Enlightenment has nothing to do with states of consciousness. Whether you are in ego consciousness or unity consciousness is not really the point. I have met many people who have easy access to advanced states of consciousness. Though for some people this may come very easily, I also notice that many of these people are no freer than anyone else. If you don’t believe that the ego can exist in very advanced states of consciousness, think again. The point isn’t the state of consciousness, even very advanced ones, but an awake mystery that is the source of all states of consciousness. It is even the source of presence and beingness. It is beyond all perception and all experience. I call it ‘awakeness’. To find out that you are empty of emptiness is to die into an aware mystery, which is the source of all existence. It just so happens that that mystery is in love with all of its manifestation and non-manifestation. You find your Self by stepping back out of yourself.
RESPONSIBILITY AND ACTIVE ENQUIRY
There is a fine line between being truly open to the guidance of a spiritual teacher and regressing into a childish relationship where you abdicate your adulthood and project all wisdom and divinity onto the teacher. Each person needs to find a mature balance, being truly and deeply open to their spiritual guide without abdicating all of their authority.
The same can be applied to a spiritual teaching. A spiritual teaching is a finger pointing toward Reality; it is not Reality itself. To be in a true and mature relationship with a spiritual teaching requires you to apply it, not simply believe in it. Belief leads to various forms of fundamentalism and shuts down the curiosity and inquiry that are essential to open the way for awakening and what lies beyond awakening. A good spiritual teaching is something that you work with and apply. In doing so, it works on you (often in a hidden way) and helps reveal to you the Truth (and falseness) that lies within you.
There is a fine line between being truly open to the guidance of a spiritual teacher and regressing into a childish relationship where you abdicate your adulthood and project all wisdom and divinity onto the teacher. Each person needs to find a mature balance, being truly and deeply open to their spiritual guide without abdicating all of their authority.
The same can be applied to a spiritual teaching. A spiritual teaching is a finger pointing toward Reality; it is not Reality itself. To be in a true and mature relationship with a spiritual teaching requires you to apply it, not simply believe in it. Belief leads to various forms of fundamentalism and shuts down the curiosity and inquiry that are essential to open the way for awakening and what lies beyond awakening. A good spiritual teaching is something that you work with and apply. In doing so, it works on you (often in a hidden way) and helps reveal to you the Truth (and falseness) that lies within you.
I have steered away this evening from talking about many of the positive aspects of enlightenment, but there is no way you could really see the truth and not be giggling in some way for the rest of your life. There is no way that you couldn’t just love this world to death, even though you know it’s not half as real as you thought it was. There is no way you could not love people a hundred times more, even though you know that they’re not what you thought they were. But I don’t want to speak too much about that because the mind starts to think it’s being handed candy when it’s not. It’s being handed a sword.
If you have any image of what the Truth is, slay it immediately because that’s not it.
We must leave the entire collection of conditioned thought behind and let ourselves be led by the inner thread of silence into the unknown, beyond where all paths end, to that place where we go innocently or not at all, not once but continually. True freedom isn’t ‘I am free.’ True freedom is ‘everything is free.’ Which means everyone has the freedom to be who they are. Whether they are awake or not awake. Deluded or un-deluded. Freedom is that everything and everybody gets to be exactly as they are. Unless we’ve come to that point, unless we’ve seen that is how Reality sees things, then we are actually withholding freedom from the world.
When we start to suffer, it tells us something very valuable. It means that we are not seeing the Truth, and we are not relating from the Truth. It's a beautiful pointer. It never fails.
Live without a reason, a purpose, a position. The mind is frightened of this because then 'my life' is over with, and Life lives itself and moves from itself in a totally different dimension. This way of living is just Life moving. That's all.
Live without a reason, a purpose, a position. The mind is frightened of this because then 'my life' is over with, and Life lives itself and moves from itself in a totally different dimension. This way of living is just Life moving. That's all.
Enlightenment is a destructive process. It has nothing to do with becoming better or being happier. Enlightenment is the crumbling away of untruth. It’s seeing through the facade of pretence. It’s the complete eradication of everything we imagined to be true.
Be a true representative of the goodness in your heart, and don’t expect it to be easy or even noticed.
When you inquire “Who am I?” if you are honest, you’ll notice that it takes you right back to silence instantly. The brain doesn’t have an answer, so all of a sudden there is silence.
True Love is 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.
It is easy to imagine that the Buddha, the awakened one, is something or somewhere other than here or that awakening to reality will happen sometime other than now. But as long as we continue to think in terms of time we will deceive ourselves. The "you" who is chasing enlightenment will never become enlightened.
Instead of striving towards some distant goal that you will never reach, I invite you to stop and ask: How am I avoiding the enlightenment that is already present in each moment? How am I seeing separation where it doesn't exist?
Instead of striving towards some distant goal that you will never reach, I invite you to stop and ask: How am I avoiding the enlightenment that is already present in each moment? How am I seeing separation where it doesn't exist?
Do not seek after what you yearn for, seek after the source of the yearning itself.
When we start to suffer, it tells us something very valuable. It means that we are not seeing the truth, and we are not relating from the truth. It’s a beautiful pointer. It never fails.
Throw off the yoke of belief, for to arrive at the nobility of truth you must be cleansed of all borrowed knowledge till you are as innocent as the day before you were born. You must forge from within your longing a fiery sword of discrimination, unsheathed from the past—starting now on this hill we stand upon, determined to never again take anything secondhand, but instead prove true or false each statement yourself.
For truth belongs to neither man or woman, nor holy book, nor well-reasoned philosophy or belief, but only to itself—immortal and pure. I seek only to remove untruth from your mind so that you may be restored to the unitary vision which is your everlasting inheritance.
For truth belongs to neither man or woman, nor holy book, nor well-reasoned philosophy or belief, but only to itself—immortal and pure. I seek only to remove untruth from your mind so that you may be restored to the unitary vision which is your everlasting inheritance.
The end point is already at the beginning. That’s what we call the direct path. You don’t have to get to silence. You simply have to realize it’s there. You don’t have to get to openness. You simply need to realize it’s already there. You don’t need to get to freedom. You simply need to recognize that it’s already there. You don’t need to get to no-self. You just need to recognize that there isn’t one there to begin with. You don’t have to get to the divine. You simply have to recognize that it’s the only thing that’s going on already. That’s called the direct path. It’s a direct experiential introduction to the view. The key is that it’s got to be experiential.
Step out of the dream of your concepts and ideas.
Step out of the dream of what you imagine enlightenment to be.
Step out of the dream of who you think you are.
Step out of the dream of everything you have ever known.
Step out of your dream of being a deluded person.
Stop telling yourself those lies and dreaming those dreams.
Step out of all of that.
You can do it. Nothing is holding you back.
There are no requirements and no prerequisites to awaken.
There is nothing to be done, nothing to think, nowhere to go.
Just stop all dreaming.
Stop all doing.
Stop all excuses.
Just stop and be still.
Effortlessly be still.
Grace will do the rest.
Step out of the dream of what you imagine enlightenment to be.
Step out of the dream of who you think you are.
Step out of the dream of everything you have ever known.
Step out of your dream of being a deluded person.
Stop telling yourself those lies and dreaming those dreams.
Step out of all of that.
You can do it. Nothing is holding you back.
There are no requirements and no prerequisites to awaken.
There is nothing to be done, nothing to think, nowhere to go.
Just stop all dreaming.
Stop all doing.
Stop all excuses.
Just stop and be still.
Effortlessly be still.
Grace will do the rest.
Life without a reason, a purpose, a position… the mind is frightened of this because then “my life” is over with, and life lives itself and moves from itself in a totally different dimension. This way of living is just life moving. That’s all.
True freedom isn’t ‘I’m free.’ True freedom is ‘everything is free.’ Which means everyone has the freedom to be who they are. Whether they’re awake or not awake. Deluded or un-deluded. Freedom is that everything and everybody gets to be exactly as they are. Unless we’ve come to that point, unless we’ve seen that is how Reality sees things, then we’re actually withholding freedom from the world.
We must leave the entire collection of conditioned thought behind and let ourselves be led by the inner thread of silence into the unknown, beyond where all paths end, to that place where we go innocently or not at all—not once but continually.
Real devotion is a love affair with truth. It’s being more interested in truth than anything else. It’s when truth is our highest priority… in that moment we are in devotion to truth, to the One.
What if you let go of every bit of control and every urge that you have, right down to the most infinitesimal urge to control anything, anywhere, including anything that may be happening with you at this moment? Imagine that you were able to completely and absolutely give up control on every level. If you were able to give up control absolutely, totally, and completely, then you would be a spiritually free being.
Conflict isn’t inherent in existence. Existence is just the way it is. Conflict only comes from our relationship with life. Inner conflict only comes from our relationship with ourselves.
The light of consciousness has no mind to change or alter anything. There is no sense that anything needs to change, but it does change.
In the end
It is very simple
Either
We give ourselves
To silence
Or
We don't.
It is very simple
Either
We give ourselves
To silence
Or
We don't.
Don't try to stop thinking, let it happen.
Just recognize that which is not thinking.
Just recognize that which is not thinking.
Many people think that it is the function of a spiritual teaching
to provide answers to life’s biggest questions,
but actually, the opposite is true.
The primary task of any good spiritual teaching is not to
answer your questions, but to question your answers.
For it is your conscious and unconscious assumptions and beliefs
that distort your perception and cause you to see separation and division where there is actually only unity and completeness.
to provide answers to life’s biggest questions,
but actually, the opposite is true.
The primary task of any good spiritual teaching is not to
answer your questions, but to question your answers.
For it is your conscious and unconscious assumptions and beliefs
that distort your perception and cause you to see separation and division where there is actually only unity and completeness.
Beings
Follow us on Facebook