love is also called Unconditional Love and flows constantly without the valve of selfishness or ego.. Unconditional Love is called God and Unconditional Love without ego is called "I".........namaste, thomas
Happiness is Compassion...
If you want others to be happy, practice compassion. If you want to be happy, practice compassion..........Dalai Lama
'Sailor' Bob - What IS ...
The description can never be the described. All we are doing is describing what is. Right here, right now, presently, is what is happening. There is nothing other.
Primarily there is that registering of everything. Just like that mirror on the wall is reflecting everything in front of it, so that essence, intelligence or whatever name you like to call it, is registering everything just as it is. You heard that siren, but you didn’t have to say it was a siren. You are hearing this voice, seeing the sights in the room, feeling your body sitting in the chair. All just as it is. And—just as it is—what can you say about it? You can’t say anything at all about it. From that point of view, it either is or is not.
The description can never be the described, the what is.
The thinking is being registered also. That is discriminated into ‘this thought’ or ‘my thought’ or whatever the word might be. Rather, be aware that it all is just as it is.
Say you are walking somewhere and you are not naming anything, there is no thinking going on. You are passing houses, trees, picket fences or whatever is in the street. Everything is registering immediately. You don’t have to name each individual thing. Your thoughts might be happening, and your mind might be totally involved in those thoughts. Yet one piece of concrete paver may be higher than the other, but you won’t trip over it. It will be registered immediately and the appropriate steps will be taken over it.
Or if there is a crowd walking in the street, you’re not going to bump into everyone. You find yourself avoiding them quite effortlessly without having to think, ‘I have to dodge around this one’. Yet they will be coming from all directions and all places, but that intelligence is registering everything just as it is. And in the moment, the proper activity takes place.
It is the same with thoughts also. As you are going along, you’re passing this house or the next house. And as you are going along, thoughts are happening too. They are registered just as is. What happens? The house you have just passed has disappeared from view, or the picket fence you passed is gone. Thought is registered just as is also. What has happened to that thought? It is left behind. It also disappears. One thought might be acted upon, the next may not be.
The only way we can change what is, is to correct it, modify it or alter it in some way or form. The only thing that can do that is the mind: ‘The chair over there is in the wrong position and I want to move it’. It is no longer what is. It is what I think I would like it to be. That is all that has happened —the thinking ‘That should not be there’. That thought, of itself, has no power whatsoever. It is only a thought; it is only based on words. But it refers to this ‘I’ that I believe, or have believed, myself to be up until investigation. That is so, because what has been added to that ‘I’, that belief, has become the ‘self-centre’ or the ‘reference point’. Everything is evaluated from that reference point. And because it is closely associated with that pure intelligence, it has come to believe also that it is the intelligence.
Like the piece of iron in the fire, it will get red-hot and burn, just like fire. Now, if the iron had a mind it would think it was the fire: ‘I am going to burn this and that’. But take it out of the fire and what can it do? So it is with the thoughts: ‘I can’, ‘I will’, ‘I am’. Take them away from awareness or consciousness or that pure intelligence: what substance have they got? Can they stand without that? Can you have a single thought if you are not conscious or not aware?
Constantly over the years with the habit patterns going on it (thought) has believed itself to be the intelligence. It believes it has reality; it has power; it has will; it can do what it likes and what it thinks it wants to do.
That is why this investigation is needed. Just stop and question. Have a look at what we have believed ourselves to be. Thought can’t of itself do anything! Because that thought ‘I see’, can’t see! The thought ‘I hear’, can’t hear! The thought ‘I am aware’, can’t be aware! But there is seeing; there is hearing; and there is awareness. It is happening right now!
The seeing itself cannot conceptualise. It cannot say ‘I am seeing this’. Neither can the hearing say ‘I am hearing this’. It is just pure seeing and pure hearing. It is conceptualised by the mind, which must refer to some past memory to get that name. The mind or the ‘me’, the thought that I have about myself, is the past. That is all it is. It is the past, and the past is dead. It is gone. It has happened. It is not what is. That centre that we constantly refer to or believe in is a dead image.
Now, can you understand why it can never be happy, it can never be complete or whole: because it can’t keep up with what is. What is, is this manifestation, this transient manifestation, which is constantly changing. Like the river, it is constantly flowing. How can a bucket of water, taken from the river, keep up with the river? It is impossible.
So, we tell you right here, that what you are seeking you already are! The idea of a separation is only a concept. With that idea of separation, there immediately comes along with it the sense of insecurity and vulnerability. Anything that thinks or believes it is separate must also feel isolated and alone, apart from ‘me’, other than ‘me’. That is the way the mind functions. As soon as there is ‘me’, there must be ‘other than me’, and that is the seeming separation. That is the cause of all of our problems. When that is understood, what problem is there, if there is no centre to refer it to?
Got it?
http://www.advaita.org.uk/discourses/teachers/whatis_sailorbob.htm
HTML by Mike Graham, 19 Jan 2008, last edited 7 Feb 2008, last edited 17 Feb 2008
Primarily there is that registering of everything. Just like that mirror on the wall is reflecting everything in front of it, so that essence, intelligence or whatever name you like to call it, is registering everything just as it is. You heard that siren, but you didn’t have to say it was a siren. You are hearing this voice, seeing the sights in the room, feeling your body sitting in the chair. All just as it is. And—just as it is—what can you say about it? You can’t say anything at all about it. From that point of view, it either is or is not.
The description can never be the described, the what is.
The thinking is being registered also. That is discriminated into ‘this thought’ or ‘my thought’ or whatever the word might be. Rather, be aware that it all is just as it is.
Say you are walking somewhere and you are not naming anything, there is no thinking going on. You are passing houses, trees, picket fences or whatever is in the street. Everything is registering immediately. You don’t have to name each individual thing. Your thoughts might be happening, and your mind might be totally involved in those thoughts. Yet one piece of concrete paver may be higher than the other, but you won’t trip over it. It will be registered immediately and the appropriate steps will be taken over it.
Or if there is a crowd walking in the street, you’re not going to bump into everyone. You find yourself avoiding them quite effortlessly without having to think, ‘I have to dodge around this one’. Yet they will be coming from all directions and all places, but that intelligence is registering everything just as it is. And in the moment, the proper activity takes place.
It is the same with thoughts also. As you are going along, you’re passing this house or the next house. And as you are going along, thoughts are happening too. They are registered just as is. What happens? The house you have just passed has disappeared from view, or the picket fence you passed is gone. Thought is registered just as is also. What has happened to that thought? It is left behind. It also disappears. One thought might be acted upon, the next may not be.
The only way we can change what is, is to correct it, modify it or alter it in some way or form. The only thing that can do that is the mind: ‘The chair over there is in the wrong position and I want to move it’. It is no longer what is. It is what I think I would like it to be. That is all that has happened —the thinking ‘That should not be there’. That thought, of itself, has no power whatsoever. It is only a thought; it is only based on words. But it refers to this ‘I’ that I believe, or have believed, myself to be up until investigation. That is so, because what has been added to that ‘I’, that belief, has become the ‘self-centre’ or the ‘reference point’. Everything is evaluated from that reference point. And because it is closely associated with that pure intelligence, it has come to believe also that it is the intelligence.
Like the piece of iron in the fire, it will get red-hot and burn, just like fire. Now, if the iron had a mind it would think it was the fire: ‘I am going to burn this and that’. But take it out of the fire and what can it do? So it is with the thoughts: ‘I can’, ‘I will’, ‘I am’. Take them away from awareness or consciousness or that pure intelligence: what substance have they got? Can they stand without that? Can you have a single thought if you are not conscious or not aware?
Constantly over the years with the habit patterns going on it (thought) has believed itself to be the intelligence. It believes it has reality; it has power; it has will; it can do what it likes and what it thinks it wants to do.
That is why this investigation is needed. Just stop and question. Have a look at what we have believed ourselves to be. Thought can’t of itself do anything! Because that thought ‘I see’, can’t see! The thought ‘I hear’, can’t hear! The thought ‘I am aware’, can’t be aware! But there is seeing; there is hearing; and there is awareness. It is happening right now!
The seeing itself cannot conceptualise. It cannot say ‘I am seeing this’. Neither can the hearing say ‘I am hearing this’. It is just pure seeing and pure hearing. It is conceptualised by the mind, which must refer to some past memory to get that name. The mind or the ‘me’, the thought that I have about myself, is the past. That is all it is. It is the past, and the past is dead. It is gone. It has happened. It is not what is. That centre that we constantly refer to or believe in is a dead image.
Now, can you understand why it can never be happy, it can never be complete or whole: because it can’t keep up with what is. What is, is this manifestation, this transient manifestation, which is constantly changing. Like the river, it is constantly flowing. How can a bucket of water, taken from the river, keep up with the river? It is impossible.
So, we tell you right here, that what you are seeking you already are! The idea of a separation is only a concept. With that idea of separation, there immediately comes along with it the sense of insecurity and vulnerability. Anything that thinks or believes it is separate must also feel isolated and alone, apart from ‘me’, other than ‘me’. That is the way the mind functions. As soon as there is ‘me’, there must be ‘other than me’, and that is the seeming separation. That is the cause of all of our problems. When that is understood, what problem is there, if there is no centre to refer it to?
Got it?
http://www.advaita.org.uk/discourses/teachers/whatis_sailorbob.htm
HTML by Mike Graham, 19 Jan 2008, last edited 7 Feb 2008, last edited 17 Feb 2008
All or Nothing...
A life is either all spiritual or not spiritual at all. No man can serve two masters. Your life is shaped by the end you live for. You are made in the image of what you desire....
Father Thomas Merton
Father Thomas Merton
Self...
Self is only Being -
not being this or that.
It is Simple Being.
BE, and
There is the end of ignorance.
Sri Ramana Maharshi
not being this or that.
It is Simple Being.
BE, and
There is the end of ignorance.
Sri Ramana Maharshi
Divine Consciousness and Awareness...
To view..there must be a viewer and that which is viewed.. this is Duality..
There is no Duality within God.. There is only One.. This One is called
Awareness.. If You truly desire to exist within Divine Consciousness, then that
is Your decision and will be honored.. You will be quite happy within this Light
and Love.. but, eventually, You will feel a calling to seek
Higher.........namaste, thomas
There is no Duality within God.. There is only One.. This One is called
Awareness.. If You truly desire to exist within Divine Consciousness, then that
is Your decision and will be honored.. You will be quite happy within this Light
and Love.. but, eventually, You will feel a calling to seek
Higher.........namaste, thomas
Final Reality...
As You have found within life, the highest form of Love is when there is no
ego present.. non-ego is the very meaning of Love.. this is why, Unconditional
Love is the basic teaching of all philosophies and religions.. Since, non-ego or
non-self is the very meaning of Love then the highest point of Love is complete
non-ego.. this point is called God.. no ego is allowed within the essence of God
, which is Pure Awareness ...The spirit worlds and states of Divine Consciousness are Real but they are not
total Freedom.. In these states of Consciousness, You still have an identity..
The Greatest Sacrifice and Love that You can give to God is to give everything
that you possess.. and that is Your self..As Jesus said, the poor shall see
Heaven.. the poor that He was speaking of are those that do not even own an
identity..........namaste, thomas
ego present.. non-ego is the very meaning of Love.. this is why, Unconditional
Love is the basic teaching of all philosophies and religions.. Since, non-ego or
non-self is the very meaning of Love then the highest point of Love is complete
non-ego.. this point is called God.. no ego is allowed within the essence of God
, which is Pure Awareness ...The spirit worlds and states of Divine Consciousness are Real but they are not
total Freedom.. In these states of Consciousness, You still have an identity..
The Greatest Sacrifice and Love that You can give to God is to give everything
that you possess.. and that is Your self..As Jesus said, the poor shall see
Heaven.. the poor that He was speaking of are those that do not even own an
identity..........namaste, thomas
Ego and Individuality...
Losing the ego is to surrender it to a higher Power, but to lose the individuality is not the same.
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 1: What Am I? > # 148
.......Paul Brunton
— Notebooks Category 8: The Ego > Chapter 1: What Am I? > # 148
.......Paul Brunton
The Soul...
The soul is more than the body
To fully understand the soul, we have to not only question the scientific view of our identity; we also have to question the Christian view. Most mainstream Christian churches claim that you are a soul but that this soul has some very strict limitations. One such limitation is that the soul did not exist before the conception of your physical body. Another limitation is that your soul is, by its very nature, a sinner. Yet are these claims true, or is there more to understand about the soul? As a starting point for this discussion, let us look at Jesus’ teaching to Nicodemus:
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. (John, Chapter 3)
This teaching tells us several things about Jesus’ view of the soul. Here are a few important points:
•The soul has the potential to enter (see) the kingdom of God. Yet before it can do so, it must be born again. This rebirth is not a worldly rebirth (of the flesh) but a spiritual rebirth (of the Spirit).
•When the soul is reborn of the Spirit, it is no longer “of the flesh;” it is now spirit, “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
•When the soul is reborn, it can ascend to Heaven. Yet according to Jesus, this means that the soul originally must have come from Heaven, because, “no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven.”
This clearly tells us that the soul originally came from Heaven, meaning from a realm of higher frequencies. The soul was created in that realm, it was created by or of the Spirit, and it descended into the material realm to abide in a physical body for a time. Yet the soul can free itself from the body, be reborn into a new sense of identity, and ascend back to the spiritual realm. The conclusion is clear. According to Jesus, your soul is not a creation of matter (of the flesh), it is a creation of Spirit. Therefore, your soul can exist independently of your physical body, meaning that your soul is a spiritual being. This can help us resolve the question of whether our souls are sinners by nature.
Are you a sinner?
If you accept that the soul is of the Spirit, then you have two options. You can reason that there must be sin in Heaven or you can reason that the soul was not created as a sinner, and thus the Christian doctrine is incorrect. Obviously, the idea that there could be sin in Heaven would contradict everything Jesus said about Heaven, and thus we must conclude that your soul was not created to be a sinner. This is supported by Genesis, because Adam and Eve obviously were not sinners until they ate the forbidden fruit.
As Jesus explains on this website, your soul was not created as a sinner. However, you were given free will by God, and that is why you have the option to sin. Jesus also explains that original sin is a sense of separation from God. The story of Adam and Eve and the Fall of Man is really a symbol for what has happened to every soul. The “fruit of the knowledge of good and evil” is a symbol for a state of consciousness, namely what Paul called the carnal mind.
The soul “fell” into this state of consciousness because it separated itself from its spiritual source—it decided to hide from God (Genesis 2:8). This caused the soul to build a new sense of identity, and the soul now sees itself as a mortal human being instead of the immortal spiritual being that “descended from Heaven.”
This new sense of identity is based on the illusions of this world, namely the consciousness of duality that causes souls to see themselves as separated from God. This sense of identity is “born of the flesh.” Because a soul has free will, it has the potential to create an entirely false sense of identity, and the soul can then see itself as a mortal, human being, as a sinner or as nothing more than a blob of tissue. When the soul identifies itself this way, it cannot see Heaven because, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” The soul has now become spiritually blind, and it thinks it is a mortal soul instead of an immortal spirit.
In reality, you are who you were created to be, namely a spiritual being. Yet in the “here and now,” in time and space, you are, for all practical purposes, who you see yourself as being. If you identify yourself as a mortal sinner, you will act as a mortal sinner, thereby denying your spiritual origin and your potential to reclaim your true identity.
The only way out of this false sense of identity is that the soul must be reborn. This means that the soul’s sense of identity must be reborn, so that it is realigned with the reality that you are – and always have been – a spiritual being. You must be reborn by the Spirit, whereby you realize that you always were a spirit, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” It is only after you regain your true sense of identity that you can ascend back to Heaven.
When did you lose your true identity?
As explained above, we have fallen or descended into a state of consciousness in which we see ourselves as separated from God. Yet when did this happen? Most of us probably don’t remember feeling connected to God, so when did we lose the connection? Did it happen in early childhood, when we did not have any clear understanding of what we were doing? If so, it would seem God has dealt us an unfair hand. Yet what if we were born without a clear connection to God, what if the fall happened a long time ago?
To fully understand our identity, we need to question another Christian doctrine, namely the one that denies the preexistence of souls. There is good historical evidence that this doctrine was not part of early Christianity. In fact, there is some evidence that Jesus taught the concept of the preexistence of souls. This has been explained in several places on this website, Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4.
The very fact that Jesus considered the soul as a spirit shows that it can exist independently of the physical body. A spirit does not depend upon and is not limited by anything in the material world. Thus, there is no reason to assume that your soul came into being when your body was conceived. And when your body dies, the soul does not necessarily have to either ascend to Heaven or descend to Hell.
Why is it important to consider that your soul has lived before? The reason is that you cannot fully understand who you are unless you realize that your soul has a long history on this planet. In other words, your false sense of identity was not simply created in this lifetime.
You also need to know that when God gave you free will, he did not put unreasonable demands on you. For example, God did not demand that you qualify for salvation in just one lifetime, a lifetime that for some people is very short. How could a child that dies in infancy ever have an opportunity to rise above the consciousness of duality and be reborn in Spirit? Yet is it fair that such a soul would be lost?
In reality, God created a world that serves as a schoolroom for our souls. Originally, our souls lived in a realm of higher vibrations than the material universe. This realm, this spiritual schoolroom, is what the Bible describes as the Garden of Eden. In that realm, we had direct contact with a spiritual teacher. Some of the souls in the garden decided to experiment with the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. This is a symbol for the consciousness of duality, and by descending into this state of consciousness we lost our sense of identity as spiritual beings.
When we lost that sense of identity, we could no longer remain in the garden, so we descended into physical bodies. We also lost contact with our spiritual teachers, so the world became our teacher. As explained elsewhere, God created the material world as a mirror that reflects back to us what we send out. Therefore, we create our outer reality as a reflection of our state of consciousness, meaning that the way out of human suffering is to raise our consciousness.
After we fully learn the lesson that we need to rise above the consciousness of duality and reclaim our true identity, we can ascend back to the spiritual realm. Yet until we learn that lesson, we cannot go back. So what happens if you have not learned your lesson after one lifetime? The reality is that your body is dead, but your soul cannot permanently ascend to the spiritual realm. Therefore, you receive another opportunity by coming back into another body, another lifetime. This process can go on for a long time.
Why is it important to know that you might have lived many lifetimes on Earth? You need to know that you might have had many lifetimes to reinforce certain incorrect – dualistic – beliefs, thereby building a very complex mortal sense of identity that covers your spiritual identity. If you really want to be free, you might have to make a serious effort to free yourself from these beliefs, so that you can be reborn into a new sense of identity.
Finally, it can be helpful to realize that you have had many lifetimes to enjoy the pleasures of the Earth. The fact that you are now interested in the spiritual side of life means that your soul has had its fill of “the things of this world,” and it is beginning to long for something higher, something more. What your soul is really longing for is to regain your true identity as a spiritual being.
What does it mean that you are a spiritual being?
What does it really mean that your soul was created in the spiritual realm? It means that your soul is an extension of a self-conscious being that permanently resides in the spiritual realm. This being could be called your spiritual self, but on this website Jesus generally calls it your “I AM Presence.”
The consequence is that you are not a mortal human being. Your true identity is an immortal spiritual being, and no matter what your soul has experienced or gone through here on Earth, nothing has damaged or negatively influenced your I AM Presence. Nothing from the lower vibrations of the material universe can hurt your spiritual self because it is sealed from this world by a barrier that cannot be penetrated by the lower vibrations of fear and anti-love.
One consequence of this fact is that your I AM Presence cannot descend into the lower vibrations of the material universe. Your I AM Presence is not just some faceless, nameless angel. It has a unique individuality, a unique spiritual flame, and it is different from any other being in God’s creation. Therefore, your true self can express a unique creativity and bring forth a unique gift. At some point in the past, your I AM Presence decided that it wanted to share its unique individuality by bringing a gift to the material world. Therefore, it created your soul as an extension of itself that was designed to descend into the lower vibrations of this universe. Your soul is therefore an extension of the unique individuality of your Presence.
Your soul is not just a clone of your Presence; it is not a robot. Your soul is an individual being, and it has free will and its own sense of identity. One might say that at its very core, your soul is a sense of identity. It is a self-conscious being that has the ability to know that it exists and to identify itself. The central question for the soul is, “How does it identify itself?”
Your soul contains the unique individuality of your Presence, and thus it has the creative potential of your Presence. Your soul was literally designed to be a co-creator with your Presence, a co-creator with God. Your soul was sent here to bring a unique gift that would contribute to the manifestation of God’s kingdom on Earth. One might say that because your soul was created as an extension of the Presence, it was never created to be alone. It was designed to be a planet orbiting the sun of your I AM Presence. What keeps your soul from fulfilling this original role, its reason for being?
The taskmaster of the ego
When the soul descended into the consciousness of duality, it lost its connection to the I AM Presence, and it eventually lost the memory that it is a spiritual being. Because the soul was not designed to be alone, this was an unbearable loss for the soul, and the soul simply could not live with that aloneness. To make up for the “paradise lost,” your soul created a new sense of identity, a new self. This pseudo-self is what many spiritual teachings, and even many psychologists, call the human ego.
The ego also has a certain individuality, but it is a reflection of the consciousness of this world rather than your true individuality. Your ego was created out of the sense of separation, and its reasoning is based on the consciousness of duality. The ego cannot accept the fact that you are a spiritual being because it is “born of the flesh.” As Jesus said, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” The ego simply cannot understand your “heavenly” identity, and that is why so many people deny their spiritual potential.
Furthermore, the ego has a survival instinct. and it knows that it can continue to exist only as long as your soul thinks it needs the ego. Therefore, your ego does not want you to reclaim your true, spiritual identity. It wants you to remain trapped in the dualistic sense of identity created by your ego, so that the ego can continue to survive. Therefore, your soul must decide to actively fight the ego in order to reclaim its true identity.
One might say that the process of reclaiming your true identity is a process of putting off the old man of the ego and putting on the new man of your spiritual identity. Paul described it this way:
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians, Chapter 4)
Throughout the ages, the Ascended Host have given many spiritual teachings and tools in their efforts to help us overcome the ego. Behind all outer religions is a universal path, often called the spiritual path. This website is dedicated to presenting this path in a universal form designed for modern people. You will find here many tools that can help you successfully walk the path.
The way out
It is the process of overcoming the ego that will lead you to be reborn in Spirit. Your ego has created a new sense of identity that is based on a number of dualistic lies. It is impossible for your soul to see through these lies by using the human intellect because the intellect is a relative faculty; it is “of the flesh.” So to see through the illusions of the ego, your soul must reach for a higher mind, a higher faculty of reasoning that is “of the Spirit.” That higher faculty is the mind of Christ in the form of your individual Christ self. Jesus has described the Christ self in more detail in an important discourse.
As you begin to put on the new man of the Christ mind, you will follow Paul’s call to,
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5)
You will gradually overcome the dualistic illusions of your ego, and you will begin to gain a higher understanding. This will lead you toward a breakthrough point, and you will then be able to accept the fact that your are a son or daughter of God.
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2Corinthians 6:18)
This will empower you to fulfill the original purpose for which your soul was created and for which you were sent into this world. At that point, it will be as true of you as it was of Jesus,
And behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son [or Daughter], in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. (Matthew 17:5)
You will then be here below the spiritual being that you already are in Heaven
.........from askrealjesus.com
To fully understand the soul, we have to not only question the scientific view of our identity; we also have to question the Christian view. Most mainstream Christian churches claim that you are a soul but that this soul has some very strict limitations. One such limitation is that the soul did not exist before the conception of your physical body. Another limitation is that your soul is, by its very nature, a sinner. Yet are these claims true, or is there more to understand about the soul? As a starting point for this discussion, let us look at Jesus’ teaching to Nicodemus:
3 Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.
4 Nicodemus saith unto him, How can a man be born when he is old? can he enter the second time into his mother's womb, and be born?
5 Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
6 That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
7 Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
8 The wind bloweth where it listeth, and thou hearest the sound thereof, but canst not tell whence it cometh, and whither it goeth: so is every one that is born of the Spirit.
9 Nicodemus answered and said unto him, How can these things be?
10 Jesus answered and said unto him, Art thou a master of Israel, and knowest not these things?
11 Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.
12 If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?
13 And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven, even the Son of man which is in heaven. (John, Chapter 3)
This teaching tells us several things about Jesus’ view of the soul. Here are a few important points:
•The soul has the potential to enter (see) the kingdom of God. Yet before it can do so, it must be born again. This rebirth is not a worldly rebirth (of the flesh) but a spiritual rebirth (of the Spirit).
•When the soul is reborn of the Spirit, it is no longer “of the flesh;” it is now spirit, “that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.”
•When the soul is reborn, it can ascend to Heaven. Yet according to Jesus, this means that the soul originally must have come from Heaven, because, “no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven.”
This clearly tells us that the soul originally came from Heaven, meaning from a realm of higher frequencies. The soul was created in that realm, it was created by or of the Spirit, and it descended into the material realm to abide in a physical body for a time. Yet the soul can free itself from the body, be reborn into a new sense of identity, and ascend back to the spiritual realm. The conclusion is clear. According to Jesus, your soul is not a creation of matter (of the flesh), it is a creation of Spirit. Therefore, your soul can exist independently of your physical body, meaning that your soul is a spiritual being. This can help us resolve the question of whether our souls are sinners by nature.
Are you a sinner?
If you accept that the soul is of the Spirit, then you have two options. You can reason that there must be sin in Heaven or you can reason that the soul was not created as a sinner, and thus the Christian doctrine is incorrect. Obviously, the idea that there could be sin in Heaven would contradict everything Jesus said about Heaven, and thus we must conclude that your soul was not created to be a sinner. This is supported by Genesis, because Adam and Eve obviously were not sinners until they ate the forbidden fruit.
As Jesus explains on this website, your soul was not created as a sinner. However, you were given free will by God, and that is why you have the option to sin. Jesus also explains that original sin is a sense of separation from God. The story of Adam and Eve and the Fall of Man is really a symbol for what has happened to every soul. The “fruit of the knowledge of good and evil” is a symbol for a state of consciousness, namely what Paul called the carnal mind.
The soul “fell” into this state of consciousness because it separated itself from its spiritual source—it decided to hide from God (Genesis 2:8). This caused the soul to build a new sense of identity, and the soul now sees itself as a mortal human being instead of the immortal spiritual being that “descended from Heaven.”
This new sense of identity is based on the illusions of this world, namely the consciousness of duality that causes souls to see themselves as separated from God. This sense of identity is “born of the flesh.” Because a soul has free will, it has the potential to create an entirely false sense of identity, and the soul can then see itself as a mortal, human being, as a sinner or as nothing more than a blob of tissue. When the soul identifies itself this way, it cannot see Heaven because, “That which is born of the flesh is flesh.” The soul has now become spiritually blind, and it thinks it is a mortal soul instead of an immortal spirit.
In reality, you are who you were created to be, namely a spiritual being. Yet in the “here and now,” in time and space, you are, for all practical purposes, who you see yourself as being. If you identify yourself as a mortal sinner, you will act as a mortal sinner, thereby denying your spiritual origin and your potential to reclaim your true identity.
The only way out of this false sense of identity is that the soul must be reborn. This means that the soul’s sense of identity must be reborn, so that it is realigned with the reality that you are – and always have been – a spiritual being. You must be reborn by the Spirit, whereby you realize that you always were a spirit, “That which is born of the Spirit is spirit.” It is only after you regain your true sense of identity that you can ascend back to Heaven.
When did you lose your true identity?
As explained above, we have fallen or descended into a state of consciousness in which we see ourselves as separated from God. Yet when did this happen? Most of us probably don’t remember feeling connected to God, so when did we lose the connection? Did it happen in early childhood, when we did not have any clear understanding of what we were doing? If so, it would seem God has dealt us an unfair hand. Yet what if we were born without a clear connection to God, what if the fall happened a long time ago?
To fully understand our identity, we need to question another Christian doctrine, namely the one that denies the preexistence of souls. There is good historical evidence that this doctrine was not part of early Christianity. In fact, there is some evidence that Jesus taught the concept of the preexistence of souls. This has been explained in several places on this website, Link 1, Link 2, Link 3, Link 4.
The very fact that Jesus considered the soul as a spirit shows that it can exist independently of the physical body. A spirit does not depend upon and is not limited by anything in the material world. Thus, there is no reason to assume that your soul came into being when your body was conceived. And when your body dies, the soul does not necessarily have to either ascend to Heaven or descend to Hell.
Why is it important to consider that your soul has lived before? The reason is that you cannot fully understand who you are unless you realize that your soul has a long history on this planet. In other words, your false sense of identity was not simply created in this lifetime.
You also need to know that when God gave you free will, he did not put unreasonable demands on you. For example, God did not demand that you qualify for salvation in just one lifetime, a lifetime that for some people is very short. How could a child that dies in infancy ever have an opportunity to rise above the consciousness of duality and be reborn in Spirit? Yet is it fair that such a soul would be lost?
In reality, God created a world that serves as a schoolroom for our souls. Originally, our souls lived in a realm of higher vibrations than the material universe. This realm, this spiritual schoolroom, is what the Bible describes as the Garden of Eden. In that realm, we had direct contact with a spiritual teacher. Some of the souls in the garden decided to experiment with the fruit of the knowledge of good and evil. This is a symbol for the consciousness of duality, and by descending into this state of consciousness we lost our sense of identity as spiritual beings.
When we lost that sense of identity, we could no longer remain in the garden, so we descended into physical bodies. We also lost contact with our spiritual teachers, so the world became our teacher. As explained elsewhere, God created the material world as a mirror that reflects back to us what we send out. Therefore, we create our outer reality as a reflection of our state of consciousness, meaning that the way out of human suffering is to raise our consciousness.
After we fully learn the lesson that we need to rise above the consciousness of duality and reclaim our true identity, we can ascend back to the spiritual realm. Yet until we learn that lesson, we cannot go back. So what happens if you have not learned your lesson after one lifetime? The reality is that your body is dead, but your soul cannot permanently ascend to the spiritual realm. Therefore, you receive another opportunity by coming back into another body, another lifetime. This process can go on for a long time.
Why is it important to know that you might have lived many lifetimes on Earth? You need to know that you might have had many lifetimes to reinforce certain incorrect – dualistic – beliefs, thereby building a very complex mortal sense of identity that covers your spiritual identity. If you really want to be free, you might have to make a serious effort to free yourself from these beliefs, so that you can be reborn into a new sense of identity.
Finally, it can be helpful to realize that you have had many lifetimes to enjoy the pleasures of the Earth. The fact that you are now interested in the spiritual side of life means that your soul has had its fill of “the things of this world,” and it is beginning to long for something higher, something more. What your soul is really longing for is to regain your true identity as a spiritual being.
What does it mean that you are a spiritual being?
What does it really mean that your soul was created in the spiritual realm? It means that your soul is an extension of a self-conscious being that permanently resides in the spiritual realm. This being could be called your spiritual self, but on this website Jesus generally calls it your “I AM Presence.”
The consequence is that you are not a mortal human being. Your true identity is an immortal spiritual being, and no matter what your soul has experienced or gone through here on Earth, nothing has damaged or negatively influenced your I AM Presence. Nothing from the lower vibrations of the material universe can hurt your spiritual self because it is sealed from this world by a barrier that cannot be penetrated by the lower vibrations of fear and anti-love.
One consequence of this fact is that your I AM Presence cannot descend into the lower vibrations of the material universe. Your I AM Presence is not just some faceless, nameless angel. It has a unique individuality, a unique spiritual flame, and it is different from any other being in God’s creation. Therefore, your true self can express a unique creativity and bring forth a unique gift. At some point in the past, your I AM Presence decided that it wanted to share its unique individuality by bringing a gift to the material world. Therefore, it created your soul as an extension of itself that was designed to descend into the lower vibrations of this universe. Your soul is therefore an extension of the unique individuality of your Presence.
Your soul is not just a clone of your Presence; it is not a robot. Your soul is an individual being, and it has free will and its own sense of identity. One might say that at its very core, your soul is a sense of identity. It is a self-conscious being that has the ability to know that it exists and to identify itself. The central question for the soul is, “How does it identify itself?”
Your soul contains the unique individuality of your Presence, and thus it has the creative potential of your Presence. Your soul was literally designed to be a co-creator with your Presence, a co-creator with God. Your soul was sent here to bring a unique gift that would contribute to the manifestation of God’s kingdom on Earth. One might say that because your soul was created as an extension of the Presence, it was never created to be alone. It was designed to be a planet orbiting the sun of your I AM Presence. What keeps your soul from fulfilling this original role, its reason for being?
The taskmaster of the ego
When the soul descended into the consciousness of duality, it lost its connection to the I AM Presence, and it eventually lost the memory that it is a spiritual being. Because the soul was not designed to be alone, this was an unbearable loss for the soul, and the soul simply could not live with that aloneness. To make up for the “paradise lost,” your soul created a new sense of identity, a new self. This pseudo-self is what many spiritual teachings, and even many psychologists, call the human ego.
The ego also has a certain individuality, but it is a reflection of the consciousness of this world rather than your true individuality. Your ego was created out of the sense of separation, and its reasoning is based on the consciousness of duality. The ego cannot accept the fact that you are a spiritual being because it is “born of the flesh.” As Jesus said, “If I have told you earthly things, and ye believe not, how shall ye believe, if I tell you of heavenly things?” The ego simply cannot understand your “heavenly” identity, and that is why so many people deny their spiritual potential.
Furthermore, the ego has a survival instinct. and it knows that it can continue to exist only as long as your soul thinks it needs the ego. Therefore, your ego does not want you to reclaim your true, spiritual identity. It wants you to remain trapped in the dualistic sense of identity created by your ego, so that the ego can continue to survive. Therefore, your soul must decide to actively fight the ego in order to reclaim its true identity.
One might say that the process of reclaiming your true identity is a process of putting off the old man of the ego and putting on the new man of your spiritual identity. Paul described it this way:
22 That ye put off concerning the former conversation the old man, which is corrupt according to the deceitful lusts;
23 And be renewed in the spirit of your mind;
24 And that ye put on the new man, which after God is created in righteousness and true holiness. (Ephesians, Chapter 4)
Throughout the ages, the Ascended Host have given many spiritual teachings and tools in their efforts to help us overcome the ego. Behind all outer religions is a universal path, often called the spiritual path. This website is dedicated to presenting this path in a universal form designed for modern people. You will find here many tools that can help you successfully walk the path.
The way out
It is the process of overcoming the ego that will lead you to be reborn in Spirit. Your ego has created a new sense of identity that is based on a number of dualistic lies. It is impossible for your soul to see through these lies by using the human intellect because the intellect is a relative faculty; it is “of the flesh.” So to see through the illusions of the ego, your soul must reach for a higher mind, a higher faculty of reasoning that is “of the Spirit.” That higher faculty is the mind of Christ in the form of your individual Christ self. Jesus has described the Christ self in more detail in an important discourse.
As you begin to put on the new man of the Christ mind, you will follow Paul’s call to,
Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 2:5)
You will gradually overcome the dualistic illusions of your ego, and you will begin to gain a higher understanding. This will lead you toward a breakthrough point, and you will then be able to accept the fact that your are a son or daughter of God.
And will be a Father unto you, and ye shall be my sons and daughters, saith the Lord Almighty. (2Corinthians 6:18)
This will empower you to fulfill the original purpose for which your soul was created and for which you were sent into this world. At that point, it will be as true of you as it was of Jesus,
And behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son [or Daughter], in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him. (Matthew 17:5)
You will then be here below the spiritual being that you already are in Heaven
.........from askrealjesus.com
Delusion and Pain...
A primary cause of suffering is delusion: our inability, because of a subtly willful blindness, to see things the way they truly are but instead in a distorted way. The world is in fact a seamless and dynamic unity: a single living organism that is constantly undergoing change. our minds, however, chop it up into separate, static bits and pieces, which we then try mentally and physically to manipulate. One of the mind's most dear creations is the idea of the person and, closest to home, of a very special person which each one of us calls "I": a separate, enduring ego or self. In a moment, then, the seamless universe is cut in two. There is "I" -- and there is all the rest. That means conflict -- and pain, for "I" cannot control that fathomless vastness against which it is set. It will try, of course, as a flea might pit itself against an elephant, but it is a vain enterprise.
John Snelling
John Snelling
THE ‘GREAT FREEDOM’ TEACHINGS OF CANDICE O'DENVER...
Summarized by Jay Devison
As someone who has spent more than 20 years on the spiritual path, met many Saints and studied numerous New Age, Hindu and Buddhist teachings, I am very happy to be able to say that the ‘Great Freedom’ teachings of Candice O'Denver are the highest, clearest, and most accessible wisdom teachings I've ever heard. Several hundred hours of her full-length talks are now available for free download as MP3 audio files on the www.greatfreedom.org website, and I highly recommend them to anyone seeking the ultimate meaning and fulfillment of human life. Although the verbal element of her teachings is convincing and compelling in itself, Candice's laughter-filled presentation directly conveys the great bliss, peace and freedom she has discovered, and her responses to questioners clearly show her compassion, strength and remarkable open-mindedness. After listening to the downloads, I'm convinced both of the greatness of her teachings and the depth of her attainment.
The teachings are simple, self-explanatory and, for the most part, clear at first hearing; however, in some talks Candice uses terms and phrases which could be confusing if heard without the explanations she sometimes gives of them. Thus, a written overview of the teachings might be a beneficial support for those interested in listening to the talks.
The Origin of the Teachings
Candice began formulating the Great Freedom teachings 25 years ago, after a profound and permanent awakening unexpectedly occurred in her life. She had been raised Catholic, but as a child she intuitively rejected substantial portions of what she was taught through that religion, yet she had a strong, natural faith in God, and prayed every day for many years to be “able to see the face of God”. Her deep connection with nature in her childhood brought about a profound experience of “the oneness of all things”, but she never practiced any kind of formal meditation, and had never met a guru or had any esoteric spiritual training prior to her awakening. As a young adult she was highly successful in many ways, “efforting and achieving” as a way of life, and receiving many accolades; in fact, at age 28 she was named one of 100 outstanding women in America. But her successes gave her no real satisfaction, and by the time she was 34 she realized that no matter how hard she tried, or how many successes she had, they never would satisfy her.
She then went through an profound personal crisis which led her into states of intense fear, alienation and despair. During that period she found that everything she had learned through psychology, philosophy, religion, and all other belief systems she had studied were of no help to her whatsoever.
Furthermore, every remedy she had previously relied on to give her relief, including alcohol and marijuana, now gave her no relief at all. During that extended period of being overwhelmed by negative emotional states, she somehow discovered that beneath all those states, there was a “basic space of pure awareness” which was free from suffering, a space of complete relief. She gradually familiarized herself with that basic space by resting as awareness for short moments, repeated many times, and soon she was able to rest in that awareness for 10 continuous days. At that point “awareness rose like the sun”, and from then on that unchanging space of pure awareness became her primary reality, and the painful thoughts and emotional states which had tormented her faded away like stars in the light of day. Her discovery of all-encompassing pure awareness, and the complete relief that comes with it, proved to be permanent. From this profound awakening the Great Freedom teachings have come, offering a simple and direct path for others to gain the same realization, and the same permanent relief from suffering.
The Great Freedom teachings are designed to be acceptable to the largest audience possible, and therefore do not rely on the word ‘God’ (which would surely alienate some people), nor are they aligned with any religion or based on traditional concepts such as original sin, karma, reincarnation, or ego. Candice doesn't even use the word ‘Enlightenment’, saying it has been so tarnished through years of misuse and misinterpretation that it often just creates confusion. Although after her teachings were formulated she discovered that they are similar to the Tzogchen teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, and share the same essence as ‘The King of Samadhi Sutra’ given by Lord Buddha, the Great Freedom teachings are not presented as Buddhist, and are not called religious, spiritual, philosophy or psychology; they are simply presented as being “about the ultimate truth of what it means to be human”. Unlike most paths, which might require the acceptance of some culturally-specific set of religious beliefs, or faith in some kind of cosmological system, the Great Freedom teachings are based solely on the direct experience of awareness, which is always present within everyone.
The Nature of the Mind
Candice says that “the true nature of the mind is infinitely expansive pure awareness”. This awareness is space-like, sky-like, primordially pure and timelessly free. It is uncaused and uncreated, the unchanging basis of all manifestation. “It has never been made into anything.” It is naturally ever-present in every moment, and always at rest. This changeless pure awareness is our true identity, and remains forever free and unaffected by transformations such as birth and death. As the “unchanging basic space of all phenomena”, awareness is that by which everything is known, the fundamental intelligence by which we know we exist.
Candice says that awareness is not something generated by the biological organism of the body (as many people assume), but rather that space itself is aware, and that whatever appears within 'aware pure space' (including the entire universe) partakes of the awareness that is the fundamental nature of space itself. She often points out that instruments such as the electron microscope and the linear particle accelerator have proven that all things, including our bodies, are ultimately made only of space; her teaching simply takes this one step further, and says that the space we are made of is inseparable from awareness itself. She says this pure awareness, which is our true nature, is synonymous with wisdom, pure intelligence, love and energy.
Within the vast expanse of pure awareness which is the nature of our mind there appear various phenomena: thoughts, emotions, perceptions and experiences. Candice calls them “points of view”, and says they are the “dynamic energy of awareness” and are inseparable from awareness, just as the rays of the sun are inseparable from the sun itself, and the color blue is inseparable from the sky. The phrase “points of view” includes all phenomena: people, places, things, events, words, the entire universe of name and form, and every kind of mental or emotional appearance. These “points of view” appear and disappear within the “all-encompassing pure view of pure awareness” which is what we truly are: the changeless fundamental ground of all being, which remains completely unaffected by the appearance and disappearance of points of view.
A fundamental aspect of the Great Freedom teachings is that whatever appears within pure awareness is actually a form of pure awareness, and inseparable from that basic space. So, no matter what the point of view may be (even if it is an appearance of some horrific calamity), it is actually just a form of pure awareness, and has as its true nature the qualities of pure awareness: primordial purity, wide-open emptiness, timeless freedom. In other words, everything is primordially pure and timelessly free, no matter what the appearances may be. (She says that all words in the dictionary actually have the same ultimate meaning: ‘wide-open primordially-pure awareness’, for that is the true nature of all phenomena, and therefore all words actually describe only that, no matter what their dictionary definitions might be.)
Since all points of view are made only of pure awareness, and are therefore primordially pure and timelessly free, all points of view are benevolent. In other words, all appearances, no matter what they may be, are our allies, for they are all only “self appearances of wisdom awareness”: ephemeral, passing forms of the infinite pure awareness who we are. Furthermore, since all points of view are made of the same exact substance, all points of view are equal. In other words, all emotions, thoughts and phenomena are equal: they are all just forms of pure awareness, and have the same essence and substance, no matter how their appearances might vary.
Points of View Do Not Have an Independent Nature
Unlike the changeless ground of pure awareness, all points of view are subject to the law of impermanence: ‘Whatever appears will disappear’. Therefore, points of view are their own undoing: ‘Like a line drawn on water, they disappear of their own accord, leaving no trace’. In the same way that stars do not exist separately from space, and have their existence only within space and as part of space, so too, “points of view do not have an independent nature”: they are actually just evanescent forms of the pure awareness which is the ground of all being. They have no existence other than as forms of awareness, and no separate identity, and thus have no power to either harm us or help us. Therefore, nothing whatsoever need be done about points of view. In other words, there is no need whatsoever to try to change, purify, or get rid of our thoughts, emotions and experiences ? and indeed, to try to do so is just a futile waste of time.
Instead of trying to change our points of view, Great Freedom teaches that we should simply “rest as awareness”, as the ground reality underlying all points of view, and that through this effortless practice “all faults will be exhausted and all qualities perfected”.
This aspect of the Great Freedom teachings is radically different from most religions and spiritual paths, including the majority of New Age teachings and self-help approaches. Most people spend their entire lives sorting through their thoughts and emotions, trying to change their points of view: trying to get more positive thoughts and less negative thoughts, and more positive emotions and less negative emotions, hoping to have more positive experiences and less negative experiences, all in the hope of gaining some kind of permanent happiness. Candice enunciates a rarely-stated open secret: this approach never really works. Even if we can gain some kind of improvement in our mental condition through trying to manipulate our thoughts and emotions, the result is never the permanent happiness we are seeking.
The Solution: Rest As Awareness
Candice says that all that is needed to realize the timeless freedom that is our true nature is to “rest as awareness”. To “rest as awareness, for short moments, repeated many times until it becomes automatic” is her one and only recommendation for the attainment of complete happiness and well-being, which she has been living in for more than 25 years, and which she says a number of others have gained through following her teachings. To rest as awareness means to “completely relax the body and mind, without seeking anything in what appears, or describing anything in what appears”. Resting in awareness means “to notice, for short moments, that the true nature of the mind is already at rest”. Resting doesn't mean pushing thoughts away, or ignoring thoughts, or trying to enter some kind of ‘state’, but simply resting naturally, in a completely uncontrived way. Resting is easy; in fact we all already know how to do it - it's one of our favorite activities! That's not something new or complicated or esoteric; awareness has always been with you. It's your natural state.
The Root of Suffering
Candice says that the root of suffering is our learned habit of focusing on certain points of view and identifying with them, while opposing other points of view. Since points of view are ephemeral and do not have an independent nature, they are like short-lived appearances within a mirage, or illusory forms within a constantly-changing hologram. Identifying with a point of view is like trying to drink water that appears in a mirage: the result is frustration and suffering. The age-old human tendency to accept some points of view, identify with them and call them ‘good’, while rejecting other points of view, calling them ‘bad’ and opposing them, is largely responsible for the unhappiness in most individuals, and for the external conflicts which threaten to destroy our world. For the survival of the human species, it is now essential that we learn to live in the pure awareness which encompasses all points of view, the super-complete ground of all being which transcends and heals all divisions.
Candice says that belief in a personal identity is really little more than a primitive superstition, which humanity must now outgrow, calling the personal identity nothing but a collection of opinions and points of view, none of which are ultimately true. Candice likens clinging to a personal identity to a child sucking endlessly on a pacifier, and points out what a terribly limiting idea it is to imagine ourselves to be nothing but a person defined by the skin-line of a body, when our true nature is limitless, all-encompassing awareness. (She does not say that the personal identity disappears completely on discovery of our true nature, but “that the personal identity and the lack of a personal identity are not two”—meaning that even after the discovery of the infinite expanse of pure awareness who you really are, the appearance of a personal identity may continue, but it will be seen as inseparable from awareness, and will no longer cause any problem.)
The pure awareness which we really are is already primordially pure and completely perfect, and nothing about us needs to be changed, purified or fixed in order to realize the perfection that is our true nature. Furthermore, the myriad points of view which appear and disappear within the awareness who we are, are just evanescent forms of timeless perfection; they do not need to be changed at all. To put it another way, we are already perfect, we have always been perfect and will always be so, and our thoughts and emotions are an inherent part of our perfection. (Candice says that in 25 years she has never met anyone who isn't perfect.) However, most of us have been taught that we are inherently flawed and need to be fixed, and therefore spend our lives attempting to correct and improve ourselves by trying to manipulate the contents of our mind: a totally frustrating and ultimately fruitless task.
By believing that we are imperfect and need to be fixed, and that our thoughts must be constantly edited, sorted and purified, we enter into an antagonistic relationship with our own minds, thus making ourselves miserable. When we believe that we need to be changed, we will automatically see others as needing to be changed also, and this naturally leads to inharmonious personal relationships. Our belief in imperfection thus puts us at war with ourselves and with those around us. It should be no wonder, then, that we end up manifesting a world full of war.
What it means to ‘Rest as Awareness’
Resting as awareness just means relaxing completely in the pure being which is the substratum of all thoughts, the effortless pure awareness which is the root and source of your mind, and to see whatever appears as inseparable from that source. Since all points of view are made only of awareness, to rest as awareness means to rest as whatever appears. “Timeless freedom means living as all points of view, without needing to separate anything.” It doesn't mean trying to separate the awareness from the thoughts and emotions, for this is impossible, and the attempt to do so is as futile as trying to separate the color blue from the sky. Resting as awareness means resting as the thoughts and emotions, and thereby discovering the pure awareness which is the underlying essence of all thoughts and emotions. “When we rest as awareness and just allow everything to be as it is, allowing all the thoughts, emotions and experiences to simply come and go, inseparable from awareness, then real wisdom begins to dawn.” Seeing that whatever appears is of the same essence, and that nothing needs to be changed, is true freedom. In that equal vision, we are no longer affected by the contents of the mind, and this freedom brings us such joy that we cannot help but want to share it with others.
Resting as awareness gradually enables us to let go of our identification with points of view, erases our habit of accepting some points of view and rejecting others, and brings us into “the balanced view”, where all points of view are seen as they truly are, forms of pure awareness appearing and disappearing within the changeless, all-encompassing pure awareness which we truly are. Rather than sorting points of view into ‘good’ and ‘bad’, we then see all points of view as equal, benevolent, passing forms of awareness, just “self-appearances of perfect wisdom”. Since they have no independent nature, we don't need to accept or reject them, for they cause no harm, have no meaning of their own, and will vanish of their own accord.
Only when we are established in our true being, the super-complete reality of pure awareness, is permanent happiness and complete well-being possible, for that alone is what we are. The effortless practice of resting as awareness helps us to let go of our habitual identification with the various points of view which form our personal identity, and thereby discover the all-encompassing timeless being which we truly are.
What Resting Isn't
Resting as awareness does not mean trying to get rid of thoughts and emotions, or ‘witnessing’ the thoughts, or trying to enter a ‘state of emptiness’, or a ‘bliss state’ or a ‘non-conceptual state’ where no thoughts arise. Awareness is naturally present within and underlying all thoughts and states, and remains unaffected by them, so using effort to try to enter a state is of no use whatsoever. Instead, we should simply rest as the awareness which is already always present, no matter what our state of mind may be.
Candice likens awareness to the operating system of a computer, such as Windows or Mac, and says the two primary states of mind, i.e. conceptual (with thoughts) and non-conceptual (without thoughts) are like two software programs which can be run on the operating system. Awareness is primary, while the states of mind are secondary. Both states of mind function only due to awareness, and no matter which state is functioning the awareness remains unchanged. Therefore, making effort to get into a non-conceptual state (as is done in some types of meditation), is missing the point, for awareness is already fully present within all states, and unaffected by them. Trying to enter a state, whether a non-conceptual state or a state of bliss or ‘emptiness’ or ‘no I’, is always futile, for all states are impermanent, whereas awareness, the fully relaxed ground of all being, is permanent and changeless, present within all states, and its discovery is made through the cessation of all effort.
How to Begin Resting
First of all, Candice makes it clear that “the current circumstances of our lives, whatever they may be, are the perfect circumstances for us to learn to rest as awareness”. Rather than habitually focusing on external situations, imagining they are obstacles to our happiness, and constantly worrying about them, she recommends that we “give up our right to be a victim of our circumstances”, and simply put our focus on the pure awareness which underlies all circumstances and remains unaffected by any circumstance. Since pure awareness is always present within us as our own true being, no special circumstances are required to realize timeless freedom, and there can never be an obstacle to it. No matter what the circumstances of our lives may be, it is always possible to find short moments to rest as awareness, and that is all that is required to discover our true nature. Even if our lives are extremely active, it will not only be possible, but highly beneficial to practice resting as awareness; learning to relax in the midst of action will empower you in any field of endeavor.
Some people may already be familiar with their own awareness, so resting as awareness is something that happens quickly and easily for them. For others, however, it may be necessary to be introduced to awareness. “Once that has happened, then you will know what to rest as”. The introduction to awareness can happen in many ways, such as meeting someone who is effortlessly resting in awareness (such as Candice or the other Great Freedom teachers), or by hearing or reading direct teachings on how to rest as awareness. To simply relax the body and mind completely, and listen to one of the introductory downloads, is a good place to start. Candice often repeats that resting as awareness should be done for “short moments, repeated many times”, rather than trying to rest for long periods in the beginning. She also says the resting should be natural, easy and completely uncontrived. Trying to contrive a state of rest, or making intense efforts to rest, is not only unnecessary but self-defeating; it only succeeds in creating more points of view. Brief moments of effortless rest will gradually, naturally lengthen until the rest becomes automatic 24 hours a day.
To rest as the awareness which is always present as the ground of all being, and find one?s true nature in that vast unchanging expanse of wisdom and love, will always bring a feeling of relief from the suffering inherent in our long-held habit of clinging to points of view. When that relief is discovered, one will naturally begin to rest for longer and longer periods. In the beginning it may seem like there is just an occasional glimpse of awareness amidst a constant barrage of points of view. But when we persevere with resting, eventually the awareness begins to expand, and we begin to see all the points of view as pervaded by awareness; at this stage the points of view we had once thought of as enemies now start to seem like old friends. In the final stages of resting, we will be able to rest naturally as awareness, under all circumstances, without trying to do so. At this stage, points of view are perceived only as transparent forms of awareness, and indivisible from the timeless ground of our own being. This is followed by what Candice calls “the great outshining”, where the blazing sun of awareness arises within and permanently outshines all points of view. This means non-stop timeless freedom and “a cool breeze of awareness flowing 24/7”, which will remain untouched by any circumstances, including death.
Candice says that the Great Outshining is guaranteed for everyone who perseveres with the way of rest. She also says that for many people it is not even necessary to rest, that simply listening to the teachings on a regular basis is sufficient for “certainty to dawn about their true nature”.
Dealing with Afflictive States
Candice says that “there are only four ways of dealing with afflictive states” (emotional states such as anger, lust, fear or jealousy). The first is to indulge the state, for example, to act out anger by shouting at someone, or to act out lust through sexual contact. The second is to avoid it, for example, to go into solitude to avoid seeing people who make us angry or that we might feel attracted to. The third approach is to replace it, for instance, trying to replace angry or lustful thoughts with positive, ‘spiritual thoughts’, or engaging in charitable actions instead of expressing anger. Candice says that none of these three approaches really works in the long run, but only succeed in keeping the emotions and desires alive in a subtle, repressed form, to return again at another time.
The fourth approach is what Candice recommends: “Rest as flawless awareness, seeing all as flawless awareness, until all is flawless awareness”. In other words, rest as the awareness which is the underlying essence of all thoughts and emotions, seeing the anger and lust as forms of that awareness, and eventually you will find that the anger and lust are nothing but pure awareness in disguise. As such they are benevolent and harmless, no longer tempt us to action, and therefore cease to be any problem. In the process, we become more and more deeply identified with awareness itself. Through this approach, afflictive states are actually permanently transmuted into the pure awareness that is their underlying nature, rather than being temporarily repressed to return later in some new manifestation. Afflictive states that are thus permanently resolved in pure awareness are transformed into potent divine qualities.
Common Errors
Candice says that she often hears people in New Age circles saying things such as, ‘Since everything is awareness, I can do whatever I want!’ She says that this kind of thinking is often used to justify behavior that is harmful to oneself and others, and that this is a profound mistake and a complete misunderstanding of the teaching. When we really learn to rest as awareness, our natural sense of morality increases, rather than decreases. Since awareness is present equally with all things and all beings, when we learn to live in awareness, we will naturally become attuned to the oneness of all life and more sensitive to the feelings and needs of others. Our actions will always be in tune with the sacreness of all life, and will always be beneficial to the whole. Awareness doesn't need a rule book, but has its own, inherent moral code based on the direct perception of oneness. From that perception arises a heightened sense of responsibility towards all beings and towards life itself. As Candice puts it, “This is not some kind of nihilistic philosophy that says that everything comes from nothing and leads to nothing, so we can do whatever we want to. It isn't that at all. We must always act as though our conduct were before the highest judge of awareness.”
Another common error is to hold to ‘extremes’, that is, extreme philosophical viewpoints. One example of an extreme is the idea that things have an independent existence apart from awareness; another example is the idea that nothing exists at all. Candice says that both of these are just points of view within all-encompassing awareness, and rather than cling to either point of view, it is best to consider them “not two”, and simply rest in the awareness the contains and transcends both. Another example of an extreme is the idea that the supreme truth is found in states of silence, or stillness, or bliss states, or non-conceptual states. Clinging to any of those concepts will prevent us from simply resting as the awareness which is always already present within all states, and yet remains unaffected by any state. Only through simple rest, without trying to get into any kind of state or to make any change at all in what appears, can we discover the supreme truth that is already manifest in each moment. Candice says that trying to “stay in the now” is also just another extreme which creates tension in the mind. It?s much easier, and much more effective, to simply rest as the awareness which is always present, and which includes and transcends all aspects of time.
Awareness is Not Attained By Effort
Candice says that the timeless freedom of pure awareness is not something that is attained by effort, for it is already naturally present in every moment, as the basic space underlying whatever may appear within the mind. It is already who we are, and it is already attained. Since awareness is always already present in its fullness, as the one who is looking, feeling, sensing and thinking, any effort to attain it is actually a step in the wrong direction. All we need do is rest, without seeking anything, in order to discover the awareness which has never been lost. She says that making efforts to attain awareness is like “striving to attain the color of your eyes”. (Obviously, the color of our eyes is already here, and we need only relax, look in the mirror and see that we already have it.)
Nonetheless, she says that in the beginning, for many people a tiny amount of effort is needed—namely, the effort to drop previous habits of effort, and relax the body and mind completely. For some people, this “tiny amount of effort” may prove to be a daunting task in the beginning. Yet Candice frequently reminds us resting is very easy, and that anyone can do it. All that is needed is to relax; can that be difficult? As she sometimes recommends, “Take a bubble bath”.
Even though the practice is effortless, nonetheless, if we really want to discover the timeless freedom that is our true nature, Candice says it is essential that we make a full commitment to this practice. Furthermore, she gives the general recommendation that we not try to mix this practice with other practices, but focus completely on this technique alone. Trying to combine resting as awareness with practices which seek to change points of view will, to some extent at least, be self-defeating. (She says that if you have some other meditation practice that you like, you can continue with it, but recommends that you do so without imagining that it is leading to a destination, for this will augment the personal identity of ‘the spiritual seeker’, and create a false sense of distance between ourselves and the timeless freedom which is already fully present.)
Timeless Freedom is Not a Destination
Candice says that timeless freedom is already present within us, and is therefore not a destination; furthermore, there is no one going there and no one to seek it, for pure awareness is already what we are. It is here, in its fullness in each moment, as “the one who is looking”. The more often we acknowledge the super-complete awareness who we really are, the more obvious it will become, and the more often we will feel the presence of timeless freedom and perfect peace within our lives. We are already timelessly free, and since awareness is fully present in each moment, within and underlying all points of view, truly, “nothing need be done”. We already are who we are. We need only acknowledge who we are, for short moments repeated many times, for certainty to dawn about our true nature.
Unlike most forms of meditation, which involve a subject using effort to focus on an object, resting as awareness involves only one being: you, effortlessly resting as yourself. That's very simple. Candice says that in 25 years she has never met anyone who couldn't rest as awareness, and that all we need is an open mind. (She then adds that everyone already has an open mind, and so therefore everyone is qualified!)
The Powers of Great Benefit
Candice says that when we are established in the pure awareness that is our true nature, vast powers open up to us, miraculous powers of great benefit which have been revealed by great beings throughout history, and which are urgently needed to deal with the many crucial problems of our age. She says that the most important of these powers by far is the power to introduce others to awareness. She says that along with the discovery of our true nature comes the dawning of true compassion and wisdom, combined with limitless energy which flows naturally into the tireless service of all beings.
In addition to the free MP3 audio downloads, the Great Freedom organization has a number of written teachings, and retreats and special courses on those teachings are available throughout the year in many places around the globe, including England, Sweden, Germany, India, and at the Great Freedom Sanctuary in Bolinas, California. There are also daily tele-conference discussions which are open to all.
I recently completed a 12-day course in one of the core Great Freedom teachings, ‘The 12 Inquiries’, and I must say that after the course I feel like a completely different person. Whereas before I felt the need for constant spiritual effort, there is now an effortless bliss and peace naturally welling up from within, and I feel much more relaxed, open, and loving towards everyone. I highly recommend the course to anyone interested in going deeper into the Great Freedom teachings.
The teaching schedules of Candice and the other Great Freedom teachers are posted on the www.greatfreedom.org website, and teachers are ready to come anywhere they are invited to give introductory courses. Great Freedom now has thousands of participants around the world, and offers 24-7 online and telephone support for anyone requesting support or guidance in resting as awareness.
As someone who has spent more than 20 years on the spiritual path, met many Saints and studied numerous New Age, Hindu and Buddhist teachings, I am very happy to be able to say that the ‘Great Freedom’ teachings of Candice O'Denver are the highest, clearest, and most accessible wisdom teachings I've ever heard. Several hundred hours of her full-length talks are now available for free download as MP3 audio files on the www.greatfreedom.org website, and I highly recommend them to anyone seeking the ultimate meaning and fulfillment of human life. Although the verbal element of her teachings is convincing and compelling in itself, Candice's laughter-filled presentation directly conveys the great bliss, peace and freedom she has discovered, and her responses to questioners clearly show her compassion, strength and remarkable open-mindedness. After listening to the downloads, I'm convinced both of the greatness of her teachings and the depth of her attainment.
The teachings are simple, self-explanatory and, for the most part, clear at first hearing; however, in some talks Candice uses terms and phrases which could be confusing if heard without the explanations she sometimes gives of them. Thus, a written overview of the teachings might be a beneficial support for those interested in listening to the talks.
The Origin of the Teachings
Candice began formulating the Great Freedom teachings 25 years ago, after a profound and permanent awakening unexpectedly occurred in her life. She had been raised Catholic, but as a child she intuitively rejected substantial portions of what she was taught through that religion, yet she had a strong, natural faith in God, and prayed every day for many years to be “able to see the face of God”. Her deep connection with nature in her childhood brought about a profound experience of “the oneness of all things”, but she never practiced any kind of formal meditation, and had never met a guru or had any esoteric spiritual training prior to her awakening. As a young adult she was highly successful in many ways, “efforting and achieving” as a way of life, and receiving many accolades; in fact, at age 28 she was named one of 100 outstanding women in America. But her successes gave her no real satisfaction, and by the time she was 34 she realized that no matter how hard she tried, or how many successes she had, they never would satisfy her.
She then went through an profound personal crisis which led her into states of intense fear, alienation and despair. During that period she found that everything she had learned through psychology, philosophy, religion, and all other belief systems she had studied were of no help to her whatsoever.
Furthermore, every remedy she had previously relied on to give her relief, including alcohol and marijuana, now gave her no relief at all. During that extended period of being overwhelmed by negative emotional states, she somehow discovered that beneath all those states, there was a “basic space of pure awareness” which was free from suffering, a space of complete relief. She gradually familiarized herself with that basic space by resting as awareness for short moments, repeated many times, and soon she was able to rest in that awareness for 10 continuous days. At that point “awareness rose like the sun”, and from then on that unchanging space of pure awareness became her primary reality, and the painful thoughts and emotional states which had tormented her faded away like stars in the light of day. Her discovery of all-encompassing pure awareness, and the complete relief that comes with it, proved to be permanent. From this profound awakening the Great Freedom teachings have come, offering a simple and direct path for others to gain the same realization, and the same permanent relief from suffering.
The Great Freedom teachings are designed to be acceptable to the largest audience possible, and therefore do not rely on the word ‘God’ (which would surely alienate some people), nor are they aligned with any religion or based on traditional concepts such as original sin, karma, reincarnation, or ego. Candice doesn't even use the word ‘Enlightenment’, saying it has been so tarnished through years of misuse and misinterpretation that it often just creates confusion. Although after her teachings were formulated she discovered that they are similar to the Tzogchen teachings of Tibetan Buddhism, and share the same essence as ‘The King of Samadhi Sutra’ given by Lord Buddha, the Great Freedom teachings are not presented as Buddhist, and are not called religious, spiritual, philosophy or psychology; they are simply presented as being “about the ultimate truth of what it means to be human”. Unlike most paths, which might require the acceptance of some culturally-specific set of religious beliefs, or faith in some kind of cosmological system, the Great Freedom teachings are based solely on the direct experience of awareness, which is always present within everyone.
The Nature of the Mind
Candice says that “the true nature of the mind is infinitely expansive pure awareness”. This awareness is space-like, sky-like, primordially pure and timelessly free. It is uncaused and uncreated, the unchanging basis of all manifestation. “It has never been made into anything.” It is naturally ever-present in every moment, and always at rest. This changeless pure awareness is our true identity, and remains forever free and unaffected by transformations such as birth and death. As the “unchanging basic space of all phenomena”, awareness is that by which everything is known, the fundamental intelligence by which we know we exist.
Candice says that awareness is not something generated by the biological organism of the body (as many people assume), but rather that space itself is aware, and that whatever appears within 'aware pure space' (including the entire universe) partakes of the awareness that is the fundamental nature of space itself. She often points out that instruments such as the electron microscope and the linear particle accelerator have proven that all things, including our bodies, are ultimately made only of space; her teaching simply takes this one step further, and says that the space we are made of is inseparable from awareness itself. She says this pure awareness, which is our true nature, is synonymous with wisdom, pure intelligence, love and energy.
Within the vast expanse of pure awareness which is the nature of our mind there appear various phenomena: thoughts, emotions, perceptions and experiences. Candice calls them “points of view”, and says they are the “dynamic energy of awareness” and are inseparable from awareness, just as the rays of the sun are inseparable from the sun itself, and the color blue is inseparable from the sky. The phrase “points of view” includes all phenomena: people, places, things, events, words, the entire universe of name and form, and every kind of mental or emotional appearance. These “points of view” appear and disappear within the “all-encompassing pure view of pure awareness” which is what we truly are: the changeless fundamental ground of all being, which remains completely unaffected by the appearance and disappearance of points of view.
A fundamental aspect of the Great Freedom teachings is that whatever appears within pure awareness is actually a form of pure awareness, and inseparable from that basic space. So, no matter what the point of view may be (even if it is an appearance of some horrific calamity), it is actually just a form of pure awareness, and has as its true nature the qualities of pure awareness: primordial purity, wide-open emptiness, timeless freedom. In other words, everything is primordially pure and timelessly free, no matter what the appearances may be. (She says that all words in the dictionary actually have the same ultimate meaning: ‘wide-open primordially-pure awareness’, for that is the true nature of all phenomena, and therefore all words actually describe only that, no matter what their dictionary definitions might be.)
Since all points of view are made only of pure awareness, and are therefore primordially pure and timelessly free, all points of view are benevolent. In other words, all appearances, no matter what they may be, are our allies, for they are all only “self appearances of wisdom awareness”: ephemeral, passing forms of the infinite pure awareness who we are. Furthermore, since all points of view are made of the same exact substance, all points of view are equal. In other words, all emotions, thoughts and phenomena are equal: they are all just forms of pure awareness, and have the same essence and substance, no matter how their appearances might vary.
Points of View Do Not Have an Independent Nature
Unlike the changeless ground of pure awareness, all points of view are subject to the law of impermanence: ‘Whatever appears will disappear’. Therefore, points of view are their own undoing: ‘Like a line drawn on water, they disappear of their own accord, leaving no trace’. In the same way that stars do not exist separately from space, and have their existence only within space and as part of space, so too, “points of view do not have an independent nature”: they are actually just evanescent forms of the pure awareness which is the ground of all being. They have no existence other than as forms of awareness, and no separate identity, and thus have no power to either harm us or help us. Therefore, nothing whatsoever need be done about points of view. In other words, there is no need whatsoever to try to change, purify, or get rid of our thoughts, emotions and experiences ? and indeed, to try to do so is just a futile waste of time.
Instead of trying to change our points of view, Great Freedom teaches that we should simply “rest as awareness”, as the ground reality underlying all points of view, and that through this effortless practice “all faults will be exhausted and all qualities perfected”.
This aspect of the Great Freedom teachings is radically different from most religions and spiritual paths, including the majority of New Age teachings and self-help approaches. Most people spend their entire lives sorting through their thoughts and emotions, trying to change their points of view: trying to get more positive thoughts and less negative thoughts, and more positive emotions and less negative emotions, hoping to have more positive experiences and less negative experiences, all in the hope of gaining some kind of permanent happiness. Candice enunciates a rarely-stated open secret: this approach never really works. Even if we can gain some kind of improvement in our mental condition through trying to manipulate our thoughts and emotions, the result is never the permanent happiness we are seeking.
The Solution: Rest As Awareness
Candice says that all that is needed to realize the timeless freedom that is our true nature is to “rest as awareness”. To “rest as awareness, for short moments, repeated many times until it becomes automatic” is her one and only recommendation for the attainment of complete happiness and well-being, which she has been living in for more than 25 years, and which she says a number of others have gained through following her teachings. To rest as awareness means to “completely relax the body and mind, without seeking anything in what appears, or describing anything in what appears”. Resting in awareness means “to notice, for short moments, that the true nature of the mind is already at rest”. Resting doesn't mean pushing thoughts away, or ignoring thoughts, or trying to enter some kind of ‘state’, but simply resting naturally, in a completely uncontrived way. Resting is easy; in fact we all already know how to do it - it's one of our favorite activities! That's not something new or complicated or esoteric; awareness has always been with you. It's your natural state.
The Root of Suffering
Candice says that the root of suffering is our learned habit of focusing on certain points of view and identifying with them, while opposing other points of view. Since points of view are ephemeral and do not have an independent nature, they are like short-lived appearances within a mirage, or illusory forms within a constantly-changing hologram. Identifying with a point of view is like trying to drink water that appears in a mirage: the result is frustration and suffering. The age-old human tendency to accept some points of view, identify with them and call them ‘good’, while rejecting other points of view, calling them ‘bad’ and opposing them, is largely responsible for the unhappiness in most individuals, and for the external conflicts which threaten to destroy our world. For the survival of the human species, it is now essential that we learn to live in the pure awareness which encompasses all points of view, the super-complete ground of all being which transcends and heals all divisions.
Candice says that belief in a personal identity is really little more than a primitive superstition, which humanity must now outgrow, calling the personal identity nothing but a collection of opinions and points of view, none of which are ultimately true. Candice likens clinging to a personal identity to a child sucking endlessly on a pacifier, and points out what a terribly limiting idea it is to imagine ourselves to be nothing but a person defined by the skin-line of a body, when our true nature is limitless, all-encompassing awareness. (She does not say that the personal identity disappears completely on discovery of our true nature, but “that the personal identity and the lack of a personal identity are not two”—meaning that even after the discovery of the infinite expanse of pure awareness who you really are, the appearance of a personal identity may continue, but it will be seen as inseparable from awareness, and will no longer cause any problem.)
The pure awareness which we really are is already primordially pure and completely perfect, and nothing about us needs to be changed, purified or fixed in order to realize the perfection that is our true nature. Furthermore, the myriad points of view which appear and disappear within the awareness who we are, are just evanescent forms of timeless perfection; they do not need to be changed at all. To put it another way, we are already perfect, we have always been perfect and will always be so, and our thoughts and emotions are an inherent part of our perfection. (Candice says that in 25 years she has never met anyone who isn't perfect.) However, most of us have been taught that we are inherently flawed and need to be fixed, and therefore spend our lives attempting to correct and improve ourselves by trying to manipulate the contents of our mind: a totally frustrating and ultimately fruitless task.
By believing that we are imperfect and need to be fixed, and that our thoughts must be constantly edited, sorted and purified, we enter into an antagonistic relationship with our own minds, thus making ourselves miserable. When we believe that we need to be changed, we will automatically see others as needing to be changed also, and this naturally leads to inharmonious personal relationships. Our belief in imperfection thus puts us at war with ourselves and with those around us. It should be no wonder, then, that we end up manifesting a world full of war.
What it means to ‘Rest as Awareness’
Resting as awareness just means relaxing completely in the pure being which is the substratum of all thoughts, the effortless pure awareness which is the root and source of your mind, and to see whatever appears as inseparable from that source. Since all points of view are made only of awareness, to rest as awareness means to rest as whatever appears. “Timeless freedom means living as all points of view, without needing to separate anything.” It doesn't mean trying to separate the awareness from the thoughts and emotions, for this is impossible, and the attempt to do so is as futile as trying to separate the color blue from the sky. Resting as awareness means resting as the thoughts and emotions, and thereby discovering the pure awareness which is the underlying essence of all thoughts and emotions. “When we rest as awareness and just allow everything to be as it is, allowing all the thoughts, emotions and experiences to simply come and go, inseparable from awareness, then real wisdom begins to dawn.” Seeing that whatever appears is of the same essence, and that nothing needs to be changed, is true freedom. In that equal vision, we are no longer affected by the contents of the mind, and this freedom brings us such joy that we cannot help but want to share it with others.
Resting as awareness gradually enables us to let go of our identification with points of view, erases our habit of accepting some points of view and rejecting others, and brings us into “the balanced view”, where all points of view are seen as they truly are, forms of pure awareness appearing and disappearing within the changeless, all-encompassing pure awareness which we truly are. Rather than sorting points of view into ‘good’ and ‘bad’, we then see all points of view as equal, benevolent, passing forms of awareness, just “self-appearances of perfect wisdom”. Since they have no independent nature, we don't need to accept or reject them, for they cause no harm, have no meaning of their own, and will vanish of their own accord.
Only when we are established in our true being, the super-complete reality of pure awareness, is permanent happiness and complete well-being possible, for that alone is what we are. The effortless practice of resting as awareness helps us to let go of our habitual identification with the various points of view which form our personal identity, and thereby discover the all-encompassing timeless being which we truly are.
What Resting Isn't
Resting as awareness does not mean trying to get rid of thoughts and emotions, or ‘witnessing’ the thoughts, or trying to enter a ‘state of emptiness’, or a ‘bliss state’ or a ‘non-conceptual state’ where no thoughts arise. Awareness is naturally present within and underlying all thoughts and states, and remains unaffected by them, so using effort to try to enter a state is of no use whatsoever. Instead, we should simply rest as the awareness which is already always present, no matter what our state of mind may be.
Candice likens awareness to the operating system of a computer, such as Windows or Mac, and says the two primary states of mind, i.e. conceptual (with thoughts) and non-conceptual (without thoughts) are like two software programs which can be run on the operating system. Awareness is primary, while the states of mind are secondary. Both states of mind function only due to awareness, and no matter which state is functioning the awareness remains unchanged. Therefore, making effort to get into a non-conceptual state (as is done in some types of meditation), is missing the point, for awareness is already fully present within all states, and unaffected by them. Trying to enter a state, whether a non-conceptual state or a state of bliss or ‘emptiness’ or ‘no I’, is always futile, for all states are impermanent, whereas awareness, the fully relaxed ground of all being, is permanent and changeless, present within all states, and its discovery is made through the cessation of all effort.
How to Begin Resting
First of all, Candice makes it clear that “the current circumstances of our lives, whatever they may be, are the perfect circumstances for us to learn to rest as awareness”. Rather than habitually focusing on external situations, imagining they are obstacles to our happiness, and constantly worrying about them, she recommends that we “give up our right to be a victim of our circumstances”, and simply put our focus on the pure awareness which underlies all circumstances and remains unaffected by any circumstance. Since pure awareness is always present within us as our own true being, no special circumstances are required to realize timeless freedom, and there can never be an obstacle to it. No matter what the circumstances of our lives may be, it is always possible to find short moments to rest as awareness, and that is all that is required to discover our true nature. Even if our lives are extremely active, it will not only be possible, but highly beneficial to practice resting as awareness; learning to relax in the midst of action will empower you in any field of endeavor.
Some people may already be familiar with their own awareness, so resting as awareness is something that happens quickly and easily for them. For others, however, it may be necessary to be introduced to awareness. “Once that has happened, then you will know what to rest as”. The introduction to awareness can happen in many ways, such as meeting someone who is effortlessly resting in awareness (such as Candice or the other Great Freedom teachers), or by hearing or reading direct teachings on how to rest as awareness. To simply relax the body and mind completely, and listen to one of the introductory downloads, is a good place to start. Candice often repeats that resting as awareness should be done for “short moments, repeated many times”, rather than trying to rest for long periods in the beginning. She also says the resting should be natural, easy and completely uncontrived. Trying to contrive a state of rest, or making intense efforts to rest, is not only unnecessary but self-defeating; it only succeeds in creating more points of view. Brief moments of effortless rest will gradually, naturally lengthen until the rest becomes automatic 24 hours a day.
To rest as the awareness which is always present as the ground of all being, and find one?s true nature in that vast unchanging expanse of wisdom and love, will always bring a feeling of relief from the suffering inherent in our long-held habit of clinging to points of view. When that relief is discovered, one will naturally begin to rest for longer and longer periods. In the beginning it may seem like there is just an occasional glimpse of awareness amidst a constant barrage of points of view. But when we persevere with resting, eventually the awareness begins to expand, and we begin to see all the points of view as pervaded by awareness; at this stage the points of view we had once thought of as enemies now start to seem like old friends. In the final stages of resting, we will be able to rest naturally as awareness, under all circumstances, without trying to do so. At this stage, points of view are perceived only as transparent forms of awareness, and indivisible from the timeless ground of our own being. This is followed by what Candice calls “the great outshining”, where the blazing sun of awareness arises within and permanently outshines all points of view. This means non-stop timeless freedom and “a cool breeze of awareness flowing 24/7”, which will remain untouched by any circumstances, including death.
Candice says that the Great Outshining is guaranteed for everyone who perseveres with the way of rest. She also says that for many people it is not even necessary to rest, that simply listening to the teachings on a regular basis is sufficient for “certainty to dawn about their true nature”.
Dealing with Afflictive States
Candice says that “there are only four ways of dealing with afflictive states” (emotional states such as anger, lust, fear or jealousy). The first is to indulge the state, for example, to act out anger by shouting at someone, or to act out lust through sexual contact. The second is to avoid it, for example, to go into solitude to avoid seeing people who make us angry or that we might feel attracted to. The third approach is to replace it, for instance, trying to replace angry or lustful thoughts with positive, ‘spiritual thoughts’, or engaging in charitable actions instead of expressing anger. Candice says that none of these three approaches really works in the long run, but only succeed in keeping the emotions and desires alive in a subtle, repressed form, to return again at another time.
The fourth approach is what Candice recommends: “Rest as flawless awareness, seeing all as flawless awareness, until all is flawless awareness”. In other words, rest as the awareness which is the underlying essence of all thoughts and emotions, seeing the anger and lust as forms of that awareness, and eventually you will find that the anger and lust are nothing but pure awareness in disguise. As such they are benevolent and harmless, no longer tempt us to action, and therefore cease to be any problem. In the process, we become more and more deeply identified with awareness itself. Through this approach, afflictive states are actually permanently transmuted into the pure awareness that is their underlying nature, rather than being temporarily repressed to return later in some new manifestation. Afflictive states that are thus permanently resolved in pure awareness are transformed into potent divine qualities.
Common Errors
Candice says that she often hears people in New Age circles saying things such as, ‘Since everything is awareness, I can do whatever I want!’ She says that this kind of thinking is often used to justify behavior that is harmful to oneself and others, and that this is a profound mistake and a complete misunderstanding of the teaching. When we really learn to rest as awareness, our natural sense of morality increases, rather than decreases. Since awareness is present equally with all things and all beings, when we learn to live in awareness, we will naturally become attuned to the oneness of all life and more sensitive to the feelings and needs of others. Our actions will always be in tune with the sacreness of all life, and will always be beneficial to the whole. Awareness doesn't need a rule book, but has its own, inherent moral code based on the direct perception of oneness. From that perception arises a heightened sense of responsibility towards all beings and towards life itself. As Candice puts it, “This is not some kind of nihilistic philosophy that says that everything comes from nothing and leads to nothing, so we can do whatever we want to. It isn't that at all. We must always act as though our conduct were before the highest judge of awareness.”
Another common error is to hold to ‘extremes’, that is, extreme philosophical viewpoints. One example of an extreme is the idea that things have an independent existence apart from awareness; another example is the idea that nothing exists at all. Candice says that both of these are just points of view within all-encompassing awareness, and rather than cling to either point of view, it is best to consider them “not two”, and simply rest in the awareness the contains and transcends both. Another example of an extreme is the idea that the supreme truth is found in states of silence, or stillness, or bliss states, or non-conceptual states. Clinging to any of those concepts will prevent us from simply resting as the awareness which is always already present within all states, and yet remains unaffected by any state. Only through simple rest, without trying to get into any kind of state or to make any change at all in what appears, can we discover the supreme truth that is already manifest in each moment. Candice says that trying to “stay in the now” is also just another extreme which creates tension in the mind. It?s much easier, and much more effective, to simply rest as the awareness which is always present, and which includes and transcends all aspects of time.
Awareness is Not Attained By Effort
Candice says that the timeless freedom of pure awareness is not something that is attained by effort, for it is already naturally present in every moment, as the basic space underlying whatever may appear within the mind. It is already who we are, and it is already attained. Since awareness is always already present in its fullness, as the one who is looking, feeling, sensing and thinking, any effort to attain it is actually a step in the wrong direction. All we need do is rest, without seeking anything, in order to discover the awareness which has never been lost. She says that making efforts to attain awareness is like “striving to attain the color of your eyes”. (Obviously, the color of our eyes is already here, and we need only relax, look in the mirror and see that we already have it.)
Nonetheless, she says that in the beginning, for many people a tiny amount of effort is needed—namely, the effort to drop previous habits of effort, and relax the body and mind completely. For some people, this “tiny amount of effort” may prove to be a daunting task in the beginning. Yet Candice frequently reminds us resting is very easy, and that anyone can do it. All that is needed is to relax; can that be difficult? As she sometimes recommends, “Take a bubble bath”.
Even though the practice is effortless, nonetheless, if we really want to discover the timeless freedom that is our true nature, Candice says it is essential that we make a full commitment to this practice. Furthermore, she gives the general recommendation that we not try to mix this practice with other practices, but focus completely on this technique alone. Trying to combine resting as awareness with practices which seek to change points of view will, to some extent at least, be self-defeating. (She says that if you have some other meditation practice that you like, you can continue with it, but recommends that you do so without imagining that it is leading to a destination, for this will augment the personal identity of ‘the spiritual seeker’, and create a false sense of distance between ourselves and the timeless freedom which is already fully present.)
Timeless Freedom is Not a Destination
Candice says that timeless freedom is already present within us, and is therefore not a destination; furthermore, there is no one going there and no one to seek it, for pure awareness is already what we are. It is here, in its fullness in each moment, as “the one who is looking”. The more often we acknowledge the super-complete awareness who we really are, the more obvious it will become, and the more often we will feel the presence of timeless freedom and perfect peace within our lives. We are already timelessly free, and since awareness is fully present in each moment, within and underlying all points of view, truly, “nothing need be done”. We already are who we are. We need only acknowledge who we are, for short moments repeated many times, for certainty to dawn about our true nature.
Unlike most forms of meditation, which involve a subject using effort to focus on an object, resting as awareness involves only one being: you, effortlessly resting as yourself. That's very simple. Candice says that in 25 years she has never met anyone who couldn't rest as awareness, and that all we need is an open mind. (She then adds that everyone already has an open mind, and so therefore everyone is qualified!)
The Powers of Great Benefit
Candice says that when we are established in the pure awareness that is our true nature, vast powers open up to us, miraculous powers of great benefit which have been revealed by great beings throughout history, and which are urgently needed to deal with the many crucial problems of our age. She says that the most important of these powers by far is the power to introduce others to awareness. She says that along with the discovery of our true nature comes the dawning of true compassion and wisdom, combined with limitless energy which flows naturally into the tireless service of all beings.
In addition to the free MP3 audio downloads, the Great Freedom organization has a number of written teachings, and retreats and special courses on those teachings are available throughout the year in many places around the globe, including England, Sweden, Germany, India, and at the Great Freedom Sanctuary in Bolinas, California. There are also daily tele-conference discussions which are open to all.
I recently completed a 12-day course in one of the core Great Freedom teachings, ‘The 12 Inquiries’, and I must say that after the course I feel like a completely different person. Whereas before I felt the need for constant spiritual effort, there is now an effortless bliss and peace naturally welling up from within, and I feel much more relaxed, open, and loving towards everyone. I highly recommend the course to anyone interested in going deeper into the Great Freedom teachings.
The teaching schedules of Candice and the other Great Freedom teachers are posted on the www.greatfreedom.org website, and teachers are ready to come anywhere they are invited to give introductory courses. Great Freedom now has thousands of participants around the world, and offers 24-7 online and telephone support for anyone requesting support or guidance in resting as awareness.
The new Golden Rule ...
For the past 2,000 years, spiritual people from all religions and all walks of life have found inspiration in the most memorable statement made by Jesus, namely the Golden Rule:
Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you!
As Jesus explains elsewhere on this website, everything on this planet, including religion and spirituality, must continually evolve and grow. It is now time for a more advanced version of the Golden Rule, and it will be presented in the upcoming book: Save Yourself! A Conversation with Jesus. The following text is from the book:
Jesus: We have talked about the progression of spiritual ages. The defining phrase for the past 2,000 years has been the Golden Rule, “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.” I would like to release the Golden Rule for the Age of Aquarius:
Be here below, all that you are Above.
Or as an affirmation given by the soul:
I AM here below, all that I AM Above.
Dare to express your true individuality and let us co-create a golden age.
.......from askrealjesus.com
Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you!
As Jesus explains elsewhere on this website, everything on this planet, including religion and spirituality, must continually evolve and grow. It is now time for a more advanced version of the Golden Rule, and it will be presented in the upcoming book: Save Yourself! A Conversation with Jesus. The following text is from the book:
Jesus: We have talked about the progression of spiritual ages. The defining phrase for the past 2,000 years has been the Golden Rule, “Do unto others, as you would have them do unto you.” I would like to release the Golden Rule for the Age of Aquarius:
Be here below, all that you are Above.
Or as an affirmation given by the soul:
I AM here below, all that I AM Above.
Dare to express your true individuality and let us co-create a golden age.
.......from askrealjesus.com
The Higher Self...
It is a mistake, however, to turn the higher self into a mere
convenience to be used chiefly for obtaining healing or getting
guidance, for healing the sicknesses of the physical body, or guiding
the activities of the physical ego. It should be sought for its own
sake, and these other things should be sought only occasionally or
incidentally, as and when needed. They should not be made habitual. In
his periodic meditations, for instance, the aspirant should seek the
divine source of his being because it is right, necessary, and good
for him to do so and he should forget every other desire. Only after
he has done that and found the source, and only on his backward
journey to the day's activities, may he remember these lesser desires
and utilize the serenity and power thus gained for attending to them.
— Notebooks Category 10: Healing of the Self > Chapter 5: The
Healing Power of The Overself > # 133.........Paul Brunton
convenience to be used chiefly for obtaining healing or getting
guidance, for healing the sicknesses of the physical body, or guiding
the activities of the physical ego. It should be sought for its own
sake, and these other things should be sought only occasionally or
incidentally, as and when needed. They should not be made habitual. In
his periodic meditations, for instance, the aspirant should seek the
divine source of his being because it is right, necessary, and good
for him to do so and he should forget every other desire. Only after
he has done that and found the source, and only on his backward
journey to the day's activities, may he remember these lesser desires
and utilize the serenity and power thus gained for attending to them.
— Notebooks Category 10: Healing of the Self > Chapter 5: The
Healing Power of The Overself > # 133.........Paul Brunton
Karma...
The interesting part of Karma is that, it is only attached to the ego and exists
as long as the ego exists.. Once Realisation of the illusion of ego and the
ending of the illusion through surrender of the ego into Nothingness, then Karma
is dissolved.. When Jesus said;" your sins are forgiven", He was saying that the
act of Humility or non-ego that the soul has shown, has released that soul from
the Karma of those actions...........namaste, thomas
as long as the ego exists.. Once Realisation of the illusion of ego and the
ending of the illusion through surrender of the ego into Nothingness, then Karma
is dissolved.. When Jesus said;" your sins are forgiven", He was saying that the
act of Humility or non-ego that the soul has shown, has released that soul from
the Karma of those actions...........namaste, thomas
What is Sin?...
Unconditional Love is the Essence of Divine Consciousness and is the Being of
Divine Awareness.. Sin is deviation from Unconditional Love...........namaste,
thomas
Divine Awareness.. Sin is deviation from Unconditional Love...........namaste,
thomas
What is Unconditional Love?...
Love is a tremendous caring that arises in the wake of transcending the personal self. In the wake of this transcendence, something amazing arises. A deep love and caring arises from within emptiness, from nowhere. This love and caring seeks only the Truth in every moment and in all circumstances. True love is something far greater than anything that could be called personal. True love is a non-personal miracle. It is the nature of reality itself. It is the natural and spontaneous expression of the undivided Self. True love is not something that can be created. A love greater than oneself, by its very nature, is something that we can't manufacture. The me cannot manufacture it, even if it wants to. This Love arises from the Self - from realization of the Self. Listen and feel into the intuition of oneness within. The feeling of oneness is love; the experience of oneness is realization of your true nature. Love only seems other than you or bigger than you when you are trapped in the perspective of a personal me. This non-personal love actually is you because you, as you truly are, have never been that which is personal. In one sense, it's simply a matter of how deep enlightenment has gone, how thorough it is. We can't really love the whole until we have a deep realization that we are the whole. Otherwise, the vastness of that love is always going to be experienced as a threat to the me. Love cares not for the me, it cares only for that which is true, undivided, and whole. When the me dissolves, when it surrenders itself to a unity far greater than anything the mind can comprehend, that is Love. - Adyashanti
Nonduality...
Ken Wilber:
"Nonduality" means, as the Upanishads put it, "to be freed of the pairs." That is, the great liberation consists in being freed of the pairs of opposites, freed of duality-and finding instead the nondual One Taste that gives rise to both. This is liberation because we cease the impossible, painful dream of spending our entire lives trying to find an up without a down, an inside without an outside, a good without an evil, a pleasure without its inevitable pain.....
"Nonduality" means, as the Upanishads put it, "to be freed of the pairs." That is, the great liberation consists in being freed of the pairs of opposites, freed of duality-and finding instead the nondual One Taste that gives rise to both. This is liberation because we cease the impossible, painful dream of spending our entire lives trying to find an up without a down, an inside without an outside, a good without an evil, a pleasure without its inevitable pain.....
Gaining Knowledge...
To gain Knowledge is why we are here, but,is it a means to an end?.. Knowledge is our Essence and yet we strive for more and are annoyed when there is no end.. Once again, it becomes an attachment.. another reason for reincarnation.. another method to keep You from Realizing Self.. Self is found in silence and non-thinking.. The mind bubbles up with thoughts to convince You that the illusion is real.. You must go beyond the mind into Nothingness.. No Thought.. No Desire.. Just Reality... you must become non-existent.. The irony is that Knowledge does not bring Freedom, only Non-Thought and Surrender of Thought(ego) brings Freedom.........namaste, thomas
Transmutation...
Midway between the hell of Passion and the heaven of Peace is the purgatory of Transmutation-not a speculative purgatory beyond the grave, but a real purgatory in the human heart. In its separating and purifying fire the base metal of error is sifted away, and only the clarified gold of truth remains.
When temptation has culminated in sorrow and deep perplexity, then the tempted one, strenuously striving for deliverance, finds that his moral servitude is entirely from himself. Instead of fighting against outer circumstances, he must alter inner conditions. The fight against outer things is necessary at the start. It is the only course which can be adopted at the first, because of the prevailing ignorance of mental causation. But it never, of itself, brings about emancipation. What it does bring about is the knowledge of the mental cause of temptation. This knowledge of the mental cause of temptation leads to the transmutation of thought, and the transmutation of thought leads to deliverance from the bondage of error.
The preliminary fighting is a necessary stage in spiritual development, just as the crying and kicking of a helpless babe is necessary to its growth. But as the crying and kicking is not needed beyond the infant stage, so the fierce struggling with, and falling under, temptation ends when the knowledge of mental transmutation is acquired.
The truly wise man, he who is enlightened concerning the source and cause of temptation, does not fight against outward allurements-he abandons all desire for them. Thus, they cease to be allurements, and the power of temptation is destroyed at its source. But this abandonment of unholy desire is not a final process. It is the beginning of a regenerative and transforming power which, when patiently employed, leads to the clear and cloudless heights of spiritual enlightenment.
Spiritual transmutation consists of an entire reversal of the ordinary self-seeking attitude of mind toward people and things, and this reversal brings about an entirely new set of experiences. Thus the desire for a certain pleasure is abandoned, cut off at its source, and not allowed to have any place in the consciousness. But the mental force which that desire represented is not annihilated; it is transferred to a higher region of thought, transmuted into a purer form of energy. The law of conservation of energy prevails universally in the mind as it does in matter, and the force shut off in lower directions is liberated in higher realms of spiritual activity.
Along the Saintly Way towards the divine life, the midway region of Transmutation is the Country of Sacrifice, the Plain of Renunciation. Old passions, old ambitions and thoughts, are cast away and abandoned, but only to reappear in some more beautiful, more permanent, more eternally satisfying form.
Valuable jewels, long guarded and cherished, when thrown tearfully into the melting pot, are remolded into new and more perfect adornments. Likewise, the spiritual alchemist, at first reluctant to part company with long-cherished thoughts and habits, at last gives them up to discover, a little later, to his joy, that they come back to him in the form of new facilities, rarer powers and purer joys-spiritual jewels newly polished, beautiful, and resplendent.
In transmuting his mind from evil to good, a man comes to distinguish more and more clearly between error and Truth, and so distinguishing, he ceases to be swayed and prompted by outward things and by the actions and attitudes of others. Instead, he acts from his knowledge of truth. First acknowledging his errors, and then confronting them with a searching mind and a humble heart, he subdues, conquers, and transmutes them.
The early stage of transmutation is painful but brief, for the pain is soon transformed into pure spiritual joy, the brevity of the pain being measured by the intelligence and energy with which the process is pursued.
While a man thinks that the cause of his pain is in the attitude of others, he will not pass beyond it. But when he perceives that its cause is in himself, then he will pass beyond it into joy.
The unenlightened man allows himself to be disturbed, wounded, and overthrown by what he regards as the wrong attitude of others towards him. This is because the same wrong attitude is in himself. He, indeed, doles out to them, in return, the same actions, regarding as right in himself that which is wrong in others. Slander is given for slander, hatred for hatred, anger for anger. This is the action and reaction of evil. It is the clash of selfishness with selfishness. It is only the self or selfish elements, within a man that can be aroused by the evil in another. The Truth, or divine characteristics, in a man cannot be approached by that evil; much less can it be disturbed and overthrown by it.
It is the conversion, or complete reversal of this self or selfishness into Truth that constitutes Transmutation. The enlightened man has abandoned the delusion that the evil in others has power to hurt and subdue him, and he has grasped the profound truth that he is only overthrown by the evil in himself. He therefore ceases to blame others for his sins and sufferings, and applies himself to purifying his own heart. In this reversal of his mental attitude, he transmutes the lower selfish forces into the higher moral attributes. The base ore of error is cast into the fire of sacrifice, and there comes forth the pure gold of Truth.
Such a man stands firm and unmoved when assailed by outward things. He is self's master, not its slave. He has ceased to identify himself with the impulses of passion, and has identified himself with Truth. He has overcome evil, and has become merged in Good. He knows both error and Truth, and has abandoned error and brought himself into harmony with Truth. He returns good for evil. The more he is assailed by evil from without, the greater is his opportunity of manifesting the good from within.
That which supremely differentiates the fool from the wise man is this-that the fool meets passion with passion, hatred with hatred, and returns evil for evil; whereas the wise man meets passion with peace, hatred with love, and returns good for evil.
Men inflict suffering upon themselves through the active instrumentality of their own unpurified nature. They rise into perfect peace in the measure that they purify their hearts. The mental energy which men waste in pursuing dark passions is all-sufficient to enable them to reach the highest wisdom when it is turned in the right direction.
As water, when transmuted into steam, becomes a new, more definite and wide reaching power, so passion, when transmuted into intellectual and moral force, becomes a new life, a new power for the accomplishment of high and unfailing purposes.
Mental forces, like molecular, have their opposite poles or modes of action. Where the negative pole is, there also is the positive. Where ignorance is, wisdom is possible. Where passion abounds, peace awaits. Where there is much suffering, much bliss is near. Sorrow is the negation of joy; sin is the opposite of purity; evil is the denial of good. Where there is an opposite, there is that which is opposed. The adverse evil, in its denial of the good, testifies to its presence. The one thing needful, therefore, is the turning around from the negative to the positive; the conversion of the heart from impure desires to pure aspirations; the transmutation of passional forces into moral powers.
The wise purify their thoughts. They turn from bad deeds and do good deeds. They put error behind them and approach Truth. Thus do they rise above the allurements of sin, above the torments of temptation, above the dark world of sorrow, and enter the Divine Consciousness, the Transcendent Life.
...........James Allen
When temptation has culminated in sorrow and deep perplexity, then the tempted one, strenuously striving for deliverance, finds that his moral servitude is entirely from himself. Instead of fighting against outer circumstances, he must alter inner conditions. The fight against outer things is necessary at the start. It is the only course which can be adopted at the first, because of the prevailing ignorance of mental causation. But it never, of itself, brings about emancipation. What it does bring about is the knowledge of the mental cause of temptation. This knowledge of the mental cause of temptation leads to the transmutation of thought, and the transmutation of thought leads to deliverance from the bondage of error.
The preliminary fighting is a necessary stage in spiritual development, just as the crying and kicking of a helpless babe is necessary to its growth. But as the crying and kicking is not needed beyond the infant stage, so the fierce struggling with, and falling under, temptation ends when the knowledge of mental transmutation is acquired.
The truly wise man, he who is enlightened concerning the source and cause of temptation, does not fight against outward allurements-he abandons all desire for them. Thus, they cease to be allurements, and the power of temptation is destroyed at its source. But this abandonment of unholy desire is not a final process. It is the beginning of a regenerative and transforming power which, when patiently employed, leads to the clear and cloudless heights of spiritual enlightenment.
Spiritual transmutation consists of an entire reversal of the ordinary self-seeking attitude of mind toward people and things, and this reversal brings about an entirely new set of experiences. Thus the desire for a certain pleasure is abandoned, cut off at its source, and not allowed to have any place in the consciousness. But the mental force which that desire represented is not annihilated; it is transferred to a higher region of thought, transmuted into a purer form of energy. The law of conservation of energy prevails universally in the mind as it does in matter, and the force shut off in lower directions is liberated in higher realms of spiritual activity.
Along the Saintly Way towards the divine life, the midway region of Transmutation is the Country of Sacrifice, the Plain of Renunciation. Old passions, old ambitions and thoughts, are cast away and abandoned, but only to reappear in some more beautiful, more permanent, more eternally satisfying form.
Valuable jewels, long guarded and cherished, when thrown tearfully into the melting pot, are remolded into new and more perfect adornments. Likewise, the spiritual alchemist, at first reluctant to part company with long-cherished thoughts and habits, at last gives them up to discover, a little later, to his joy, that they come back to him in the form of new facilities, rarer powers and purer joys-spiritual jewels newly polished, beautiful, and resplendent.
In transmuting his mind from evil to good, a man comes to distinguish more and more clearly between error and Truth, and so distinguishing, he ceases to be swayed and prompted by outward things and by the actions and attitudes of others. Instead, he acts from his knowledge of truth. First acknowledging his errors, and then confronting them with a searching mind and a humble heart, he subdues, conquers, and transmutes them.
The early stage of transmutation is painful but brief, for the pain is soon transformed into pure spiritual joy, the brevity of the pain being measured by the intelligence and energy with which the process is pursued.
While a man thinks that the cause of his pain is in the attitude of others, he will not pass beyond it. But when he perceives that its cause is in himself, then he will pass beyond it into joy.
The unenlightened man allows himself to be disturbed, wounded, and overthrown by what he regards as the wrong attitude of others towards him. This is because the same wrong attitude is in himself. He, indeed, doles out to them, in return, the same actions, regarding as right in himself that which is wrong in others. Slander is given for slander, hatred for hatred, anger for anger. This is the action and reaction of evil. It is the clash of selfishness with selfishness. It is only the self or selfish elements, within a man that can be aroused by the evil in another. The Truth, or divine characteristics, in a man cannot be approached by that evil; much less can it be disturbed and overthrown by it.
It is the conversion, or complete reversal of this self or selfishness into Truth that constitutes Transmutation. The enlightened man has abandoned the delusion that the evil in others has power to hurt and subdue him, and he has grasped the profound truth that he is only overthrown by the evil in himself. He therefore ceases to blame others for his sins and sufferings, and applies himself to purifying his own heart. In this reversal of his mental attitude, he transmutes the lower selfish forces into the higher moral attributes. The base ore of error is cast into the fire of sacrifice, and there comes forth the pure gold of Truth.
Such a man stands firm and unmoved when assailed by outward things. He is self's master, not its slave. He has ceased to identify himself with the impulses of passion, and has identified himself with Truth. He has overcome evil, and has become merged in Good. He knows both error and Truth, and has abandoned error and brought himself into harmony with Truth. He returns good for evil. The more he is assailed by evil from without, the greater is his opportunity of manifesting the good from within.
That which supremely differentiates the fool from the wise man is this-that the fool meets passion with passion, hatred with hatred, and returns evil for evil; whereas the wise man meets passion with peace, hatred with love, and returns good for evil.
Men inflict suffering upon themselves through the active instrumentality of their own unpurified nature. They rise into perfect peace in the measure that they purify their hearts. The mental energy which men waste in pursuing dark passions is all-sufficient to enable them to reach the highest wisdom when it is turned in the right direction.
As water, when transmuted into steam, becomes a new, more definite and wide reaching power, so passion, when transmuted into intellectual and moral force, becomes a new life, a new power for the accomplishment of high and unfailing purposes.
Mental forces, like molecular, have their opposite poles or modes of action. Where the negative pole is, there also is the positive. Where ignorance is, wisdom is possible. Where passion abounds, peace awaits. Where there is much suffering, much bliss is near. Sorrow is the negation of joy; sin is the opposite of purity; evil is the denial of good. Where there is an opposite, there is that which is opposed. The adverse evil, in its denial of the good, testifies to its presence. The one thing needful, therefore, is the turning around from the negative to the positive; the conversion of the heart from impure desires to pure aspirations; the transmutation of passional forces into moral powers.
The wise purify their thoughts. They turn from bad deeds and do good deeds. They put error behind them and approach Truth. Thus do they rise above the allurements of sin, above the torments of temptation, above the dark world of sorrow, and enter the Divine Consciousness, the Transcendent Life.
...........James Allen
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)