Self-Knowledge

2011-07-08T03:03:00.001-07:00

Yes, this is Part Two!

2011-07-08T02:47:00.000-07:00

Tony Parsons intro part 2

2011-03-02T16:11:00.000-08:00

So All There Is, Is This . . .

2011-02-01T23:23:00.000-08:00

tony parsons exposing the myth

2010-02-11T09:08:00.001-08:00

This is the end of 'me'. 'I' am no more. Now being stands alone . . . . . thank you Tony :-)

Adyashanti - The Enlightened Shoe

2009-12-08T07:34:00.001-08:00

Are you following a spiritual path? STOP! Watch this story about the enlightened shoe!

Enjoy,

Doug :)

Meditating Into Being

2009-11-16T11:18:00.000-08:00

This interview with Derek Thorne is a wonderful way for anyone to come to an understanding of Meditation that unfolds as a state of 'Being'. Derek demonstrates this meditation and leads you into the meditative state . . .

. . . it's just a taster but well worth the effort. Don't miss this opportunity . . .

Enjoy,

Doug :-)

PSTEC is "Freedom from Unwanted Emotion".

2009-11-05T09:12:00.000-08:00

Hello everyone,

Are you looking for ways to improve the quality of your life? Well here is something well worth your time to investigate, it is PSTEC, and as a qualified 'Emotional Freedom Techniques' practitioner I can tell you, having put PSTEC into practice myself, that it is very, VERY effective . . .

. . . It's 100% Free, Fast, & Powerful. Suited to Self Help or Therapy

Everything you need is free to access from this website.
In a "nutshell", PSTEC is a unique 11 minute audio track which can be played to anyone (including yourself) to create a resolution for almost any problem related to unwanted emotions or feelings. It is a very efficient neutraliser of any problem feelings or emotions.

Here is a letter written to the creator of PSTEC, Tim Phizackerley, demonstrating just how effective it can be :

Hi Tim,

I am an English hypnotherapist based in Mallorca Spain. My 24 year old daughter is here on holiday from the UK. She has always had a fear of spiders. I gave her hypnotherapy for this a couple of years ago. We reduced it but didn't manage to eliminate it. On hearing about your new PSTEC, we decided to give it a try. ... She did one round and the results were absolutely amazing. She said there is no way now that she can even conjure up that 'spider horror'. (her words)
Thanks Tim ,you have created a wonderful, life-changing tool.
...Regards,

Lou Ravelle ABH, IMDHA
Mallorca Spain.

Go to this link now and download the info, it is free, find out for yourself just how good this technique really is.

All the best,

Doug :-)

Richard Dawkins cruelly answers audience question

2009-10-19T04:38:00.001-07:00

What Dawkins says on this clip is true enough, to a degree . . . but the eternal war between Religion and Science goes on and on, neither knowing the whole truth . . .

It is the conditioned mind that 'hallucinates', and that conditioning can be as a believer of any religion, but also, Paradoxically for Dawkins, you can be conditioned as some one who believes there is no God! You see, atheism is a belief that there is no God, just as there are those who believe there is a God; both are the result of a conditioned mind. Both are delusional because both believe that they are right in their belief and that the opposite position/polarity must therefore be wrong . . . such is the madness of the conditioned mind!

It's also ironic that everyone of us has been conditioned to believe in something; even the agnostic believes . . . they believe that there is nothing to be known of God, just as the atheist believes there is no God. All is belief. ... Read More

Attitude, belief and opinion are aspects of our conditioning . . but is there something within you that is not conditioned? Now, that is an intelligent question worth asking and finding an answer to.

My answer? For what it's worth . . .

The only 'Intelligent' thing you can do is observe your own conditioned mind to see and understand what it is and how it became conditioned to think the way it does in the first place; all else is Madness; the Madness spawned of a conditioned mind that can only operate within the confines of its own conditioning!!!

The secret lies in breaking free of the conditioned mind, which anyone who still believes in anything has obviously not accomplished. But, please, don't tell me that this is just my belief ;-)

Enlightenment - Eckhart Tolle

2009-10-08T02:28:00.001-07:00

Enlightenment is not something to achieve, it is something you are, but have not yet realized. In other words enlightenment already resides within you. The entry point is 'Present Moment Awareness'; the Now.

Welcome To Reality . . .

2009-10-08T02:02:00.001-07:00

. . . Resistance is futile!

Awakening leads to the unfolding of your true nature . . you'll resist it, but that's OK . . . enlightenment is inevitable once you awaken and begin to open up to the truth of yourself!

Look Here: 1Yogi2Many has landed!

2009-10-07T03:42:00.000-07:00

Have you discovered 1Yogi2Many yet? His rather quirky approach to self-discovery will bring a smile to your face and will also guide you towards a deeper reality within, and beyond, yourself.

Make sure that you don't miss his latest blog post on the subject of 'Stress'. He has a wonderful new technique to share with you, I guarantee it works, it will take you only moments to dissolve any lingering stress that you are feeling . . . click here Right NOW!

. . . and I'll see you on the other side ;-)

Consciousness

2009-10-05T07:16:00.000-07:00

'Existence or Consciousness is the only reality. Consciousness plus waking we call waking. Consciousness plus sleep we call sleep. Consciousness plus dream, we call dream. Consciousness is the screen on which all the pictures come and go. The screen is real, the pictures are mere shadows on it.'

Ramana Maharshi

The Teaching of Ramesh S. Balsekar

2009-10-02T03:37:00.000-07:00

"To be enlightened is to be able to accept with equanimity anything in life at any moment as God's will."

"Self-realization is the total realization that there is no one to realize (or achieve) anything."

Ramesh S. Balsekar

The understanding happens:
"We cannot not accept what is in the moment."

ACKNOWLEDGING YOUR PURITY

2009-08-20T03:08:00.000-07:00

An Article From Barry Long.

From the 17-day Master Session 1995, Cabarita Beach, Australia

Now! No more negativity. From this moment on, no more negativity. Let me explain what negativity is. I know you know what negativity is – but you don’t know the subtlety of it. Negativity is any talk or thought about your own incapacity to find the truth. Negativity is any despair in you, ‘I can’t do it. No matter how hard I try I can’t do it.’ Negativity is, ‘I am so dense, I am so unenlightened, I am so this, I am so that.’ That is negativity. And do you know who is speaking? It is the talker – a very dangerous animal. Really, it is not even worthy of being called an animal. It is a subconscious condition of pain and lack of communication that’s inside every one of us, and has been, for a long, long time.

Once, when man and woman really loved, there was no talker. No one ever spoke. There was no need to speak because we communicated in love. And love is not the sentimental love, the missing love, the suffering love, the sorrowful love – that’s not love. We were in love, meaning we were in the golden orb that I speak about in the Making Love tapes – of communication, of love without having to say anything, or be anything, or do anything. We were already there, so you knew precisely what I needed, and if I needed anything from your point of view, then you would provide it for me, or I for you. In that way we communicated through love, for love is the finest communication there is. Love is absence, love is not a presence of anything. Love is the reverse of what the human mind thinks it is.

Now what is absence, really? Absence begins with a lack of self-condemnation because you can’t be absent if you are condemning yourself. You can’t be absent if you are criticising yourself. You can’t be absent if you are despairing of how slow your progress is in the truth. That’s not absence. That’s a presence of the speaker, of the negative one, the one that’s crucifying everybody on earth. No more negative talk about yourself, please! No more!

So what is the alternative to this? That I can hold to? The answer is very, very subtle and I am going to try and impart to you this enormous subtlety that is a replacement for this negativity that your mind is going to think or speak. Each of you to be here, loves the truth, although you might not know all the time that you love the truth. For some of you, it’s even translated into that other word ‘God’. In loving the truth, you love God, and in loving God all of you love life, because that’s why you are here, because you love. Now, that is your purity. The talker is always emphasising the negative, but how about acknowledging the purity? Every single one of you has purity. It is obscured by this negative thinker and talker that talks so much rubbish about itself. As soon as it talks about itself, you will find it is not long before it starts to bring despair and despondency and depression.

Stay with the acknowledgment of your purity. How do I do that? Because purity is nothing, you see. It’s your love of truth. Your love of truth is so subtle, so fine, that you can’t talk about it. All you can say is, ‘I love the truth. I’m not sure what the truth is, but I love it.’ You only need to do that, and in that moment of loving the truth or acknowledging your purity – you’re absent. There is a great absence in you because you don’t know what you are loving, you don’t know who’s loving, all you know is, ‘I just love it. I will never give up because I can’t stay away from it. I just love it.’ That’s your purity. That’s the purity of love. That’s the purity of humility. That’s the purity of giving up the speaker, the thinker, the talker, the negative one, who will always be negative. All talk turns to negativity or talk about rubbish, unless I am praising my purity.

Now, do you want to know what purity is again? Because it slips off the mind like water off a duck’s back. You are here because you love something. Something that is inexplicable. Not someone, something that’s sort of nothing. You truly love it and you have never been able to give it up, and no matter what you do, somehow or other, it keeps calling you back, and the only thing that ruins it is the thinker. But you’re not that! You are the love of this extraordinary thing that you cannot name.

Barry Long

Extract from the new CD Acknowledging your Purity

Wisdom of Do Nothing / Adyashanti

2009-07-22T21:10:00.001-07:00

This is a mechanism for you to experiment with. Can you become more 'aware' of your true nature as 'awareness'?

In my last blog post we looked at this subject when I asked you to become more aware of your reactivity on a moment to moment basis.

When you let go of your reactivity, when you let go of the egocentric personality, which is simply your conditioned past, you realise the purest state of awareness. But paradoxically the task is not to let go of anything. The task is simply to become more and more 'aware' of your conditioned thinking, talking and behavior. Nothing more is required because as your awareness expands so your thinking, talking and behavior becomes purified . . . and it does so effortlessly.

I'll post another mechanism soon,

Doug :-)

Paradoxical Illusions

2009-07-06T04:23:00.000-07:00

Often times things go wrong in our lives don’t they? You do agree with me here, right? Or is everything in your life just hunky-dory? Not that I have the faintest notion what that means, I mean, ‘hunky-dory?’ . . . oh, right . . . ‘about as well as one could wish or expect; satisfactory; fine; OK.’

So is it? Is your life about as well as one could wish for or expect . . . or could things be better? Things can always be better, yes, or maybe not? Don’t let me put words in your mouth, you decide, it’s your life after all.

If only we, each of us, were able to simply be, in this moment, and therefore be free of the need for things to always be better than they are. If only we didn’t need to project ourselves into the next moment; if only we could simply accept this moment, the now, as it is. If only there were a mechanism, a technique maybe, which we could employ, so we could simply enjoy that which is, instead of hankering after what we want to change in our lives, hmm. Not that change is a bad thing, far from it; change is the only constant in life! The good news is that change happens naturally anyway, so why bother? Indeed . . . let’s find out why we should bother, or not . . .

Actually what I said isn’t strictly true . . . what I should say is:

The only constant in life is this moment, the now, but the very nature of the now is change.

Everything is changing every moment, which is always now. Look, don’t allow yourself to become confused by this, do your best to read this post with a still and an open mind. I’ll be giving you a mechanism for that, look out for it!

Of course some of my recent posts on here pointed you towards the work of Eckhart Tolle, an enlightened man who, in his interview attempted to give you just such a mechanism to overcome your conditioned mind . . . yes? You did get that much out of the interview, right? Well I certainly would say that - that would be the least anyone would get out of such an interview . . . but still . . .

. . . where was I, oh yes . . . things that go wrong in our lives, um . . .

What happens when things go wrong in your life? Do you react emotionally to a seemingly unfortunate event, any event that conflicts with what you want to be happening in your life . . . or are you calm, relaxed and at ease about it? Did you notice the word ‘react’ in there? Most people do that don’t they; they ‘react’ to events that are contrary to their particular desires, their wants and their ‘likes’, do you see this . . . in your life?

The average person will always react emotionally to anything that happens to them, especially if it doesn’t agree with their strongest desires . . . with what they would like to have happen; with what they have become attached to as theirs, be it psychological, emotional or physical attachment. And that is the cause of all their problems . . .

Little do they know it, but yes, their own reactivity is the cause of all their problems. Put another way, all your problems are caused by your own reactivity to events and circumstances in your life. Yes, you are causal. Holy shit, that means that you are actually responsible for your life and for every event and circumstance unfolding in your life right now! Who’d have thought it . . . ?

Again I have to ask you, you did notice the repetitive use of the word react in the last three paragraphs . . . that’s a yes then? I thought so. Now don’t over react to this, there is a very good reason for me being so repetitive! I’m not just attempting to get you to react here, although that wouldn’t be such a bad thing either, because at least you would then have an opportunity to see your own ignorance in action, wouldn’t you . . . ? What, you don’t think that it’s an act of ignorance to react emotionally to the unfortunate events that occur in your everyday life? Maybe you’re right, maybe not. We had better find out hadn’t we?

If you don’t react emotionally to unfortunate events and circumstances in your life, that is to say you don’t react with unhappiness, well, what is the alternative? The alternative is to see the event as a singular happening; as a singular event in the moment (The Now, as Eckhart would call it), and to respond from your most natural state of being; which is calm, relaxed and at ease. You don’t have to like what has happened in the moment but the secret is not to react to it, and you do this by seeing the event as having no ‘hold’ over you. It is simply an event, a happening in this moment; let it simply be that . . . let it . . . be . . .

Look at each event, yes every event in every moment, without judgment. If you don’t judge an event (the moment) as being good or bad for you, then you can’t react emotionally to it. Just see the event, hold the moment, and don’t move mentally or emotionally.

So yes, there is an alternative, not an easy one, I’ll give you that, but still . . .

The alternative is to respond from being rather than to react emotionally.

Responding, rather than reacting, is not always as easy as it may at first appear to be. Sure it’s easy for me to write about it here, and for you to enjoy the read (or not as the case may be), but in real life things go wrong and that is when one is tested; in everyday life . . . when the shit is hitting the fan!

At first you may fail often in your attempts to ‘respond from your very being’, rather than reacting from your conditioned ignorance. That’s OK; it was always going to happen anyway. You were always going to continue reacting emotionally. But why were you always going to continue reacting emotionally? That’s an intelligent question . . .

It was always going to be a case of failure first, and success second, because you have been conditioned in that way. You’ve been conditioned to learn through a process of failure that eventually leads to success. Like learning to walk, or ride a bike, at first you fail, you fall a few times, perhaps you experience pain and tears, but you get back up and try again and again until you succeed. You see the truth of this don’t you?

So yes, you’ll catch yourself reacting emotionally, and often, the more often the better. Don’t be disheartened, it isn’t a bad thing, it’s a good thing. Why is it a good thing? It’s a good thing to catch yourself reacting emotionally often because that is how you become completely aware of your own conditioned ignorance; little by little, and that’s just great. Eventually you’ll move beyond all concepts of it being either good or bad to react and simply see the fact. What is the fact? The fact is that you are not the emotional reactions that you are observing in action within yourself, that’s a fact. You are the observing intelligence doing the observing, that’s an observable fact. If you disagree with me here, well there’s one definite way to find out if I’m writing truth here isn’t there? Yes, take the test, start observing your own emotive reactions and see what occurs.

It’s now time to change gear. Let’s chat about the title to this blog post, why: ‘Paradoxical Illusions’? Well a paradox, as you are probably aware, is a statement or proposition that seems self-contradictory or absurd but in reality expresses a possible truth. So, there’s a possible truth hidden away in here, no matter how absurd or contradictory it may appear to be to your rational mind. So don’t go discarding the possibilities too soon, find out for yourself by practicing self-observation in the way I’ve indicated in this post and in other posts on this self-knowledge blog; be certain, rather than opinionated!

Illusions, why illusions though? Well, there are three variables I wanted to mention here. There is that word reality that gets bandied around aplenty, and then there is the word illusion, which again can often be used; you know; life is an illusion, right? But there is a third one, a word that is little used but is of great importance here: Actuality.

All three words, all three variables, are important in discovering who you are; this is self-knowledge, yes? There is great diversity in self-knowledge and within all variables, apparently. So, in an attempt at helping you to understand where all your emotional reactivity comes from I simply need to cover this ground . . .

What most people normally call reality, isn’t reality at all, it is their actuality. Most people, I’d say around 99% of the population, have no idea what their reality is, even if they think they do. Let’s face it, the majority of people are not willing to do the work required to realize the truth regarding their reality in existence . . . and they confuse their actuality with their reality.

Whether you agree or disagree with that statement is of no importance right now. What is of importance is that you hear me out rather than react to what I’m saying here . . . ahem, gotcha!

So, now we need to look at the actuality-illusion-reality triad, and see how it relates to our reactivity and/or responsiveness here in existence. Blimey this is a long post. I wonder if I’ll ever finish it. Here goes . . . stay strong now; you may have to read this post several times over to have a break through.

Reality is what you are, what I call the real ‘I’ that you can see written, and hidden, within the word real-i-ty, ok. You can see the words real and I in there, yes? As an add-on I would just like to say that self-realization is the direct experience of the real ‘I’, which again is hidden within the term self-real-i-zation itself. To have the direct experience of the real ‘I’ is to be real. The very meaning (origins) of the word religion is the reconnection of man with his reality; the real ‘I’.

What you really are, the real ‘I’, has degenerated into, or manifested as, physical form. In doing so it has created an illusion, not the illusion of physical existence, NO, that is actually happening, but the illusion that you are something other than what you really are!

You, the real ‘I’ have entered existence in physical form and you are having the direct experience of life and living. You, the real ‘I’ are experiencing actuality. You are actually here in existence; you have entered the actuality that is external life, and here you are reading this.

So, the real ‘I’ (your reality) has actually created the actuality that is existence.
In-between you, the real ‘I’, and actuality lies the illusion of you being something that you are not . . .

. . . but how has this happened? Well, in your time on earth you have gathered a past, which is time, here in existence. In the time you’ve been here, actually experiencing life and living, you have gathered a personality and this personality or self is the illusion. It is an illusion because you think that it is the real you, but it is not you, it is simply what you call yourself, which is a gathering of past experiences, attitudes to life, beliefs and opinions garnered over time; the time that you have lived.

Your personality, the person that you have become in time, is the illusion. And it is a totally convincing illusion at that, one that is very hard to deny or break free from. But break free you must, it is winner take all . . . a battle to the bitter end, the war to end all wars; illusion versus reality.

So, to recap and clarify, speaking as ‘I’ the reader of these words;

• The real ‘I’ is who I really am, my reality.
• ‘I’ have entered existence in and as physical form. This life I am experiencing is my actuality. I am actually experiencing this life!
• In-between the real ‘I’ and my experience here in actuality there sits an illusion. It is the illusion that I am the personality, what I call myself, which is only a gathering of past conditioning and ignorance.
• If ‘I’ move beyond (transcend or divine through) my conditioned personality, ‘I’ bring that very reality with me into existence.
• That reality is already perfect and therefore non-problematic . . .

. . . Heaven comes to earth, I experience Nirvana . . . the end of suffering . . . bliss . . .

Of course all of this could be so much bullshit couldn’t it, right? Yes it could, that is why you can’t believe a word of it, you have to find out if it is true or not true, no middle ground. And the only way to discover whether it is true or not is to take action, which is the act of doing something, yes? How else have you ever learnt anything in your life, if not through doing what needs to be done? This subject is not theoretical, no; it is practical, which means it is a D.I.Y. course in life itself. There is no other way.

Now, to begin the process of helping you see this truth for yourself I will, in my next post, give you mechanisms; mechanisms that will create a shift in your perception if you embrace them by putting them into practice. They are simple techniques that I have discovered to have worked in my own experience and they are as old as the hills. But it may not be such a good idea to put them into practice if you are not willing to go to war with yourself . . .
;-)

. . .by the way, did you spot the mechanism?

Become A Master Of Time

2009-06-29T05:21:00.000-07:00

This is an introduction to the 'Barefoot Doctor'. He is a westernized Taoist, a man of the west who has embraced Taoism as a way of life, and his work, in my own experience is practical. His teaching is also accessible, applicable and sustainable (that was for you Tim).

This particular short article is about becoming a master of time, it's just a taster and well worth a read. His most recent book; PURE, is an exceptional pointer towards a greater reality-truth-integrity . . . and I highly recommend that you get hold of a copy.

Use this accessible link to an interview with him right now if you want to hear just how accessible, he really is!

Here goes . . .

"The higher in altitude you go, the faster your watch goes round. But it’s not just your watch. Time itself, or rather linear time actually moves relatively more quickly up in the mountains than it does down on the planes, because the denser the gravitational field, the more slowly all life-processes occur. This is an effect of warped time, as discovered by Einstein. So if I called you from a satellite phone at precisely 14.01 GMT from a high-altitude locale, say up on the 12,000 foot high plateau between the eastern and western spurs of the Andes Mountains, at Lake Titicaca in Bolivia-Peru and you answered standing at sea-level, down in Bournemouth on England’s south coast, for example, our watches would be synchronized even though time and my watch would have been turning more swiftly for me.

Which is why, if you’re keen on attaining longevity, even though you’d probably live longer at higher altitudes, it will feel about the same as living shorter at sea level so don’t rush off to get the Internet sorted in your favorite sacred mountain cave just yet.

But my actual point is, that just like the ancient Taoists always said, linear time is illusory, a mere construct devised by the Tao as an intrinsic part of the grand illusion to prevent the appearance of everything happening at the same time and thus causing the appearance of a rather large and unholy-looking mess, even though everything is really happening at the same time from the Tao’s point of view: your birth, your death, your previous lives, your future lives and everyone else’s – all of it happening here and now.

I’m not a physicist, if anything, I’m a Taoist and a Wayward Taoist at that, so won’t even attempt to furnish you with the appropriate scientific terms for this phenomenon, but I will tell you with quiet Taoist confidence, that if you ever find yourself all but overwhelmed by an implausible slew of tasks to be undertaken in a relatively short period of time, it is perfectly feasible and even advisable to stretch time in order to get everything done with ease.

The technique in Taoist ‘magic’ terms, is to befriend and make use of the decelerating effects of gravity, by first sinking your weight below your navel, then place both palms before you with but a gooseberry’s distance between them and in that space place the said time period (the next hour or two, say) then slowly pull your hands further and further away from each other, thus stretching the time period between them.

Do so with sincerity and belief and you’ll be rather amazed at how time does actually slow down, to permit ample task-achieving ease.

By the same token if you have to do something tedious you’re always at liberty to speed time up by reversing the hand gesture, but this is generally advised against as no matter how tedious a moment may be, it is nonetheless a crucial point in your life, without which there’d be a gap between the previous moment and the next one through which you’d fall straight through, and so must be cherished, appreciated and ideally, not rushed away.

Merry Monday wish: every moment of your life henceforth is such a sweet corker, anything other than full appreciation, cherishing and slow savoring from moment to moment would simply be out of the question."

Love, D

Find yourself today at BarefootDoctorWorld.

Eckhart Tolle: Uncut Interview, Part 3

2009-06-25T05:34:00.001-07:00

. . . and here comes part three, bump!

This interview is well worth watching more than once. Every time you listen to it, through the process of repetition, you'll glean more, you'll have more 'aha' moments, and if you put his work into practice in your own life you'll experience a deeper reality.

All the best,

Doug :-)

Eckhart Tolle: Uncut Interview, Part 2

2009-06-25T05:27:00.001-07:00

Part Two of the 'Tolle' interview has landed . . .

Eckhart Tolle: Uncut Interview, Part 1

2009-06-17T07:38:00.001-07:00

This message from Eckhart Tolle is the truth in my own 'direct' experience of life. I have had the same experience concerning the realization of 'Present Moment Awareness' or 'Presence' as he has had. I advocate his work to everyone . . .

I would add:

1. I am Now. I (the person reading this now) am Present Moment Awareness, I am the stillness, the pure and clear perception of my 'Naked Attention.'
2. Only Now is Real. Everything I do, I do in this moment. The past is dead and gone, the future has not arrived, neither are as real as this moment.
3. The Now is Perfect. Nothing can be added to make it more perfect and nothing can be subtracted to make it less so.
4. In its perfection lies the Solution everyone is looking for. The solution to life and living lies in the perfection of this moment, where the real 'I' is . . . in The Now.

Anyone wanting to discover 'truth' should watch this interview. I will add parts two and three in due course.

All the best to one and all,

Doug.

Unfolding Beauty . . .

2009-06-04T01:35:00.001-07:00

"The Music of Ecstasy rides within the river of my Breath,

Pouring its nectar of light through the city of my Heart"

Carolina Cacicedo

These wonderful words were written by Carolina Cacicedo and inspired by the work of Maharaji Prem Rawat, a great Spiritual Master and teacher available to you on Earth, here, NOW, today.

Here is a link to his official site, which is very beautiful indeed and well worth your investigation.

http://www.maharaji.org/index.html

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Kabir, The Mystic Poet.

2009-05-18T07:12:00.001-07:00

'Slowly slowly O mind, everything in own pace happens
Gardner may water a hundred buckets, fruit arrives only in its season.'

'Nature never works in haste. Picking up from this eternal law of Mother Nature, Kabir brings forward the state of our daily hurried lives. We are always in a rush to achieve, acquire and be victorious. It is like a mad race. This brings us under pressure causing ill-health, fatigue and frustration. More than that it breeds ill-discipline. We get forced into a habit pattern whereby we find ourselves either negligent or indulgent.'

– Rajender Krishan

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The Truth Within Kabir's Words . .

2009-05-15T08:46:00.001-07:00

What truth lies hidden within the words of 'Dohas 16'? What is the message that Kabir is attempting to communicate with his fellow wo/man?

'Alive one sees, alive one knows
Thus crave for salvation when full of life
Alive you did not cut the noose of binding actions
Hoping liberation with death!'

Kabir; Dohas 16.

While we are alive we are in a position to achieve what Kabir calls 'salvation' and/or 'liberation', why wait till death, of what value is there in that? At the point of physical death it is too late!

His message is simply that your salvation and liberation are to be realized whilst you are still alive. Tomorrow brings only the death of your opportunity to 'cut the noose of binding actions'.

The time to liberate yourself is always while you are alive, here and now. There is no tomorrow, salvation is not in or for tomorrow, it is for today. It is of the moment. Tell me, what good is liberation or salvation, when one is dead, unable to recount, unable to narrate and unable to share? Your salvation and liberation are of and for this moment, don't waste it, take action whilst you have the opportunity. Before it passes yet again . . .

. . . into death.

If you are full of life and you crave for salvation now, then you will need to discover how to cut the noose of binding actions. What does this mean, how does one cut this noose, where to begin?

Begin with self-observation. Observe your behavior and actions on a moment to moment basis. While conducting your actions, you should be diligent. You should not get attached or enslaved by them and thereby get trapped in the quagmire of ego, greed, hatred, fear, procrastination, etc. Only when you are non-attached to the fruits of the action, only then can you be free from the bondage, only then can you be liberated while full of life.

The Noose Is Cut

Whispering death, beckoning,
Calling my name.
Liberation, likewise,
Sweet, silent pull, is but the same.

No escape
I'll pass away,
Immortality?
Perhaps another day.

Or letting go,
Of all I'm not
Salvation realized,
The noose is cut.

Now, when death calls
I'll be free,
For 'I' am already in
Eternity.

Doug McMillan

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Kabir, The Mystic Poet

2009-05-15T05:28:00.001-07:00

'Worry is the bandit that eats into one's heart
What the doctor can do, what remedy to impart?'

Kabir; Dohas 18.

Discontentment causes worry and worry itself becomes the cause that creates chaos in the mind. All peace is lost and the more one entertains the worry, the more armored 'she' becomes to destroy the very vitality of a man. There is no doctor and no remedy for this cause. This is so true and can be observed by anyone in one's own affairs.

Rajender Krishan
Kabir, The Mystic Poet.

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Kabir, The Mystic Poet.

2009-05-15T02:16:00.001-07:00

'Alive one sees, alive one knows
Thus crave for salvation when full of life
Alive you did not cut the noose of binding actions
Hoping liberation with death!'

Kabir; Dohas 16.

'Six hundred years ago Kabir was born in India in 1398 AD. He lived for 120 years and is said to have relinquished his body in 1518. This period is also said to be the beginning of Bhakti Movement in India.

A weaver by profession, Kabir ranks among the world's greatest poets. Back home in India, he is perhaps the most quoted author. The Holy Guru Granth Sahib contains over 500 verses by Kabir. The Sikh community in particular and others who follow the Holy Granth, hold Kabir in the same reverence as the other ten Gurus.

Kabir openly criticized all sects and gave a new direction to the Indian philosophy. This is due to his straight forward approach that has a universal appeal. It is for this reason that Kabir is held in high esteem all over the world. To call Kabir a universal Guru is not an over exaggeration. To me personally, the very name Kabir means Guru's Grace.'

Rajender Krishan
New York. September 1999

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What Is The Meaning of . . .

2009-04-28T02:21:00.001-07:00

Enlightenment, Liberation, Freedom & Salvation.

What exactly is the meaning of the word enlightenment, is it the same as liberation or freedom, do you need to be saved and if so are you aware of anything you may need saving from?

The Natural State of Life on Earth is the Enlightened State of Being. The most important thing to grasp at this moment is the meaning of the word enlightenment. In the enlightened state ‘I’ (the reader) am Free from the Normal but False Condition of Living in the World. This is a very Liberating experience because in this state ‘I’ am no longer carrying around the baggage of past conditioning consisting of:

· Aimless, willful and problematic thinking.

· The accumulated & hardened layers of thought such as your attitudes, beliefs and opinions

· All psychological and emotional feelings of pain, misery, suffering and unhappiness.

To be ENLIGHTENED means to be Free from all conditioning. If you go for a walk with a heavy rucksack on your back and after several hours you get the opportunity to remove it the chances are that you’ll find it a very enlightening and liberating experience. It is the removal of a burden.

Your conditioning is a very heavy load that you are lugging around with you throughout your lifetime and only when you do the necessary work to remove it will you be free from its effects.

The En-light-ened State is also akin to turning on a “light.” Most people are stumbling around in the dark, unable to clearly perceive the purpose of life and their place in existence.

If you walk into a room at night and need to find an item urgently would you stumble around in the darkness or simply flick on the light switch?

I’m asking you to turn on your own Inner Light, the light of “Pure Intellect.” In doing so you’ll never again be controlled by the normal condition of living in the world, unlike the majority of the earth’s population, who are.

Before you can experience the enlightened state you will need to become aware of ALL the conditioning within your ‘self’. You do this by becoming an observer of yourself. By “yourself” I mean your thoughts, speech, emotions and actions.

As you observe “yourself,” on a moment to moment basis, you will begin to separate from your false conditioning. The more you observe the false conditioning in action within yourself, the more you will begin to naturally separate from it, until all that is false becomes dissolved through the process. What is actually happening is you, your evolving intelligence, is observing and separating from what is not you, your false condition.

It is the “light” of “Pure Intellect” shining down onto the ignorant condition that dissolves and dissipates all the false conditioning within you. You just have to be aware of the process.

There is only one FREEDOM and that can only be experienced when you remove The Normal Condition of Living in the World.

Liberation, in the dictionary, means to be free from foreign occupation and that is exactly what I mean when I use the word; to be liberated from the foreign or alien occupation, of your mind and psyche, by a condition that has been imposed upon you. Yes, the condition is an alien thing, meaning something that is not meant to be there.

Something that should not be there, and that is the normal, but false conditioning, consisting of aimless thinking, beliefs, opinions, attachments, and psychological and emotional misery, has occupied the space of your mind and is pretending to be you! Could that “something” be evil?

Salvation, in Christian terms, is you being saved from evil. I am speaking of the evil of a conditioned mind that is creating unhappiness on earth through individuals who are possessed by that very conditioning: Literally possessed by unhappiness.

The conditioned thinking mind is a d-evil to deal with, an alien thing that has only one way to enter existence and that is through you, your mind, as your conditioning and it creates havoc on the earth through its creation; man’s world.

Man’s World now sits on top of the earth, suffocating it, just as your normal conditioning is suffocating your natural state. The result is an unhappy world full of unhappy people who are all attempting to impose their own unhappy conditioning upon one another.

So, salvation is you, free from the normal condition of living in the world and returning to the original and natural state of life on earth: Eden, heaven on earth . . . or as the Buddhists would say “the end of suffering.”

In the enlightened state, The Natural State of Life on Earth, you regain your mental space by removing the false condition. The inner space of the mind is liberated from an alien occupation and is therefore free to return to its original state of alert stillness, present moment awareness and pure-clear perception. Out of this state arises The Joy of Being, which is bliss, and this state in turn flowers as unconditional, universal Love. This is your Salvation.

Be at peace.

Be aware of the source.

This is the fulfillment of your destiny.

Know that which never changes.

This is Enlightenment.

Lao Tzu

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Rapier Self-Knowledge

2009-04-23T14:54:00.001-07:00

Your Attitudes-Beliefs-Opinions are simply hardened layers of thought. Have you ever considered what would happen to you if you were free of them?

If You STOP, and look at your attitudes-beliefs-opinions for long enough, you'll discover the truth concerning them; they are not you!

Attitudes-beliefs-opinions are all enormous weeds of the mind that suffocate the beautiful flower that is your naked attention, in this moment, The Now!

Your naked attention is much more real than your attitudes-beliefs-opinions; you have simply forgotten that fact. It's time to do some weeding.

You are the observer of all your attitudes-beliefs-opinions. Observe them with your naked attention & watch these WEEDS of the mind wilt & die.

When you remove the weeds from the garden, what remains? The flowers & plants, beauty, right? When you remove the weeds of the mind, what remains? You know the answer.

To 'be' in this moment, free of the last moment that is gone, & free of the next moment, which hasn’t arrived, is the most liberating experience, but it requires copious amounts of weeding on a regular basis.

The most manifest sign of ‘Present Moment Awareness’ is continued cheerfulness.

. . . and so, the so called enlightened are found to be cheerful individuals, why is that?
It is because they are free from the unhappiness of emotional reactivity and problematic living.

All the best for now,

Doug ;-))

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Have You Discovered 'The Way In' Yet?

2009-04-14T10:38:00.001-07:00

A Book Review

The Way In: A Book of Self-discovery - Plain Statements of Essential Truth
By Barry Long

Editorial Reviews

From the Publisher
An inspiring and challenging guide to self-discovery
PUBLISHER'S STATEMENT AND REVIEW

An inspiring and challenging guide to self-discovery from an acknowledged spiritual master.

The truth of life is discovered within ourselves, but how to find the way in? In ninety-nine concise chapters Barry Long guides us through the undiscovered country of ourselves. It takes a spiritual master to show the way. It's a rare to meet a master in the flesh. Here is a book that puts the master before us. His voice on the page addresses every reader directly. He challenges or entices us to recognise the truth or the spirit in our own experience. As we read and re-read the book we actively participate in our own self-discovery and begin to realise the part we play in the mystery of life.

READER'S COMMENT: "This is an all-in-one book that ingeniously presents the big picture but also acts as a primer for self-discovery. It shows us our place in the grand scheme of things and what we have to do to make the inexplicable mysteries of life more real in our own experience. It has certainly taught me to see life in a new way."

Barry Long gives us various ways to the Way - the ways of truth, love, stillness, and prayer - and then charts the blind alleys and false trails of the spiritual path. He invites us to look for the truth in our own direct experience of life and not in hand-me-down systems of belief. There is advice on how to meditate, how to pray, what to look for in relationships and how to discriminate between true and false teachings. There is instructive comment on other spiritual traditions, psychic practices and the 'New Age'. Towards the end of the book Barry Long focuses on the goal of all spiritual self-discovery - freedom from suffering and conscious participation in the purpose of life on earth. Readers will learn to recognise which are the reliable signposts on the spiritual path as Barry Long guides us finally to The Way Out, where the ultimate or highest truth is found.

CONTENTS: The Way of Truth, The Way of Stillness, The Way of Love, The Way of Prayer, The Path and The Way, The Way Now, The Way I Am, The Way Out.

The book deals with questions such as: What is truth? What is the spirit? Does God exist? What is the spiritual value of sexual love? Why should we meditate? How can we stop our minds from getting in on the act? How can I stop worrying? Why am I distant from the one I love? How can I bring the love back? Should we pray? What for? What distinguishes psychic teachings from spiritual ones? Where do channeled teachings come from? Can therapy really help? Is visualisation a help or a hindrance? What's the difference between Eastern and Western teachings? What can a Western Master add? What's the essential legacy of Jesus and the Buddha? Does the 'New Age' have any real meaning? Is enlightenment just an abstract concept? What can I do about it?

It also includes the contents of Barry Long's popular audio cassette 'Start

Meditating Now' and puts its spiritual exercises into print for the first time.

MAGAZINE REVIEW : "This simple to read, yet spiritually advanced book offers immense insight into the truth within us. . . . Chapter by chapter, page by page, word by word we are taken into the uncharted depths of spiritual being. . . .Any person who reads this book will come to see that Masters do exist among us." - Golden Age, Australia.

BARRY LONG'S 'WAY IN' TO SPIRITUAL SELF-KNOWLEDGE

Barry Long's response to the perennial questions of life and death is original, compelling and up-to-the-minute. Over many years as a spiritual teacher in Europe and Australia he has confronted his audiences with 'The Simple Truth' and shunned traditional and intellectual paths to God. Now we have a collection of his writings that gives a thorough overview of his way in to the mysteries of the spirit. 'The Way In' is essentially a practical manual for spiritual life in the contemporary world, written in short and pithy chapters. It has much to say about meditation, prayer and the many means of bringing truthfulness and love into daily life. Barry Long's world is the one we live in and share everyday with our husbands, wives, lovers, children and colleagues. So it's easy to relate to what he says, even though the truth of it may not always be comfortable. The underlying message is the one at the heart of all Barry Long's work - the proposition that we cannot truly trust or believe in anything outside our individual and immediate experience of life now. Least of all can we believe in a 'teaching'. By continually inviting his readers to test the truth of what he says in their own experience, Barry Long actually teaches us to discover the truth for ourselves. As with all true teachers, his primary concern is to disabuse us of what hinders or impedes our own self-discovery. For Barry Long this is not just the incessant chatter in our heads, but every false, ignorant or less than fully-conscious act. And this includes any teaching that is itself less than the highest truth. A large part of the book is a systematic reappraisal of 'spiritual paths', both traditional and New Age. The central message of the book becomes clear towards the end. What we are really being shown is the way out of the labyrinth of 'spirituality' to a true and free state of being. Those well-read in spiritual literature may find this new book both refreshing and unsettling, instructive and inspiring,. It is well worth accepting Barry Long's implied challenge that there is always more to discover about ourselves. And newcomers to this field could hardly come across a more stimulating 'way in'.

I highly recommend this outstanding book to all of you who are looking to discover a greater 'Truth-Reality-Integrity' than you are presently experiencing. You can take a deeper look at, and obtain a copy of, this book at THIS LINK.

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Realizations: My Posts on 'Twitter' today . . With Padding!

2009-03-31T04:40:00.001-07:00

The Now is what you are.

To be in the now requires having your attention in a state of present moment awareness, there is no greater 'reality-truth-integrity' to be real-i-zed!

Realizations of Truth:
1. I am Now. (I being the reader of these words!)
2. Only Now is real.
3. The Now is already Perfect.
4. The perfection of The Now is the SOLUTION you seek.
5. However . . What you acknowledge as being real and true will in fact unfold & manifest as your reality. You get what you acknowledge . . . yes, You are responsible for your own life!

Realization:
1. I am Present Moment Awareness, Alert Stillness & the state of Pure & Clear Perception, which is 'The Now', but free of discursive thinking & emotional unhappiness.

Realization:
2. The NOW is your reality . . . the real 'I'.

The real 'I' is discovered in the stillness of present moment awareness, whilst the 'unreal' I is always thinking, emotionalizing & talking . . .

. . . meanwhile the real 'I' is perfectly still and at peace at your centre of intelligence & love, and when it speaks what it has to say has depth and adds value.

Realization:
3. This moment when free of discursive thought & emotion, is perfect. It always has been.The imperfection lies in thinking aimlessly/problematically & reacting emotionally.

By the way did you know that real Joy & Love are not emotions but aspects of your very being? What happens when you are no longer emotionally reactive?

What happens is this:
You realize the natural state of being, which is one of Joy & Love, and instead of reacting emotionally into the world you respond from that centre, or ground, of Joy & Love.

Realization:
4. Because this moment, The NOW, is perfect, it is The SOLUTION to living that everyone is looking for but failing to find.

Why is it so difficult to realize the perfection of the now and experience the solution to living? Well, everyone is conditioned by past experience, and that conditioning is running a program through your mind/psyche. That program is what you believe to be real & true, but it isn't real and true, it is simply a program of past thought and emotion.

When you remove your past conditioning and re-connect with the reality of present moment awareness, The Now, you experience the perfection of being, and that is the solution.

Realization:
5. If you acknowledge that life is 'dog eat dog' then you will live a dog eat dog life.

If you acknowledge abundance and fulfillment, you will experience abundance and fulfillment in your life.

Life and living in the material world is a mirror, it reflects back to you what you acknowledge . . .

. . . The obvious question I have to ask you is, 'What do you acknowledge as being real & true in your life?'

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Quotes on Spiritual Knowledge (Dwyer,Campbell,Tolle,Teresa,Dalai Lama,Kubler-Ross,Einstein...)

2009-03-31T02:16:00.001-07:00

Here are some great quotes and words of 'knowledge' from 'mindhush' . . I hope you enjoy them!

Questions and Answers on this blog!

2009-03-30T10:34:00.001-07:00

Tim Robinson asked me several questions on my last posting on this blog site and I thought it might be a good idea to reveal both the questions and the answers right here:

"Hi Doug, I couldn't resist your invitation for a conversation on the topic of self-knowledge.

What do you think of Scientology?

My discoveries in this area have blown me away. It makes me wonder if Barry Long ever heard of L Ron Hubbard, even though he was one of the most popular spiritual /religious leader of the previous century.

Well, after 50 years his words are for the taking: download U-Torrent Software, go to www.piratebay.org and download the complete written works of L Ron Hubbard, millions of words, thousands and thousands of dollars worth, all about life, love, truth, death and god.

Who would have thought, maybe the best things in life are free (courtesy of Anonymous)? What do you think? Where douse one draw the line between freedom of information and copyright law (where it concerns a spiritual teaching)?

Also, why do you think Barry Long's autobiography hasn't been published yet by his successor (whoever, or whatever it is)? Do you think its being delayed for a some sinister reason, or am I just being silly?

At this rate, we probably won't live to see it (I guesstimate 50 years), so we'll have to pass on the intrigue to our children. What do you think about communicating the truth to the next generation?"

30 March 2009 04:55

"Ha, ha . . here we go again Tim . . thanks for commenting and for the questions.

Who hasn't heard of Scientology and Ron Hubbard? Ok, quite a few people I guess, but I'm not one of them.

Way back, in the early days of my spiritual awakening and growth, I explored the works of very many spiritual teachers and teachings. Hubbard was amongst them, I didn't pursue his teaching because it did not 'resonate' within me in the same way that Yoga, Vedanta, Taoism, Krishnamurti and Barry Long (amongst others) DID, at differing stages along 'The way.'

There are many teachers and teachings to explore, eventually one has to find 'The One' that really does 'resonate' with you and stick with it until the moment when you no longer need outside teachers or teachings because you eventually reach a point in the 'self-realization' process where you and the teaching are 'one!'

Tim, did you ever see the film 'The Matrix?' If you did you'll know that the central character is called Neo, yes? And Morpheus tells him he is 'The One', right? Well . . . the film is just entertainment, but just like all 'myth' there are things to be taken from the storyline, I hope you see my point. Actually the name Neo is an anagram of the word 'One' . . perhaps I should call myself 'Eno?' Maybe not! So, what is my point?

The self-realization process leads each of us to the point where 'Oneness' or 'Unity' is realized. So, my point is that 'Tim' is 'The One', not Barry Long or Ron Hubbard or Krishnamurti or . . . .

. . you understand . . ?

What do I think of Scientology? I have no opinion. I do however have a question. Does Scientology awaken the individual Man/woman and then open the consciousness to a point where that individual realizes a deeper 'Reality-Truth-Integrity' than was previously perceived? Does it guide you into the state of 'oneness'? If the answer is yes then Scientology is of great value to mankind. If not then it will still have a value. Every teacher/teaching has a greater or lesser value and every student is attracted to the teacher/teaching they are ready to embrace at any one moment in time.

You ask 'Where does one draw the line between freedom of information and copyright law (where it concerns a spiritual teaching)?'

An interesting question Tim . . and a difficult one to handle where the internet is involved but ultimately it all comes down to the individual and their state of 'integrity', doesn't it? Integrity precedes 'honesty' and without one the other suffers. Perhaps it is true to say that 'We, each of us, get away with what we can' (as Barry Long told us), but the integrated individual, being whole and complete (a state of Unity and Oneness), will act in the world from that state.

The whole Barry Long thing! Again, I really do not have an opinion . .
. . . and I am no longer in touch with what goes on within the Barry Long Foundation. I do promote his books, along with the work of other great teachers and teachings who point people towards a greater 'Reality-Truth-Integrity', but that is where it begins and ends. If there is anything 'sinister' going on then I am totally unaware of it and happy to remain so (written with a smile). I suspect that you are simply taking an interest rather than being 'silly' Tim . . but maybe I should reserve judgment . . not that I'm making one!

Your final question was 'What do you think about communicating the truth to the next generation?'

Each of us has the responsibility to do so. There are always a handful of self-realized men and women on the planet at any one time doing just that, but the final responsibility, in your life, rests with you. In my life it rests with me because in my life 'I am The One' and in the life that you are living you are 'The One.'

Actually Tim, Oneness, Unity, wholeness and completeness of being, which is the 'integrated' state, is all you need. Once realized the questions come to an end and everything else falls into place. The next generation is not really our concern, they'll be taken care of, for sure. You simply have to realize the enlightened state of liberation and freedom from all false conditioning for yourself . . and then pass it on to those who are ready to listen.

Does that answer your questions fairly enough for you Tim? I hope it does, but if clarity is required, well, you know what to do. Thanks for your participation, much appreciated."

Doug.

30 March 2009 10:09

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Eckhart Tolle Quotes/Pictures to Music

2009-03-27T02:58:00.001-07:00

This is the truth of life recorded in quotes from the work of the spiritual teacher Eckhart Tolle. In my experience this is 'Truth.'

If you would like to enter into a conversation concerning self-knowledge, meditation and all aspects of spiritual awakening and growth, then please leave a comment or contact me by email. Many thanks, Doug.

Happiness is . . .

2009-03-06T05:09:00.001-08:00

'Happiness is the absence of the striving for happiness.'

Chuang-tzu (B.C. 350)

Can you be free of unhappiness? What does it take? Most people are striving to find happiness in their work, in their relationships and in acquiring more and more material possessions, but does that really work. Does acquisition of any kind bring the fulfillment of simply being happy, or was Chuang-tzu correct when he said that it is the absence of striving for happiness that brings happiness?

Maybe one can not truly be happy, perhaps one can only be free of 'unhappiness', what do you think, is that a possibility? What actually happens when we remove unhappiness from our psychological system? Have you ever stopped long enough to ask such a question?

In my experience, when I removed the conditioned unhappiness from my psyche/mind, what happened was that I reached a point of equilibrium, harmony and peace of mind, which is the same thing as 'stillness' of mind. In this balanced state of mind I transcended, which simply means that I 'moved beyond' the opposite polarities of happiness and unhappiness, and I started to experience the true 'Joy' of being alive. I no longer experienced mood swings. I was no longer happy one moment and unhappy the next, I was balanced and in harmony with the movement of life, and yet I felt this joyful and loving vibration running through my body and mind. And this is how I live my life, free of conditioned unhappiness. Life is good, difficult sometimes, but essentially very good indeed.

The question you would need to be asking now is 'How do I go about removing this conditioned unhappiness from my psyche/mind?' If you aren't asking that question then you aren't ready to make the next move. If you are asking that question, or you have been for some time, then I'll say this. Begin with 'self-observation. Observe your thinking and emotions. See how often you are unhappy in a single day, and become aware of exactly what it is that is making you feel unhappiness at any one time. Stop blaming other people or external conditions/circumstances in your life for YOUR unhappiness. Take responsibility for it by facing it, YOUR UNHAPPINESS, head on. Keep watching it with your 'Attention', and don't stop observing 'it' regardless of how difficult the process seems to be. Only the valiant will come through the other side of their conditioned unhappiness and discover the enlightening state of freedom from unhappiness. This freedom is the liberation and salvation everyone is looking for . . . it is your reality unfolding as the perfection of being in 'The Eternal Now Moment.'

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Self or God Realization?

2009-03-05T13:48:00.001-08:00

It has been said that 'Self' realization is the same thing as 'God' realization, is that true? Yes, and, No . . let me explain.

The self-realization process begins with self-observation. I observe myself and discover what an almighty mess my 'self' is. I see that my 'self' is always thinking about everything and anything, aimlessly, problematically and with a will of its own. I observe all my 'selfs' attitudes, beliefs and opinions. I observe, and therefore see, that my 'self' is actually 'ignorance.'

In seeing the 'Truth' that my 'self' is ignorance personified, I separate from that ignorance and discover a greater reality, truth and integrity hidden just beyond my 'self'. And that greater Reality-Truth-Integrity is the realization that when I separate from what I am not, but thought I was, I discover what I truly or really am.

What I, the reader of these words, really am is God in disguise as a human being. We all are, but we have to discover the truth of 'self' before we can realize the truth of who we are . . . each of us has to do it in our own time, which is always in the 'eternal Now Moment' where truth, love, beauty and God are realized.

So they are the same thing 'God' and 'self' realization. You simply have to go through the process of moving beyond self in order to experience the greater reality, truth and integrity that is God like within your own being.

God not being without a sense of humour doesn't make this 'realization' process easy but there are ways to gauge ones progress. If you want to know how well you are doing you can begin by observing how often you are psychologically and/or emotionally disturbed in the course of a single day.

The less disturbed you are the closer you are to God-realization . . .

Good Luck! ;-)

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Awakening NOW Documentary Film

2009-01-30T01:22:00.001-08:00

What is meant by the term 'awakening?' This short film provides you with the answer, and in my own experience the answer has not only been proven to be true but has also been the 'Solution' to life and living that everyone is consciously or unconsciously looking for. Enjoy!

On the Subject of Meditation . . .

2009-01-20T03:04:00.001-08:00

What is Meditation?

Meditation is a state of Intelligent perception beyond the thinking mind.

When the thinking mind is perfectly still a new state of perception is realized where total "attention" to the present moment is experienced and this state of "present moment awareness" contains within it a great secret and power. A secret that the thinking mind is totally unaware of, but this state can only be experienced by the mind that has been stilled. This is because the thinking mind is not fully present, it is lost in thought, therefore the mind that has not realized "stillness" has no experience of it and is not qualified to make comment. That does not prevent it from doing so however, and that is how thought, belief and opinion are born; out of the ignorance of a mind that is not still.

The thinking mind does not know what it is like to be still, therefore all the thinking mind can do is have an opinion on the subject, which is of course . . . "thought." Opinion is an aspect of thought, it is one of the modes through which thought operates (belief & opinion are hardened layers of thought), and because 99.9% of the earths population have not "stilled" the thinking mind we live in a world of opinion and belief where the truth regarding the nature of "Stillness", and the "inner peace" of a mind that does not think, is not understood. The only solution is to "still" the thinking mind. Then and only then will you know what stillness leads to, because you will have the direct experience yourself, and no one will ever be able to take it away from you again. The secret of your own inner power will literally "become" you! Correct meditation is the tool that you can use to enter this "pristine" state of inner peace known as stillness, which reveals this point of power to you.

Meditation can also be seen as a series of stepping stones across the "stream of thought" within the mind. Correct meditation will take you by the hand and lead you across the stream of thought to the other side, whereas incorrect meditation will only lead you into confusion, and into a very wet experience! Incorrect meditation uses the thinking mind in an attempt to overcome that very same thinking mind, which is of course an impossible task. Why would the "thinker" want to defeat itself? The thinker in you is the one you have to become aware of and move beyond . . . into the stillness and inner peace that lies just beyond it. The fact is that "thought" can not bring "thought" to a point of stillness and there is a very good reason for this. Let's take a simple example. If you use a single word or phrase to focus your attention on what are you actually doing? You are thinking, yes? You are actually focused on one word or phrase to the exclusion of all others but you are still using the thinking mind in an attempt to still it . . .um, do you see the problem here? It is like feeding the fire while you are fighting the flames. Thought feeds thought and stillness puts the flame of thought out! The point I am making here is that you will need to learn a form of meditation that is based upon you, your natural intelligence, turning in on itself as the observer of thought. And when I speak of thought I also include the emotions that are reactions born of thought. You literally have to "watch" yourself thinking continuously in order that you can take back control of your mind and therefore, as a consequence, your external life.

Some people when they learn incorrect forms of meditation end up having such a wet experience that they never attempt to cross the stream of the mind again! They end up saying that meditation doesn't work, that it is impossible to still the thinking mind. There are others who don't understand the benefits of meditation and see it as pointless. That's OK because such people are entitled to their opinion, no matter how blind that opinion or belief may be. The simple fact is that they are not yet ready to make a "jump in the level of being", out of thought, and into the perfection of the still mind. Only the individual who is willing to "still" the thinking mind (and in the process dissipate all belief & opinion) can have the direct experience of a greater reality or truth than the thinking mind. When stillness and inner peace are realized as your natural state of being you will experience this jump in the level of being, one that is free of what I would describe as all normal forms of negativity and unhappy conditioning.

Why would anyone want to still the thinking mind?

Stillness is a state of "Inner Peace" and inner peace is the end of worry. So, right from the start, we have one good reason . . . a life of freedom from worry. What is worry? Worry is the mind thinking problematically, with a will of its own, without pause. Have you ever spent time in self-observation? By that I mean have you ever spent time observing the way your mind works and watched it in action? The action of the mind is thought. That is the first step across the stream of the thinking mind; Begin with "Self-Observation." Watch yourself thinking and getting emotional and observe your thoughts and emotions as they rise and fall. And do this without judging those thoughts and emotions as being good or bad, right or wrong or even likable or dis-likable.

You will need to spend considerable time observing the way your mind operates and the way thought and emotion are connected. I don't know if you have ever noticed but if you are unhappy it is because your mind is thinking about something and you then begin to become emotional about it.

Meditation, when practiced with true dedication, will remove unhappiness from your life. It is not possible to be unhappy when the mind is perfectly still. Why? Because for the thinking mind to be perfectly still all ignorance and false conditioning have to be dissolved, dissipated and removed from your being. Then you are in a state of total "peace of mind."

But that's not all. When you still your mind you'll also experience what true "joy" is. Some people call it "bliss" and others "love" but the label is not important. What is important is the direct experience of this state of being. Peace, joy, bliss and love are words that describe a state of BEING, they are not emotions, they are what remain when all normal conditioned emotions have been removed from your total system. The most appropriate name for your total system is the general verb "Being."

Would you like to experience a life that is free of all psychological and emotional unhappiness, is that possible? Yes it is possible and not only will you be free from pain, misery, suffering and unhappiness, which is the normal human condition but your life will also change externally. Seemingly from nowhere changes will begin to unfold in your life. The external circumstances of living will begin to improve or change for the better. Why and how does this happen? It happens because at your very center, the center of your being, there is the perfection of the original state. And the original state, being perfect, is attempting to "unfold" as your life . . . the life that you are. This perfect state of being, which is at your center, is perfectly still. It does not move, it doesn't go anywhere or do anything, it does not even think . . . it just is! But in its "isness" there is total perfection. No problems, no unhappiness, no mental or emotional misery and no struggle or trying to be something it's not.

This perfect state may be "thought of" as a blank canvass by the minds of the unenlightened, and there is nothing wrong with that, other than the fact that this "blank canvass" is your own state of pure and clear Intelligence. What the enlightened have realized is that this state of pure and clear intelligence is the real "i" in the word real"i"zation. In other words it is what "I" really am when all past conditioning has been removed from my sub-conscious mind.

This blank canvass, which is your Intelligence free from the willful interference of your problematic thinking, attitudes, beliefs, opinions and the conditioning of the personality, is perfection.

Some people call this state heaven, paradise or a garden of Eden but whatever label you give it, there is one fact that every man or woman who fully investigates this subject discovers; "the center is already perfect." It is the natural state of perfect stillness and inner peace at the center of each of us and it is filled with a natural "Joy" that has no opposite polarity, no sorrow, contained within it.

The direct experience of your center, which is the "realization" of who and what you "really" are, automatically and naturally dissolves, dissipates and removes all your conditioned negativity, aimless and problematic thinking (worry) and emotional unhappiness.

The realization of the perfect state brings that very perfection with it into existence; through you, through your life . . . as your life. Not at some future date, not when you experience physical death but now, while you are alive. The time to begin the process of bringing the perfection of paradise to earth is . . . Now. Let us begin!

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The Truth Of Life

2009-01-18T09:19:00.001-08:00

What is the Truth about Life . . .

When people look at this subject they do so through a "filter" of psychological and emotional impressions that have accumulated in their psyche/mind since they were born to this planet. By the time each of us has reached adulthood we have already filled our heads with enough attitudes, beliefs and opinions, based on our experiences of life and living, to believe that what we, each of us, believes in must be the truth regardless of what others think. We do this because we have become "robotic", we are like walking, talking computers . . . garbage in, garbage out!

Everyone has been programmed by their experiences of living to believe in their own program and so we live in a world where there is constant conflict because everyone is running different mental/emotional programs. Some differ slightly and some greatly. Some work together because they have very similar programs and others, being programs from the opposite polarity, are in disagreement. The greater the difference, and therefore distance between us, the greater the conflict.

The question I have to ask you is "Can you see the TRUTH in what you have just read?" Does any of this resonate within you as something that you need to take a closer look at and address in your life? Are you living in a robotic way, are all your attitudes, beliefs and opinions simply a form of mental and emotional programming of your mind that has lead you to be attached to what has been proffered to you as the truth? At this point it would be a good idea to go back to the beginning and just read this again so that you grasp the enormity of what you have just read and let it sink in . . . . .

So, in my experience, the Truth is that everyone on planet earth has been programmed to believe in, and have opinions about, something . . . anything and everything, and it is because of our programming that we live in a world of conflict where very few people actually know this Truth. Everyone is living through their programming and most have not realized that there is a greater Reality and Integrity hidden below the surface of themselves. Therefore everyone is living on the surface of themselves, very few know what is going on below the surface!

Below the surface, which equates to your programming (which is all your past conditioning) lies the Truth of who you are. It is your Reality and it is a Greater Integrity than the program you are running through your mind everyday! That program is the "lie", it is the impostor that creates unhappiness within the individual man and woman and it makes each of us live problematically. Everyone has periods of unhappiness and problems to overcome in this man made world, don't they? If not constantly than at least periodically, yes? Well, that is the lie! All problems on earth are created by mans conditioned programming. Remove the conditioning, remove the programming of the past and you enter a totally different state of being where there is no more unhappiness in your life . . . no more problems! That is the "Miracle" of the enlightened life . . .

Removing all problems from the world that man has created on the surface of this blessed earth would take a greater miracle. That would require all, or enough, men and women to be at a point of evolving consciousness where there was a shift in the consciousness of the planet . . . and that time has not yet arrived.

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Freedom from Depression and Unhappiness

2009-01-13T05:58:00.001-08:00

What is Depression?

“Depression is an illusion caused by a lack of reality!”

You can’t be depressed when you have a strong connection with reality. Why do I say that? I say that because Reality is the real ‘I’ and the real ‘I’ is who you really are. Look at the word reality and you will see the words ‘real’ and ‘I’ in there. The real ‘I’ is never depressed, never unhappy, never problematic. People who are depressed have lost their connection with reality, lost their connection with the real ‘I’ within themselves, which is hidden just below their conditioned and therefore problematic ‘selves’.

Depression is life’s way of letting you know that you have lost that connection in a big way, and if you are depressed then life is telling you that NOW is the time to do something about it, that it is time to re-connect with reality. Reconnection with your greater reality-truth-integrity is the solution to the depressed condition.

Now the term ‘real I’ implies its opposite polarity, that aspect of yourself which is ‘unreal’ the ‘false I’. The false I is everything you presently ‘think’ you are but are not. Anyone who suffers from the symptoms of depression, fear, doubt, worry or any forms of psychological and emotional pain, misery, suffering and unhappiness has become lost in the ‘false I’, the conditioned self.

Most people spend some time, on a daily basis, centred in their ‘reality’ but much of their time is also spent in aimless or problematic thinking and consequently in emotional negativity and reactivity. There is a balance of sorts. Each of us experiences this balancing act where sometimes we are happy, relaxed and at ease because we have a strong connection with our reality, with the real ‘I’ but at other times we lose our connection with reality and we open ourselves to unhappiness, to fear, doubt, worry and depression. The depressed individual is out of balance, in extreme cases they can spend most of their time lost in the negativity of discursive and problematic thinking.

How does a depressed individual reconnect with reality? The original meaning of the word religion (re-ligio) was just that; the reconnection of man with reality. This original meaning and knowledge has all but been lost to the masses who have been hoodwinked into ‘believing’ something quite different. In the past men (and women) who did not have a strong enough connection to their own reality have taught mankind that religion is something separate and apart from themselves, something to be believed in, rather than their own living reality. But to experience reality is to have the direct experience of the real ‘I’. Direct experience of the real ‘I’ is the end of belief and the beginning of direct knowledge. It has been said that in this pristine state there is no depression, nothing to be unhappy about and life is lived free of fear, doubt and worry.

Speaking as a man who has, in the past, experienced depression to the point of strong suicidal thoughts and feelings I can assure you that I am writing this from a place of honesty and truth. I no longer have those tendencies and I am no longer depressed because I am now much more ‘real’ than I used to be.

So what am I saying? I’m saying that in my experience depression is an illusion, which means that it isn’t real, but that ‘problematic thinking’ makes us ‘think’ that it is. The question I’m now asking you is, “What happens to the mind that does NOT suffer from discursive and/or problematic thinking?” Do you ‘think’ it vegetates? Or is it at ‘Peace?’ If it is at ‘Peace’, and my experience is exactly that, then why is it at peace? In my experience it is at peace because the thinking mind has reached a point of ‘stillness’ where there is no ‘discursive’ or aimless and unwanted thinking taking place. And yet the mind is still capable of being brightly lit (illumined), fully alert and intelligently present. It certainly does not vegetate. On the contrary it sees things as they are, with clarity of perception, rather than through a filter of old worn out attitudes, beliefs and dimly lit opinions.

If you are in a depressed condition then my only advice to you would be to begin the process of reconnecting with your reality, with your real ‘I’, which is the natural state of being, one that is free of psychological and emotional pain, misery, suffering and unhappiness. Not many are willing to go through this process because it is not an easy thing to undertake and see through to its conclusion (it’s far easier to take Prozac, sit back and complain) but the rewards of going through this process of reconnecting fully with a deeper reality far outweigh the difficulties involved.

There are many methods available to those individuals who are looking to free themselves of depression, fear, doubt, worry or any other forms of psychological and emotional pain, misery, suffering and/or unhappiness. I wholeheartedly recommend the following:

Meditation; although there are many forms of meditation, and some are not true meditation at all, most are very helpful.

Yoga. I practiced different forms of yoga for many years.

Tai Chi and Qi Gong. All these eastern forms can be very beneficial. I found they helped me to get my body moving gently when I felt too depressed to get going physically.

Running; The Zen of going out for a run and just resting ones attention/focus on the rhythm and flow of physical movement.

Emotional Freedom Techniques (EFT). A method that helps to unblock psychological and emotional energy from the past so that you can be ‘fresh and new’ in the present. It is highly effective, I have had great personal results using this method and I am a qualified practitioner.

If I could recommend only one method/technique capable of lifting someone out of depression then EFT would be it, but I would couple it to a form of meditation that aims to bring the ‘attention’ of the individual into a state of present moment awareness.

The aim of all these techniques is to bring your attention into the present moment. These varied methods achieve that end by bringing your attention into your physical body and then deeper into the mind and psyche to a point of pure and clear perception where all discursive and unnecessary thought and emotional unhappiness ends.

Where there is no aimless or problematic thinking there is no emotional unhappiness and that is the end of depression. Getting to that point is the difficult part, it takes a burning desire to break free from the stranglehold that depression and/or unhappiness has over you. You have to want to do it because you’ve reached a point where enough is enough. It would be unfair to say that only the strong willed can survive the process because EFT (for example) has helped many people who are clinically depressed. I use this technique every day, anyone can use it, it beats opening another bottle of beer or wine and it is a great way to get off prescribed drugs.

And Finally . . .

              An alcoholic said to the Master:

                "What would spirituality give me"?

                   "Nonalcoholic intoxication", was the answer.

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How Come?

2008-12-18T14:10:00.001-08:00

I have A Question for you:

"Loving people live in a loving world.
Hostile people live in a hostile world.
Same world.
How come?"
Dr. Wayne Dyer

Here is the answer:

"Life has a bright side and a dark side,
For the world of relativity is composed of light and shadows.

If you permit your thoughts to dwell on evil,
You yourself will become ugly.

Look only for the good in everything,
That you absorb the quality of beauty."
Paramahansa Yogananda

"Loving people live in a loving world.
Hostile people live in a hostile world.
Everyone you meet is your mirror."
Ken Keyes JR
Handbook to Higher Consciousness

"Acknowledge the good wherever you see it.
For what you acknowledge you get . . .
and you bring it into existence more."
Barry Long

"We are what we think.
All that we are arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.

Speak or act with a 'pure' mind
And happiness will follow you
As your shadow,
Unshakable."
The Dhammapada

To Summarise:

"When you acknowledge love in your life you bring love more into existence.

When you feel aggressive and hostile you are acknowledging aggression and hostility . . .

You therefore bring that aggression and hostility into existence with you.

You are what you think you are. You are also what you feel you are.

All that you are arises with your thoughts and emotions.

The world you live in, be it hostile or loving, is simply a reflection of what you are thinking and feeling. The people you encounter in your life, and the circumstances you experience in your life, are simply a mirror of what you think and feel about life.

Only when you speak or act with a 'pure' mind , which is a peaceful and tranquil mind that acknowledges the good wherever it sees it, will you experience a loving world."

To finish off I would just like to share this little story with you . . .

Long ago in a small, far away village, there was a place known as
the House of 1000 Mirrors. A small, happy little dog learned of
this place and decided to visit. When he arrived, he bounced
happily up the stairs to the doorway of the house.

He looked through the doorway with his ears lifted high and his
tail wagging as fast as it could. To his great surprise, he found
himself staring at 1000 other happy little dogs with their tails
wagging just as fast as his.

He smiled a great smile, and was answered with 1000 great smiles
just as warm and friendly. As he left the house, he thought to
himself, "This is a wonderful place. I will come back and visit it
often."

In this same village, another little dog, who was not quite as
happy as the first one, decided to visit the house.

He slowly climbed the stairs and hung his head low as he looked
into the door.

When he saw the 1000 unfriendly looking dogs staring back at him,
he growled at them and was horrified to see 1000 little dogs
growling back at him. As he left, he thought to himself, "That is a
horrible place, and I will never go back there again."

All the faces in the world are mirrors. What kind of reflections do
you see in the faces of the people you meet?

Doug McMillan

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Smile, Life is Good!

2008-12-08T12:53:00.001-08:00

If life is getting you down and you are finding it difficult to find a good reason to smile then you need to watch this video. Why? Because life is good . . unless you choose to acknowledge that it isn't good and you therefore choose to be unhappy . . either way you choose. Don't kid yourself that you don't choose to be happy or unhappy. You can't take responsibility for feeling happy when things are going well in your life and then fail to take responsibility for the bad times in your life . . . . the whole can of worms is your responsibility! Get real!!

Get real? Yes, get real . . which means you need to reconnect with a greater reality, truth and integrity than your petty, sorry, unhappy little personality that 'chooses' to be happy one moment and unhappy the next . . and thinks it has the right to inflict its sorry little life on those around it! Basically it needs to wake up, grow up and mature beyond its ignorance . . . .

. . . why the hell would anyone want to keep the company of a negative individual who is controlled by their moaning and whining personality?

This is a 'self-knowledge' blog. The whole point of Self-knowledge is for you, dear reader, to become aware of all your false conditioning. And where does all your false conditioning hide? Within your personality. It hides there as a bundle of unhappy conditioned ignorance. Your task is to become aware of all that is false within you and then separate from it. Psychological and emotional pain, misery, suffering and unhappiness are all aspects of a defective personality. Sooner or later you are going to have to learn how to go through the process of separating out the false (defective personality) from the real and true (Character/Being) within yourself. It is what life is all about . . .

. . . what has that got to do with this video? Do us both a favor, watch it and let me know!!

Part Two: The Normal Condition of Living in the World.

2008-10-25T05:37:00.001-07:00

There are two aspects to the normal condition of living in the world.

First we have the external condition of the planet, the world that man has created for himself and built on the surface of the earth. The earth and the world are not one and the same. I would put it this way. The earth came first and man has since built his world on the surface of the earth. Man has created a superstructure of cities and networks for transportation and communication purposes. We call this world our civilization, it is the basis for our social structure, and it includes the worlds of politics, commerce, science and organized religion etc.

When the earth was first “born” it was free from mans world, but since man arrived on the scene things have changed. The world that man has built on the surface of the earth is slowly suffocating the planet, but please note, if man were no longer on the planet then the earth would return to its original state.

This is how I perceive it.

“The natural state of the earth has been conditioned by mans world.”

“The Normal Condition of Living in the World” is the cause of all problems on earth. If you could remove the condition from the earth there would be no more problems and the earth would be free. In order that the earth can be free from all problems you have to take the first step by removing problematic living from your own life. This book will show you the way to do that.

Now let us take a look at the second aspect of the normal condition of living in the world. There is a well known saying that is most apt here, “As within so without.”

The reason that man has created a world of conditioning on the surface of the earth is because he has a world of conditioning within himself.

By within himself I mean within his mind/psyche. Put more accurately I mean within your mind/psyche.

Your mind has become conditioned. Its present condition is problematic, it thinks problematically. It perceives events and circumstances as difficulties to be overcome through effort and trying, and the result for you is a life of worries, problems and unhappiness, which you attempt to overcome through personal effort and trying.

I’m not suggesting that you are worried all the time or that you see every event in your life as a problem. Nor am I suggesting that you are unhappy all the time. I am pointing out that the normal condition that you are experiencing on a day to day, week to week or month to month basis is one which swings from periods where you are worried to periods where you are free from worry. There are times in your life when you see every event and circumstance in your life as being problematic and there are other times when you are at peace with yourself and therefore you feel in control and better able to manage your life adequately. The fact is that there are times in your life when you are desperately unhappy with your circumstances and times when you feel blissfully happy. Sometimes things are on the up and at other times they are down . . . why is this? It is because you have been conditioned to live your life in this way and it is totally unnatural.

My task now is to make you aware of this conditioning, and show you how it creates unhappiness within your mind before then manifesting as unhappiness and problematic living here in your external life.

The normal condition within the mind consists of the following:

1. The Aimless, willful and problematic thinking that runs incessantly through your mind and the minds of everyone else around you.

2. The attitudes, beliefs and opinions you have acquired since birth.

3. Interpreting, Judging, Analyzing and labeling everything you perceive through the senses.

4. Attachment to concepts, notions, ideas and ideals of the mind.

5. Attachment to people, to places, objects and physical things in the world.

6. Psychological and emotional pain, misery and unhappiness or suffering.

In my next Post I will give you some typical examples of your conditioning beginning with thinking and I'll introduce you to a basic exercise in self-awareness. I'll do this only because it will help you to be more “present” as you read through this material and it will automatically expand an awareness of your body and senses here in existence . . bringing your attention into the eternal Now moment.

"The past is dead,
The future is imaginary,

Happiness can only be
in the Eternal Now Moment."

Ken Keyes, JR Handbook to Higher Consciousness

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The Golden Thread of Truth

2008-10-10T09:14:00.001-07:00

There is a Golden Thread of Truth that is central to all life but very few people of the earth have had the direct experience of this truth. Consequently we live in a man made world full of problems and suffering where the nearest most people get to the truth of what life is all about is by believing or not believing in some distant God that may or may not be real. The alternative appears to be to have faith in science and accept that there is nothing beyond your physical existence. This series of posts will take you step by step through the maze of your psyche and reveal to you the truth of life on earth. Your only responsibility is to have enough faith in your own life to participate fully, so fasten your seat belts because you are about to find out the answer to that age old question . . .

What is THE TRUTH OF LIFE ON EARTH?

The truth is that everyone on the planet is conditioned. This condition in turn creates “dis-ease.” You, the reader of these words right now, are suffering from a condition and as a result you are not at ease. Now obviously I’m not speaking of a physical disease here, I’m talking about a psychological and emotional disorder that effects everyone on the planet.

Your CONDITION is so NORMAL that you wouldn’t think that it was a problem. It is “the normal condition of living in the world” and everyone on the planet, apart from a few enlightened individuals, is controlled by this condition including those who think this doesn’t apply to them!

This condition is insidious, being both subtle and treacherous in its activities, to such an extent that the great majority of the people on planet earth are totally unaware of its existence and therefore it appears to be both normal and natural.

It is a fact that this conditioning process is something we all go through and have the experience of. We can identify it in our own experience, as you will soon discover. It is normal and it was meant to happen to each of us, but there are several important questions we have to receive answers to before we can continue our exploration of the truth of life on earth:

· What exactly is this condition that makes each of us ill at ease?

· How did we become conditioned?

· Is there any purpose to the existence of our conditioning and if so what?

· Can we do anything to remove it if we choose to?

Let’s begin with our first question by asking "just what is a condition and how does it create this dis-ease within each of us?" A condition is something that is added to you. Anything that is added to you may be perceived to be normal, and you might even “think” it is natural, take unhappiness and problematic living as examples. Most people would consider unhappiness and having problems to solve as being quite natural in the great scheme of things. I will endeavor to show you why, although it is quite normal, it is not natural.

At this juncture I would just like to point out that in my experience the natural state of life on earth, and therefore your own life, is what is left behind when you remove the normal condition and unhappiness coupled to problematic living are aspects of that condition.

In following postings I will demonstrate all of your conditioning to you. You will be able to identify it in your own experience, proving that this is not theory or belief, it is demonstrably and inescapably real. In other words, after you read these posts, you will not be able to pretend that this is not real and deceive yourself that you are not conditioned.

Right now your task is to become aware of the normal conditioning that resides within yourself, which consists of unhappiness and problematic living, and through expanding your awareness of its presence, begin the process of removing it, thus returning to the natural state. The natural state you are returning to equates to freedom from unhappiness and problematic living: liberation.

Before you can remove your normal, but false conditioning, you must first be able to identify it in your own experience. I am going to reveal to you, in detail, exactly what this condition consists of and also what “the natural state of life on earth” is. Then I’ll show you how you can work your way back through your conditioning and return to YOUR natural state. I’m going to do all of this within you as you work your way through this manual. In other words the truth will be revealed within you and as your own direct experience. This will take some time, it could be weeks, months or years depending on your individual life experience and your present point of self-realization.

You may need to go over this material many times before the full impact of what I’m saying breaks through the layers of conditioning within YOUR psyche/mind. The second time you read this material you will be amazed at just how much more you take in as you begin to get used to its particular language and the truth within you starts to resonate with what you are reading.

I will also guide you in the direction of other teachers whose work will continue what you’ve started here, confirming that you are heading in the correct direction, and continually expanding your self-knowledge along the way.

Please note that this is a D.I.Y. course. You have to do the work yourself. My task is to guide you along the way.

In my next post we will explore . . . . .

"The Normal Condition of Living in the World" . .

. . . and remember:

"We are what we think
All that we are
arises with our thoughts.
With our thoughts we make the world.

Speak or act with a pure mind
and happiness will follow you
as your shadow,
unshakable."

The Dhammapada

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Emotional Freedom Techniques . . How Good Are They?

2008-10-03T03:02:00.001-07:00

"I would say without hesitation that EFT (Emotional Freedom Techniques) is the single most useful thing I have learned in my life - EVER!"

Shahzadi Thomas

To discover just what EFT can do for you visit this LINK . . Now!

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Want to know a great secret?

2008-10-02T08:03:00.001-07:00

"There is a great secret that beings throughout time have announced, the secret of an extraordinary treasure, the treasure of the nectar of eternal life. It is the nectar of pure beingness, recognizing itself as consciousness and overflowing in the love of that recognition.

If you imagine yourself to be located in a body, then you will move that body from place to place, searching for this treasure of nectar. But, if you will stop all searching right now and tell the truth to yourself, you will know what is known in the core of your bones. You will know what these great beings knew and attempted to describe. You will know it with no image of it, no concept of it, no thought of it. You will know it as that which has eternally been here. And you will know it as yourself."

http://www.gangaji.org/

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The Horns of the Devil!

2008-09-19T14:46:00.001-07:00

‘Intelligence is corrupted by likes and dislikes. The result is the problematical human condition.’
Barry Long.

'The conditioned mind is controlled by what it likes and what it does not like, what it believes in and does not believe in . . what it considers to be good and what it considers to be bad.

In other words it is governed by ‘polarities’, or opposites (opposite positions).

Right and wrong are opposite positions taken by the conditioned mind as are good and bad and what you attach yourself to as your likes and dislikes.

These conditioned polarities stick out of your consciousness like the horns of the devil. Like two mountain peaks of personal ignorance that control your life until such time as you do something about it.

What do you have to do? You have to become aware of all your conditioned ignorance and in the process of becoming aware or conscious of it, so it will dissipate, dissolve and leave you.'

Doug McMillan.

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The Natural State.

2008-09-15T11:35:00.001-07:00

‘Wisdom or truth is the original and natural state of intelligence.’

Barry Long.

'The pristine state of being, the original state, is one of pure intelligence.
Pure intelligence is the intelligence of consciousness.
It is a state that is ‘free’ of all conditioned suffering or unhappiness.
This state is centered in stillness or inner peace.
Wisdom or truth, naturally unfolds out of this intelligent state of consciousness, stillness and inner peace.
What prevents wisdom and truth from naturally unfolding out of the intelligent state of consciousness? It is the conditioned mind that creates a blockage in the system and prevents the natural flow of consciousness/intelligence.
How can you identify the conditioned mind, what is it? It is an accumulation of all your likes and dislikes, imagined rights and wrongs and what you think of as good or bad.'

Doug McMillan.

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Enlightenment.

2008-09-14T13:49:00.001-07:00

"One does not become enlightened by imagining figures of light, but by making the darkness conscious."

C.G. Jung

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Enlightenment Q & A: Day Eight . . How to Still the Mind.

2008-09-09T04:49:00.001-07:00

The Over Active Mind.

I was recently asked about meditation and how it can be used to help an overactive mind. My reply was that all minds are overactive unless they are ‘stilled.’ I hope that together, you and I, will be able to look at this subject and discover the ‘truth’ with regard to an overactive mind, and discover the way that meditation can bring the mind peace and stillness. First of all let us look at a few facts regarding meditation:

The aim of correct meditation is not simply to still the mind.

Stillness naturally unfolds as you becomes practiced in the art of true meditation.

Meditation is a method, a process, that expands consciousness/self-awareness.

Meditation is not something that requires effort, which means that there is nothing you have to try to achieve.

The aim of meditation, if there is such a thing, is to expand your self-awareness/consciousness but it requires no effort, just dedication. That may sound like a contradiction, but it isn’t, let me explain.

In the process of learning to meditate, especially in the early stages, you become aware of all the activity that is taking place within your mind and psyche. This is an ongoing process that many teachers call self-realization, which is a process whereby you discover and realize the truth about your “self.”

The self-realization process begins with self-observation. That is you observing your ‘self.’ Your self consists of all your thoughts, emotions and actions/behavior. If you are to realize the truth of yourself then you’re going to have to do plenty of self-observation and in the beginning you may well find this difficult.

To begin with your aim is to become aware of all the discursive thinking that is taking place within your own mind. Initially it can be quite a shock to discover just how much aimless and problematic thinking is taking place within your mind. Yes, within your mind dear reader, I'm discussing what is going on within your own psyche, this applies to you, especially if you think it doesn't. Only the individual who sits in self-observation will become aware of just what is happening within their mind and psyche, everyone else lives in total ignorance of the subject, that's just the way it is!

The more time you spend in self-observation (observation of your thinking/emotional habits) the more aware you become of all the discursive thinking and emotive reacting that is taking place. It is at this stage that many people give up, even before they have begun, because they are unable to cope with what appears to be an overload of mental activity. Remember, the aim at this stage is simply to become aware of all the discursive, aimless and problematic thinking, including emotional reactivity, that is taking place within your mind/psyche. Your task is to simply observe and be aware of it. There is nothing more to be done. There is no battle to get involved in. Just observe the thoughts and emotions taking place within your field of experience, which means within your mind and psyche.

This is an important point: Do not react emotionally to what you are observing, remain a detached observer, like a teacher watching school children running around the playground while they make an awful noise . . simply observe your mental activity without the need to judge what you are witnessing. There are no right or wrong thoughts and emotions, there’s nothing to judge as good or bad, simply see it all taking place within your mind. Be the detached witness or observer of all your discursive thoughts and emotions. In this way your meditation, as self-observation, should be effortless, but you will need to be dedicated to going through the self-realization process. Without a dedicated approach to meditation and self-knowledge you will fail like countless others have done before you.

‘Meditation is the seeing of what is and going beyond it.’
J. Krishnamurti.

If Meditation really is the seeing of what is and going beyond it then what you have to see with great clarity of perception is all the discursive thought and emotion that is taking place within your mind and psyche. Only in the seeing of it can you take the next step by discovering what lies just beyond it.

You have to discover, see what is, taking place within the thinking mind with perfect clarity of perception before you can go beyond it into another level of being or perception.

You can’t jump levels of being or perception, they have to be experienced one at a time, in sequential order. So first you have to see, then you can go beyond. So, begin with meditation in the form of self-observation, and remember, no one can do it for you. In the end you are the One, there is no other . . although you are not alone, there are those who have gone before you . . . and they are here to guide you home.

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Enlightenment Q & A: Day Seven . . begin with Meditation.

2008-09-07T11:36:00.001-07:00

Q. Why begin with Meditation?

Meditation to Realization.

Meditation awakens Intelligence. Not the intelligence of the so called intellectual, which is really only a form of cleverness, but the intelligence of being.

After the awakening of intelligence, through continues practice of meditation, your intelligence begins to speed up. It becomes swifter. At this stage you will begin to have realizations and the more you practice meditation the more realizations you will have as your intelligence becomes swifter and swifter. Eventually, or in time, this leads to the realization of the highest Truths available to each of us. What you realize will amaze you . . and I'll be discussing some landmark realizations in the future on this site.

Now, because everyone is equal in the integrated state of being, Truth is available to each of us. However, all are not equal are they? Some do not Meditate and never experience the speeding up of intelligence, or enter another state of being, one that is free of problematic thinking/living. In other words not everyone experiences a more enlightened way of being and living. But still, all are equal in that all can, if they are ready and willing, begin to meditate and experience the speeding up of their intelligence.

Obviously only those who put in the work (which is learning to meditate and putting it into practice on a daily basis) will get the required results, I trust you understand me? It won't happen on its own will it, we do agree on that, yes? So at some stage you have to begin to meditate. Of course you may already be involved in some form of meditation, and there are many forms available to you, but sooner or later you will need to discover the correct form of meditation for the awakening and speeding up of intelligence.

The best book that I have ever read on the subject, and I've read very many over the years, is 'Meditation A Foundation Course' by Barry Long. I highly recommend it to you and it is available in my amazon bookstore . . just click on the links to it on this page. It can be difficult to get hold of in some bookstores although not impossible to order. Please note, this is a book which will guide you into a correct form of meditation for those seeking a more enlightened life. You should also consider his tape 'Start Meditating Now', which will verbally guide you into the depths of your being. The book and tape work very well together, and I recommend them to all, they are an eye opener for the experienced practitioner of meditation and a great introduction for the beginner.

Q. What is Meditation?

Meditation is a process. It has a beginning and eventually, over a period of what is normally years, it reaches an end. It takes you from where you are now into the awakening of intelligence, then into deeper and deeper levels of your being, before reaching a totally integrated state of being where formal meditation is no longer required. It is no longer required because you are now whole and complete. In other words the job is done and you are now in a state of pure and clear perception. Your mind is now in a place of alert stillness and present moment awareness, and you're no longer disturbed by discursive thinking and emotive reactions. At this stage you are the realization of Truth itself. You begin to see the truth of everything with great clarity of perception . . although you may choose not to voice it to another! There are those who would simply trample all over your pearls . . .

. . . but you reach a point where that is of no consequence, it is not even a consideration, it is a difficult task to knock down a house that has been built on foundations of Truth.

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Enlightenment Q & A: Day Six. Looking at Opinion and Belief.

2008-09-05T02:53:00.001-07:00

Today I want to take a closer look at opinion and belief and relate it to our prime subject here, enlightenment.

Q. What is an Opinion?

In the dictionary we have an interesting overview, one we can all relate to.

Opinion:
1. A personal view, the view that somebody takes about a certain issue, especially when it is based solely on personal judgment.
2. Estimation, a view regarding the worth of somebody or something.

Q. What is a Belief?

A belief is an opinion that you have become so attached to that you accept it to be true or real. A firm and considered opinion is the foundation of all your beliefs.

We can see that a belief is simply a firm view or judgment based on an opinion. You have to have an opinion on a subject before you can solidify it in the mind as a belief, can you see this for yourself?

If you are intelligent enough to take a very close look at all your beliefs you will discover that they are simply hardened and compacted opinions. And opinion, what is that again? Opinion is simply hardened and compacted thought. You can’t have an opinion on a subject without first and foremost having thought about it.

Q. What is thought then?

It is the activity or process of thinking. Each of us is aware of the fact that we think but not everyone knows what thought actually is.

Thought is all your past experiences that have gathered together within the psyche [as your thinking mind] and those thoughts are repeating themselves on an ongoing loop. They are active as a background noise, a loop of thoughts that never becomes quite for long. It is what can be described as discursive thinking, which is simply thought with a will of its own. It is sometimes called 'Internal Chatter.'

That chattering loop of thoughts is always on the move within your sub-conscious mind. That is why the thinking mind knows no peace, because it is not still. It is always on the move, thinking aimlessly, problematically and with a will of its own. It is this endless loop of thoughts that creates fear, doubt and worry within your mind from time to time, and that is why you are never truly at peace for long. And it is this endless stream of thought, the endless repetition of, and movement of thinking within your mind that brings disharmony into your life. And if you stay with me I’ll gradually prove this to you, but patience is needed and you’ll need to dedicate yourself to this process of investigation into your greater reality or the truth of self-knowledge.

Q. What is The Truth concerning Opinion and Belief?

People believe that what they believe in and have an opinion about is the truth, but that is not so. The fact is that:

A belief is a belief

An opinion is an opinion

Truth is neither.

A belief is a belief, an opinion is an opinion and Truth is neither.

If you think that you can believe in the truth then you can be sure that it is not The Truth about which you have a belief.

Do you have an opinion about what I’ve just said? Is it your opinion that what I’ve just said is correct or incorrect? Isn’t everything I write here just my opinion, or is there a difference between having an opinion about truth and the realization of The Truth?

Q. What is The Truth regarding Truth?

The Truth is that Truth cannot be believed in. Truth is something that the thinking mind knows nothing about, although it may have many hardened opinions and beliefs on the subject.

Truth cannot be believed in but it can be realized. What does that mean? It means that all your opinions and beliefs hold no value whatsoever where this subject is concerned. It also means that in order for you to discover The Truth of Your Life, and discover the underlying Truth of all life on earth, you will need to suspend your belief system and enter a totally fresh and new state of being where anything is possible but, simultaneously, everything has to be investigated with the eye of a skeptic. Meaning? You have to investigate everything, leaving no stone unturned, but you must accept nothing as The Truth.

You must accept nothing you read as being a source of truth and paradoxically you must not reject it out of hand either. There must be a complete openness of mind to possibilities. Where The Truth is concerned a closed mind will not work because a closed mind is already controlled by its conditioned beliefs and opinions. The closed mind has been closed by its own conditioning, therefore all other possibilities will have been tainted by this very conditioning. The closed mind is like a door which has been bolted shut for all time, never to be opened again and through which the individual will never pass. You have to be willing to open the doors of your mind if you want to discover what lies beyond the world of belief and opinion.

Where self-knowledge is concerned you will need to begin with an open mind. An open mind is a mind that is not only ready to hear other possibilities, but it is also willing to observe its own conditioned thinking, beliefs and opinions.

Also, you will need to look at what the atheists, agnostics, scientists and religionists have to say without recourse to judgmental position taking. In other words you must not judge anything as being right or wrong. In self-knowledge 'nothing is good or bad, except when thinking makes it so.' This begs the question, If the thinking principle is still, and therefore does not make anything right/wrong or good/bad, then what remains? And that is the very question you’ll need to find the answer to . . . but how? The answers to all your questions are all within you, but you have to be able to access them. Correct meditation, as self-observation, will guide you to the solution, which is the end of all your questions.

Throughout this process you will need to become the observer of your self, meaning you will need to become more and more conscious or self-aware.

Aware of your thought processes, emotional feeling and actions or behaviors.

Aware of all your attitudes of mind, beliefs and opinions.

Aware of everything you have become psychologically and emotionally attached to.

This is a mighty undertaking, one that most individuals are not capable of participating in fully because it is so demanding of ones attention . . . but this is also what every enlightened individual has had to dedicate themselves to.

What is the enlightened state again? It is the realization of, and then the living of, a life that is totally free from psychological and emotional unhappiness and problematic living. No more problems exist in the enlightened individuals life. Events happen, as they always do, but the enlightened individual does not turn events and circumstance into any form of psychological and/or emotional problem or unhappiness because they know that the solution already exists within them. They simply go still and live their life from that place of stillness and creativity within where all solutions are born. In the next moment the solution unfolds and all is well in the enlightened individuals life . . . as it was always meant to be. And so the life is sweet and flows smoothly with effortless ease . . .

Now, if that isn't enlightenment enough for you then I guess you won't be putting in the required time and effort, in the form of self-observation, to experience the Enlightened State of Being. Or will you . . . are you up to the challenge, is the prize big enough for you, or are you still happy to live in the normal, unhappy condition, the way of living and being that 99.9% of the earths population does? I'll leave that thought with you till next time . .

. . . when I'll be taking the subject on a little further. Any thoughts, questions or comments you may have will be most welcome, all feedback is useful, thanks, Doug.

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Enlightenment Q & A: Day Five, Taking a closer look at consciousness.

2008-09-04T02:16:00.001-07:00

Q. What is consciousness?

I am consciousness. I, the reader of these words, am the consciousness that is fully conscious in this moment here and now. If I were not consciousness itself then it would be impossible for me to relate to the life I am now experiencing.

I say that you, dear reader, are consciousness itself. You are the consciousness of the individual man or woman reading these words now, is that true in your experience? You are awake and aware of your environment aren’t you? Where does this power come from? Do you think it is of your thinking mind?

Q. From where does individual consciousness originate?

Consciousness is not of the thinking mind. It is the power that exists behind, or beyond the thinking mind. It is what you are when you are not thinking, or it is what you are before consciousness enters the subconscious mind.

When the thinking mind is perfectly still, meaning there is no discursive thought or observable movement in the mind, consciousness still is. In other words you can be without thought or emotion and still be, or be fully conscious.

If you are intelligent enough to observe your thinking mind in action, you’ll begin to separate from whatever you observe within it.

Why will this happen? It will happen because you are this intelligent state of consciousness.

You are the consciousness that is intelligently observing the thoughts and emotions within your mind/psyche.

You are not that which you are observing, you are the observer. What you are observing, thought, is moving in the mind but you are not.

You are perfectly still, what you are observing is movement within your psyche.

There is only one problem. The problem is that what you really are and what you think you are have become entangled within your psyche. A layer of mind has been formed where consciousness and conditioning meet. Where they meet is an area of mind known as the sub-conscious.

How will you know if what I’ve just said is true? Only by becoming the observer of yourself [your thoughts, feelings and actions] will you know if what I am saying is true. What will you be left with if you don’t participate? Just a worn out belief or opinion, that’s all. You can choose to believe that what I’ve just written is true or you can believe that it is false. Alternatively you can suspend all opinion and find out for yourself! And the only way that you can know for sure is to expand your awareness of what is really going on within your own mind and psyche.

Perhaps thinking and emotionalizing are unconscious acts of a conditioned mind, how will you know for sure if they are or aren’t, if you don’t fully investigate?

‘To learn about consciousness, obviously, you must come to it afresh. You may have read books, you may have ideas, opinions; what you have read, your opinions, your knowledge according to somebody—all that is not what is, is not the fact. To understand a fact, opinions are not necessary; on the contrary, they are a hindrance. And to inquire into this consciousness, one must be free, not bound to any particular theory or knowledge.’

J Krishnamurti.

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To Realize.

2008-09-04T01:13:00.001-07:00

"Realize—do you know what we mean by realizing? When you realize that a particular road does not lead to your home, you turn your back on that road and take another road. You do not insist on pursuing that road. If you insist on going on that road which does not lead to your home, mentally there is some imbalance; you are not sane, you are deaf, you are blind, insisting that road will lead to your home."

J Krishnamurti.

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Enlightenment Q & A: Day Four.

2008-09-03T04:05:00.001-07:00

Q. What does the individual who wants to experience enlightenment have to do?

Anyone who would be enlightened has to go through the self-realization process.

Q. What is the self-realization process, can it be described?

To realize something is to have the direct experience of it. For example you don’t believe that you can think, you know that you can think because you have the direct experience of thinking. If it is raining outside then you don’t believe it is raining do you, you know through direct experience whether it is raining or not, yes?

What is it to realize self then? It is to have the direct experience of what ‘self’ is, not partially, certainly not as a belief or an opinion, but in its entirety, with no stone left unturned. But how?

At this point, it is important to understand that within you now there is a real ‘I’ and a false I.

The false I is simply everything you think you are, but are not. Whatever you now think you are is not what you are, it is not your state of truth-reality-integrity. Only when you no longer think will you have the direct perception of what you are. That is incredibly difficult for the thinking mind to accept. Why? Because the thinking mind wants to remain in the dominant position that it presently holds over you. It does not want you to regain your power.

The real ‘I’ is what has to be real-i-zed. Do you see the words real and I within the word realize, yes? You have to discover and have the direct experience of the real ‘I’ within you, but in order to do that you must be willing to become aware of the false I, which is everything you presently think of as yourself.

I am speaking of self-knowledge now. To know thyself in totality is a mighty task to undertake, it is not for those who just want to dabble in it. It requires dedication and a desire to discover the truth of yourself above and beyond all else in your life. Anything less will get you nowhere, except more belief and opinion, which the enlightened mind has moved beyond.

What would you give up in your life in order that you might experience the enlightened state? Would you be willing to give up everything you personally love and are attached to in order that you might be free? Can you start now by surrendering, which means giving up, your attitudes, beliefs and opinions? What else is there to surrender? Surrender is simply the giving up of all that is false within you so that you can experience the enlightened state of being.

The enlightened mind does not believe in anything. It does not have an opinion. It knows. It knows through its very state of being everything it needs to know on a moment to moment basis. But that is all it knows. What it doesn’t need to know right now with regard to any aspect of its life [and especially with regard to the man made world], the enlightened mind is content not to know. The enlightened mind rests assured that when it needs to know something, that knowledge is provided in the moment of need. If something is needed for its existential survival, that need is fulfilled. Nothing is lacking, even though to the unenlightened mind, which is looking at the enlightened mind from its position of conditioned ignorance, that might not appear to be so!

Q. What is the relationship between enlightenment, self-realization and self- knowledge?

Enlightenment is a state of being. You could say it is the end state, one might think that it is the goal or aim of the spiritual journey, for want of a better description. Paradoxically there is no goal, except to simply be in the enlightened state, which already exists within you. In other words enlightenment is within you now, but it is hidden beneath a layer of ignorance. That layer of ignorance is everything you think you are, but are not. It is your conditioned past, the thinking personality you call yourself.

So, the aim is to realize the enlightened state. The enlightened state is the real ‘I’, or what ‘I’ the reader, really am.

The self-realization process is the perceived journey from the unenlightened condition to the enlightened state. It is a process of discovering who and what you are not and dropping that ignorance or past conditioning from your mind and psyche. Simultaneously you are realizing who and what you really are, all of which is self-knowledge, the art of knowing thyself. Through this whole process there is nothing to believe in. In fact all belief and opinion is gradually dissolved and removed from the individual man or woman’s mind/psyche. Eventually all that remains is the enlightened state of being, which is A Greater State of Truth, Reality and Integrity than you can possibly think you are.

My next post will be looking at the world of opinion and belief.

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Enlightenment Q & A: Day Three.

2008-09-02T16:30:00.001-07:00

Q. If I say, and I do, that the only way anyone can know what enlightenment is, is to still the thinking mind, would that create a barrier for you, the reader?

Here we go again. Is enlightenment a theory? No, it is the most practical of all states and it requires one to enter it! There is no other way for anyone to enter the enlightened state of being, as that great man Barry Long used to say “Stillness is the Way”, there is no other.

If you don’t take practical action, by bringing stillness to the thinking mind, then for you enlightenment will remain a subject of conjecture. Something to have a chat about with friends, or argue about, and have beliefs and opinions about . . as the thinking mind tends to do. That is the world of thought and theory, it is not a place of truth.

Q. Is there a greater Truth-Reality-Integrity than the thinking mind is aware of?

It is my experience that when the thinking mind becomes still it enters a state of being beyond its normal level of experience and that is the beginning of what I call the enlightened state. I say the beginning because there are many levels of being within the consciousness of wo/man, and the stilling of thought is only the first step in an ongoing process of self-realization.

In entering this still state of being one becomes aware of the difference between who you thought you were, the personality, and who or what you really are, the individual consciousness and intelligence behind it all.

What you are, your intelligent state of being/consciousness, is a greater truth, reality and integrity than the person you think you are.

The only way that you can discover what you are is by separating from what you think you are.

If that sounds confusing to you then why not read it again and again until you get the idea. Let me put it this way:

What you ‘think’ you are is not the same as what you ‘really’ are.

What you ‘really’ are is far superior to what you ’think’ you are.

When you separate what you ‘really’ are from what you presently ‘think’ you are, you realize that what you are is this greater truth, reality and integrity.

This greater truth, reality and integrated state, is your very being.

The only way to discover who or what you really are is to go through a process of self-discovery, which requires you to become an observer of your self . You do this on a moment to moment and daily basis. I’m speaking of an expanding state of self-awareness now, an expansion of consciousness and an awakening of intelligence.

It is your intelligent state of consciousness which awakens and observes all that is unintelligent within your mind/psyche. It then separates from the condition completely to stand alone as your greater state of truth-reality-integrity.

Q. Who or what are you?

You are consciousness, which is an intelligent state of being beyond the experience of the thinking mind. Contained within consciousness is your natural state of Joy, Love and direct knowledge of the Truth of life on earth.

This, the so called enlightened know to be the truth, but the unenlightened know nothing about. Those who are not in the enlightened state are lost in the normal condition that mankind presently finds itself in. The enlightened are actually in the natural state. The normal condition is a barrier, which stands in the way of you experiencing the natural state.

The majority of people on earth are lost in their normal conditioning, which is fluctuating between opposite polarities of the mind and personality, so they are never happy for long. Only those who enlighten their minds, by freeing it of the ignorance of its conditioning, live in the natural state of being . . One which is free of all unhappiness.

‘Only the individual who enlightens his or her mind, by liberating it from the ignorance of its conditioning, lives in the natural state of being and is therefore free of problematic living and unhappiness.’

In my next post we will be taking a closer look at the self-realization process.

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Enlightenment Q&A Day Two

2008-09-01T14:33:00.001-07:00

Yesterday we looked at enlightenment and discovered that the enlightened mind is in a pure and clear state of perception . . . and we also found that stillness and/or peace of mind was the starting point. The enemy of stillness can be perceived to be 'thought' because thinking is movement in the mind, and this movement in the mind is governed by what the thinking mind knows, but what does the thinking mind really know?

Q. What does a mind that has not been stilled know?

It knows its own conditioned thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and opinions.
What else could it know? It can only know what it thinks it is or thinks it knows. To know what it actually is would require it to be in a fully awake, intelligent state of perception, which means it would need to let go of the past.

Q. What is the 'past' within the mind that has not been stilled?

The past within the mind that has not been stilled is its conditioning, which equates to all its thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, opinions and existential attachments. Meaning everything that has been tagged onto an individuals mind since it entered existence at birth.

The conditioned mind is a thinking mind, and as such it is a mind that creates its own unhappiness, but only the mind that has been completely stilled is aware of this fact. The thinking mind very often would argue against what I’ve just written, well why wouldn’t it, it doesn’t want to be found out to be the phony that it is, does it?

Q. Why do I say that the thinking mind is a phony?

The thinking mind, which is tied to the personality as one entity, is living under the 'pretence' that it is you. In fact you probably think that you are all those thoughts and emotions that you experience everyday of your life, don’t you? It would be crazy for anyone to suggest otherwise, wouldn’t it? But did you know that the past in you is all those thoughts and emotions that you experience everyday of your life. They repeat themselves in your mind as a constant stream of discursive thinking. In other words thought and emotion is the past repeating itself within your mind. It is a repetition of past experience, it is never fresh and new like the still mind is.

The enlightened mind, having separated from thought and emotion, is free of the past [which is the last moment] as a burden. It always lets go of the last moment, always. This moment, the now, is always fresh and new for the enlightened mind because it does not carry the events of the last moment into it. The meditative process has already removed the past conditioning from the mind/psyche of the enlightened individuals mind and therefore each moment is now fresh and new. Each moment is free of problems, each moment is free of psychological and emotional unhappiness and each moment is perceived to be perfect as it is, regardless of another's point of view.

The enlightened mind does not react into the world through thought and emotion, therefore it does not inflict unhappiness on the people around it.

The enlightened individual responds from a place of truth-reality-integrity beyond the thinking mind, which is a joyful and loving state of being. This state of truth, reality and integrity is the creator of harmony in the world. The 'unhappy' individual 'reacts' from thought and emotion, therefore they inflict unhappiness onto others. There is no place for that level of ignorance in the enlightened man or womans mind or life.

In my next post we will be looking at the relationship between consciousness and the enlightened state of being.

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Enlightenment Q & A . . . Day One.

2008-08-31T09:09:00.001-07:00

Enlightenment
Questions and Answers.

Q. What is enlightenment?

“Enlightenment is a state of perception beyond the thinking mind, and it is free of all psychological and emotional unhappiness. It is a completely non-problematic state of being beyond the thinking mind.”

Many people think that enlightenment is a very distant and mysterious or even mystical subject, but in my experience it is a very practical state of being. It is a mystical state in the sense that it is beyond the normal level of everyday experience, but it is not unattainable. Why do I say that it is not unattainable? Because many people have had, and are having, the direct experience of this state in their everyday lives right now. Also, I speak from experience on the subject of enlightenment, even if I have my limitations, like not being able to walk on water or heal the sick . . and not being seemingly perfect to the normal conditioned mind, which is itself imperfect! I am however free of unhappiness, which means that I don't hold onto the last moment and turn it into an excuse for me to be unhappy now. I do live in a state of pure and clear perception in which there are no more psychological and emotional problems being created in my life. I let go of yesterday and the last moment and live in this moment, the here and now, free of conditioning or problematic living. And I can tell you first hand, its a good place to be.

I am going to give you feedback from where I am, this place within each of us that is still and peaceful and yet simultaneously full of joy.

Enlightenment is a joyful and clear state of pure perception containing within it direct knowledge about life’s purpose and meaning, and as such it is a state of being which is free of fear, doubt and worry.

But is knowing the answer the same as being the answer? An interesting twist on the subject has arisen with this question.

Q. Is knowing what enlightenment is the same as being in the enlightened state?

Enlightenment is not a theory, it is a state of being, therefore one has to have the direct experience of the state before one can know it. Does that make sense? To me it makes complete sense because I have spent many years breaking down the psychological and emotional conditioning within the thinking mind. To another it may simply sound confusing, especially if they have never experienced a state of being beyond thought.

I had better expand on that.

Q. What is a state of being beyond thought?

It is a state that is centered in stillness. When the thinking mind it perfectly still, then, and only then, is a new state of 'being' realized.

You have to understand that the thinking mind is never still for long. It is always on the move. Thought is movement in the mind. When the mind is still there is no thought.

One has to have the realization, which is a direct experience, of a still mind before one can know what the still mind knows. Up to that point all that anyone has is an opinion born of a mind that has not been stilled!

Tomorrow and on a daily basis we will continue this Q&A process and discover where it takes us . . .

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Health Issues. Where do they fit in with Self-knowledge?

2008-08-20T01:40:00.000-07:00

Tim asked a very interesting question on this blog recently with regard to health issues and self-knowledge:; "I have a question..... drum roll... how are common colds, coughs & minor yet annoyingly persistent illnesses associated with the negativity cultivated by the conditioned mind? Would it be idle speculation to draw a connection to a recent bout of 'observing' and the contraction of an upper respiratory infection (which is on its way out, at this time of ... *cough* *cough* ... where's the garlic pills?
: Here is my reply:; Hi Tim, nice to have you join us and thanks for your recent comments. Right, you want an answer to a question that so many people have asked throughout time, help! My answer is simply a pointer to the solution, OK? “What YOU acknowledge is what you get in life.”
You want more right? Hmm, well I could expand but really you need to look within yourself, as you’re already doing . . I think you already have the answer within you, don’t you? It was said long ago that we become what we think about. Is that true in your experience Tim? A great man once said “As a man thinketh so is he” or some such . . So, are you responsible for all the good things in your life or not? When everything is going well don’t you want to take the credit . . And when things are not flowing so well and we have a cold because maybe (just maybe, perhaps) we have been lacking in integrity and/or honesty . . Is that a possibility? I’m not asking anyone to believe me here you know Tim, I wouldn’t want anyone to be so foolish, right . . I’m just asking the questions.

I used to be consistently ill and it was because I was NOT being true to life. I wasn't integrated whole and complete. The fact is I have very few colds and virus infections in my life now and I don’t accept that ‘germs’ are responsible for me getting them. I’m free of a believe system! If I did get a cold now I would be taking a very close look at my life to see in which area I wasn't being true, so that I could rectify it!! You want to know more? Anyway Tim, in my experience (not my belief), what you or I acknowledge is what we as individuals will manifest as our life experience. I could be wrong but I can explain the why and the how behind this great movement of life. Are you interested in asking the next question?; Now people, the next question is fairly obvious don't you think? If 'What I acknowledge is what I get in my life', then what makes this possible? The Why and How have to be explored . . . Yes?

Nothing is lacking . . .

2008-08-19T05:38:00.000-07:00

Tim left this very interesting comment on my blog and I just wanted to take the time to reply, thank you Tim for participating.

"Thank you for this post, I've been hitting it every so often but never read right through (too busy working). Keep it up! :-)

I've been observing myself recently, and most of the time I observe my personality, nothing else. But the energy to consistently say, "thank you" (inside; for life), which I have maintained recently, indicates the presence of a higher level of being, because the sensation feels so disparate from what the personality would normally dwell on."

Hello again Tim, thanks for the comments, it's nice to know you enjoyed this particular post. I can see that you are serious about self-knowledge, it comes across in your comments and questions, so thank you for participating like this.

Self-observation tends to come in waves doesn't it? Sometimes we are really into it but then we find it hard work and we let it slide . . Hey, that’s OK, no problem, we all have to go through the process at our own speed . . And we all have to go to work and earn a living! I started out very young with meditation/self-observation, some start later and there is no good or bad about it, nothing to label as right or wrong.

I loved your comment about what the personality would normally dwell on. What would it normally dwell on? In my experience the personality dwells on fears, doubts and worries . . . Do you recognize that as the truth in your experience? Sure it enjoys all the good stuff but sooner or later it begins to dwell on the negative issues. . .

. . . and it does like to chatter on endlessly doesn't it?

Yes I agree, the state of being is quite different from the condition of the personality, being is ‘still’ and personality is constantly on the move as thought and emotion. And you used the word ‘sensation’ which is interesting. Are you a Barry Long fan? I ask because he used the word to describe the state of being, whereas I have noticed that most other teachers use the word ‘vibration’ when attempting to describe higher or deeper states of being. In my experience the state of being is a pure and clear ‘sensational-vibrational’ state. The impurity is thought and emotion, which creates a distortion in the psyche and brings with it a lack of clarity.

Gratitude is an important aspect of life. I thank life for all the small stuff everyday, not just the so called 'good' stuff Tim. I've had nothing in my life and through having nothing I discovered that I already had everything. Nothing is actually lacking . . In ’reality!’ The reality of ’being.’

OK, enough for now. Once again thank you for participating Tim, all the best . . .

His Cup Runneth Over . . .

2008-06-05T13:02:00.001-07:00

There was an English academic, Professor Reginald Bentley-Smyth I believe his name was, who thought he knew a thing or two, a real scholar with a philosophical twist, and he had heard about a Wise old Monk known only as Zen-Tao, who lived in the mountains of Tibet and he was meant to be pretty enlightened. Anyway the professor made a decision to pay the old sage a visit while on his next holiday in Asia.

The great sage welcomed the professor into his humble bungalow, which overlooked the breathtaking scenery of the Tibetan wilderness, and he listened as the scholar aired his views and ideas on religion and philosophy for the best part of an hour. Eventually Zen-Tao asked his new found friend if he would like a nice hot cup of tea (Being English he wasn't going to say no, was he? Don't worry, it was probably herbal, but if it bothers you then I suggest that you fill in the gaps yourself and give me feedback! Perhaps you could put me out of my misery by informing me if there was any milk involved and did they indulge in a sweetener and if so . . )

So the monk started to pour out the tea while the professor rambled on but when he got to the top of the cup he continued to pour and began to create quite a spillage as it splattered all over the table! "Stop, STOP!" shouted Zen-Tao's visitor, "The cup's already full, you can't get any more in there! "The old sage stopped pouring and as he turned to the scholar he replied, "Quite right my dear professor, the cup is so full that it will hold no more, and so it is with your mind. You are so full of concepts, notions, ideas and ideals . . . so full of your own opinions and beliefs that you are unable listen to the simple truth."

(You'll have noticed at this juncture that Zen-Tao speaks remarkably good English for a Tibetan Monk living on his own in the middle of nowhere, perhaps you can explain this to me? For example, was he educated in the west but decided to sell his Ferrari and adopt a more spiritual way of life, or did he buy a copy of that wonderful book 'English For Tibetan Monks Who Are Gonna Need It One Day?' Right . . .)

The wise old man put down the tea pot and mopped up the mess on the table while his visitor sat there looking bewildered. Finally the old man sat down next his guest and added, "Before you can realise enlightenment or experience the wisdom of self-knowledge you must first empty yourself of everything you think you know. Only when you have taken the time to remove the conditioned thinking from your mind, and dissolved everything you have come to believe in, will you be ready to hear and recognize truth and wisdom. Then and only then will you be ready to realise the enlightened state." The wise old sage knew from first hand experience that enlightenment, truth and wisdom are available to those who are prepared to move beyond the surface of themselves, beyond the thinking mind, which "thinks" it knows so much and yet is limited by its experiences in the man made world. The sage understood that the thinking mind is simply the past in you, it is everything you have gathered as your individual past experience and accepted as being real and true. He knew that only when the thinking mind is perfectly still, and peaceful, does true wisdom begin to unfold.

The trouble is that "You're so full of it . . . aren't you?" Belief and opinion I mean, or haven't you taken the time to look into your thinking mind for a long enough period of your life to discover what's really going on in there, or ask the most vital question of all: "Where does all my thinking come from?"

I forgot to mention from where our wise old sage got his name. He is Zen-Tao. But Zen-Tao is not a name, it is a state of being. It is an integrated, whole and complete state known as the enlightened state. The things he says might have been uttered by Lao Tzu or Tai Gong or Chuang Tzu, oh, but they were all Chinese Taoists weren't they? Sometimes he sounds similar to Suzuki, a modern Zen Master. On other occasions you'll swear that he sounds just like a teacher of Vedanta. Often he can seem harsh, but always his words are wise and enlightening to those of you who have ears with which to hear . . . ears that are not inflicted by old and worn out beliefs and opinions. Anyway, it all adds up to a mixed bag of eastern tradition that leads us up the garden path . . . so why call our old sage "Zen-Tao?" Because as Zen-Tao says;

"Tao expresses itself as the multiplicity of beings"

so he could be anyone, anywhere, really, couldn't he?
Zen again maybe not!

Back to Reggie, sorry, Professor Reginald Bentley-Smyth, from England. There he was sitting with Zen-Tao when he had this sudden realisation that everything he had ever considered to be important was being brought into question by this old Tibetan Monk. After all he was a thinking man, his whole education had been based on learning and acquiring knowledge along with the ability to reason and come to conclusions. Having opinions and developing a belief system through which to express them had been his way of life since he could remember. And here was this old sage telling him to let it all go, how was he meant to do that, how was he meant to remove all his past conditioning as the old man had requested he should do?

Zen-Tao looked at the exasperated and perplexed expression on the professors face and with a smile he asked "How do you feel about what I've just said?"

RBS: Well, it's hard to put into words actually, I'm a thinking man, a scholar with an academic background and here you are telling me that, well . . . I don't really know anything at all.

ZT: What you know is of the world and stored in your thinking mind, it is not of yourself, and enlightenment and wisdom are not found in the world or the thinking mind . . . they are even beyond "self".

RBS: Beyond "self", but how can that be, there is only self, what do you mean? In my experience my mind is an aspect of myself.

ZT: First you must stop trying to work everything out. The problem is in thinking. You think you have to think in order to receive wisdom but this is not the truth. First comes stillness and everything else follows.

RBS: But all I know is thought and reason, how am I supposed to move beyond them and into stillness? And what do you mean by stillness, I've always believed that a still mind is an empty mind and that an empty mind is, well, vegetating! It's going to waste, isn't that true?

ZT: If you are sincere in your search for wisdom then it is necessary, above all, to stop all discursive thinking. The still mind is not vegetating because in the stillness is hidden a great secret, one that the thinking mind is unable to discover, it's a secret so great that even if I share it with you, you will not understand it. The only way you will be able to understand it is if you bring your mind to a point of perfect stillness. The still mind is a silent mind filled with inner peace, undisturbed by thought, and yet simultaneously wide awake and fully alert.

RBS: I don't understand. How will I know how to identify this great secret? What is it that is hidden within the stillness of my mind?

ZT: What you are, your essence, is hidden there in the stillness of your mind. The truth of your very being . . . or your reality, the secret of what the Taoists called the Tao, is hidden there. It is the truth discovered by all the founders of all the great religions. In the stillness of your being . . . that is where wisdom is discovered . . . The enlightened do not think, my dear professor, they perceive.

RBS: They perceive? What, perception without thought? I see, that would be a state of pure perception or awareness would it not, like a blank canvass . . . but what about memory? They must use their memory, you must use your memory Zen-Tao, how would you know how to use language or how to make a cup of tea or remember your way down to the local village without your memory?

ZT: Memory is not the problem, memory is always available even for the still mind. Memory is simply past experience and learning that has been stored in the mind and when you need to remember something it will arise out of the stillness within you. Also, when you need to remember an important fact and your mind is silent, up pops the memory. The problem is that your mind is not perfectly still, it is full of belief and opinion, and so you struggle to remember where you left your glasses when they are in fact on the end of your nose! The reality is that there is much aimless and problematic thinking taking place within your mind . . . if it is not still. And did you know that aimless and problematic thinking drains your energy? Every mind that is not "stilled" is poisoned by the disease of aimless thinking and this in turn depletes the bodies energies. The thinker in you is also very confused because it is, once again, trying to work everything out. It does this because it wants to avoid the point.

RBS: The point . . . what is the point?

ZT: The point is you have to bring the mind to a point of perfect stillness. Then and only then will the answer to all your questions become perfectly clear. Stilling your mind is the solution, that is the point, and the thinking mind wants to avoid that at all costs because it is afraid of the consequences.

RBS: What are the consequences?

ZT: Stillness will bring about the 'death' of the thinker in you . . .

. . . but you must be aware that the thinker does not want to die! It will do anything and everything possible to stay alive, like a wild animal trapped in a corner it will fight till the bitter end.

RBS: You speak as if the thinker, or that which is thinking within me, is not meant to be there. Can you clarify this for me?

ZT: Anything that you can observe in your mind such as worry, self-doubt, fear and anger are not a natural part of you. They may well be normal conditions that each of us are familiar with but that does not make them natural. What each of us has to do is become aware of all our normal conditioning and in the process of expanding that awareness we can dissolve and dissipate all that is not real and true within us so that only our natural state remains. This is a mighty undertaking and it is not for the faint of heart for it requires true dedication. Also, you cannot do it through an act of personal will . . . you are either ready for this great undertaking or you are not.

***

The small bungalow in which Zen-Tao and the Professor sat was silent once more. Zen-Tao sat in the stillness of his being and the Professor sat in quite contemplation of the "reality" that he had just been introduced to and yet he was totally relaxed. Reginald Bentley-Smyth was being introduced to the meditative state first hand. There was no noise here in the foothills of Tibet and the internal noise of the "thinker" in his mind had been brought right down to a whimper. His mind fell silent for several minutes before Zen Tao spoke again . . ."Preoccupied with the quest to learn what they do not naturally know, men lose the intuitive knowledge they already naturally possess," Zen-Tao was looking right into the Professors eyes. His reality seemingly piercing like a knife into the ignorance of his guests thinking mind. "In truth it must be said that someone who seeks learning knows more and more, but someone seeking The Ways of Wisdom or a Greater Integrity knows less and less . . . until things just are what they are."

"Sorry Zen-Tao but I'm still stuck on what you said earlier, when you talked about the consequences of stilling the mind, and about me missing the point," answered the professor.

ZT: Yes, I see that you are, perhaps we need to address that first?

RBS: I think so! How do we do that?

ZT: Meditation.

RBS: Meditation! You want me to learn how to meditate? Surely that's a load of old mumbo-jumbo, are you serious?

ZT: I see that our esteemed professor thinks that he is too good for meditation . . . or that he has nothing to learn from our eastern traditions?

RBS: Now don't get me wrong, I just thought I would pay you a visit for a couple of days and share some ideas with you, I didn't expect to be enrolled in some sort of Tibetan meditation cult or some such! No offense meant but . . .

ZT: None taken . . .

Zen-Tao sat silently while the professor awaited his response . . . there was none. Reginald Bentley-Smyth waited for what felt like an eternity but still the little old sage sat there in silence with a contented look on his face.

RBS: I seem to have put my foot in it!

Still nothing . . . there was no response.

RBS: Why don't you say something if you are not offended by my comments?

ZT: Professor, I am regarded by my people as a sage who proffers wisdom and that is why you are paying me a visit, is it not?

RBS: Yes, but of course it is and . . .

ZT: . . . and sometimes Wisdom is knowing when to stop talking because language is inadequate.

RBS: I see . . . I think!

ZT: Here you are sitting in the stillness of your being with me. Your mind is very quite and you are relaxed is that not so?

RBS: Er, yes . . . that's true . . . I hadn't realised . . . how . . .

ZT:What do you think meditation is?

RBS: As I understand it, meditation is a way of focusing the mind and relaxing, hm . . . I understand that it is also used in natural healing and it's especially good for people who are stressed I hear!

ZT: That is true but it is not the whole truth. Meditation is a state of attention or perception beyond the thinking mind. It's a state of pure consciousness, which leads to an expansion of your awareness. It does bring with it the benefits you just described but they are simply side effects of the process. True meditation is a state of mind that is perfectly still . . . no thought. Remember what I said about the consequences of stilling the thoughts in the mind?

RBS: Yes, the death of the "thinker", is that right?

ZT: That is correct and meditation is your weapon with which to kill your enemy . . . thought!

RBS: Thought is my enemy?

ZT: And the battleground is your mind, yes.

RBS: Who am I then? I mean if thought or the thinker is my enemy and my mind is the battleground . . . well, who the hell am I?

ZT: That is the very question that self-knowledge and the subject of wisdom addresses my dear professor!

RBS: Yes, I see, of course it is . . .

ZT: Professor, you will need to test this for yourself if you are to discover if there is any truth in what I say, and it may seem fairly obvious to you when you hear this. You are the one observing or watching all those thoughts in the mind. You are the one who perceives, you are the intelligence behind it all, and your enemy is anything that moves within your mind. You must have your "attention" standing on guard the whole time saying "Halt, who goes there?" Not by meditating for ten or twenty minutes twice a day but by being fully "PRESENT" every moment . . . like NOW!

***

Reginald Bentley-Smyth, esteemed English Professor of Philosophical Thought, sat in the little hut that was the home of this wise old man known only as Zen-Tao. Here he was in the foothills of Tibet listening to the sound of silence, even his own mind had fallen into a state of inner peace and quite contemplation in the presence of this little mans wisdom and self-knowledge."You know Zen-Tao," began the professor, "as you spoke about being the observer of thought and watching the mind, I caught my own mind thinking and I actually felt as if I had stepped back from my mind for a moment. As if there were two of me, my thoughts were there in my mind but I was also seeing them active within me for a moment, how is that possible . . . but I keep losing that awareness, how does this happen?"

ZT: Are you thinking now?

RBS: Yes and no. I seem to be still for awhile and then I suddenly become aware of my mind thinking . .

ZT: When you catch the mind thinking are the thoughts factual, practical and of value or are they of a more or less trivial nature?

RBS: They seem to be my opinions, what I think is right or wrong about everything you've said to me today. Some of them are just plain rambling along with no particular value at all really. The mind seems to be chattering on and on . . . as if it has a will of its own. Then there is silence for a short period and then I catch it thinking again. Why have I never noticed this before?

ZT: You haven't noticed because you have not spent a significant amount of time watching how your mind operates and no one has been there to point out that there is something of importance for you to become aware of. What you are doing is observing the mind in action, which is thinking, and then separating your intelligence from what you are observing; thought. You are experiencing your "Intelligence" observing the "thinker" in action within your mind. It is a beginning.

RBS: A beginning?

ZT: Yes, it is the beginning of an awakening.

RBS: Please tell me Zen-Tao, what is it that is awakening?

ZT: It is the Awakening of Intelligence . . . this point of awakening is where the Intelligence in you begins to turn inwards and become aware of all the aimless, wilful and problematic thoughts that are going on within your mind. These are thoughts that appear to be yours but are actually observable as being separate and apart from you; you being the Intelligence that is watching those very thoughts.The first time you clearly see or perceive the "thinker" in action within your mind is when you have your first realization that it, thought, is not you, and that thought is observable as something that is separate and apart from you. Your Intelligence and your thoughts are separated, there is now some space between the two and this space between the thoughts you are observing, and you as the observer, is stillness itself.The problem is that at the beginning of this process you will find it difficult to remain aware of the thinker in you. Your intelligent state of Attention will become lost in the thoughts of the mind and then you will have lost your state of Presence. You have to keep bringing your attention back into the present moment, into this moment here and now, which is where thought is not. Thought is never in the present moment, if it were it would go still, and that would be the end of thought. Then you would be in a state of pure and clear perception, which is intelligence itself. The problem is that the thinker is always in the past or future, never in the present moment, the here and now, look closely enough and you will see this for yourself. But remember please, never believe a word I say . . . always verify it for yourself by observing the action of thought in your own mind.

RBS: Yes I'm doing that Zen-Tao and I see it all so much more clearly now. But let me see if I've grasped this correctly. What you are saying is that my intelligence is not the same as my thoughts, and I'm seeing this for the first time and this is an awakening of my Intelligence?

ZT: Yes, that is correct. Every time you, as your intelligence, catch the mind thinking you create some space within your mind. That space in the mind is known as Stillness or Inner Peace. Intelligence is discovered or realised within this space and stillness of the mind . . . it is divine intelligence, which simply means intelligence beyond the normal level of experience. It is a deeper spiritual level of intelligence. This intelligence is your very nature and true character . . . it is the perception of being and it contains within it no thought.

RBS: Are you saying that what I have always regarded as intelligence isn't really intelligence at all?

ZT: What do you think, is it?

RBS: I don't know. I'm very unsure at the moment. I have spent a lifetime learning, using the ability to reason and store facts in my memory. In my experience intelligence is of the intellect, which is a faculty of knowing and reasoning. It also equates to the quickness of my understanding but I get the feeling that what your talking about is a level of intelligence beyond that, am I correct?

ZT: That is so. What you have done with your life is very clever, but don't mistake it for being intelligent, for intelligence is beyond thought. It is beyond the ability to memorize facts and reason things out. Intelligence isn't something you use, do or have . . . intelligence is what you are my dear professor!

RBS: Intelligence is what I am?

ZT: Yes you are the quickness of your understanding, what you say is quite correct, you are that intelligence but you must see that it does not move. Intelligence is perfectly still, so still that it moves at the speed of stillness.

RBS: Intelligence moves at the speed of stillness . . . well, you just told me that stillness does not move, erm . . .

ZT: Yes, intelligence is so fast that it moves at the speed of stillness. Do you know what that speed is Professor?

RBS: No, but I get the feeling I'm in for a surprise Zen-Tao!

ZT: Intelligence is so fast that it moves at the speed of present moment awareness, which is this moment NOW and it is instantaneous!

RBS: What does that mean?

ZT: It means that the moment of awareness, which is this moment NOW, is the speed that intelligence is moving at. Only the still mind can realise "The Now." The now is so fast that it is INSTANT . . . . . . . . . like NOW! You will notice, if you still the mind, that the now contains within it no past and no future. This is because the past and the future exist in only one place, do you know where that is?

RBS: Yes, I believe I do, you implied earlier that it is within the mind.

ZT: Exactly, and what do the past and future exist as within your mind?

RBS: Ah, that would be my thoughts, wouldn't it?

ZT: Yes, all your thoughts are sitting within your mind, your sub-conscious mind. They include all those hardened layers of thought which can be observed as your beliefs and opinions, all those things that you have become attached to such as concepts, notions, ideas and ideals. Along with all of your emotions, they also exist there, including fear, frustration, worry, impatience, anger, resentment, moodiness, bitterness and jealousy for example. They all exist within your sub-conscious mind and they form a blockage in the system. All your thoughts have gathered within your mind and they have created a blockage there. Do you know where your thoughts have come from?

RBS: Do you mean where my thoughts originate from?

ZT: Your thoughts are in your mind, yes? No doubt is there, you can observe them moving within your own mind, is that correct?

RBS: That is true Zen-Tao, I cannot deny that, it is an observable fact.

ZT: But where have they come from? Go still for awhile, do not think, just be. See what happens, ask the question "From where do all my thoughts originate" and go still, perhaps the answer is within you . . . . .

What a fool I am! I never should have done that, I'll never forgive myself . . .

2008-06-02T07:15:00.000-07:00

'Until we are able to stop criticizing or castigating ourselves for our ignorance, our journey cannot move along freely.'

From "The Path of Transformation" by Shakti Gawain.

Are you self critical? Do you feel the need to castigate yourself because you've made mistakes in the past or maybe you think you're ignorant in some way? Would you be interested in finding ways and means to overcome the conditioning within you that is currently creating this blockage in your life? If your answer is 'YES', then why not investigate, with an OPEN mind, something new . . .

. . . Come with me and take a look at a method that reveals, and then dismantles, the psychological and emotional blocks that may well be holding you back and preventing you from living life to the full. Click on this link NOW and take a look at . . .

Moving Beyond Your Physical Existence.

2008-06-01T14:11:00.000-07:00

The Metaphysical: Meta is a word meaning beyond. What is there to discover beyond the physical? There is so much there, beyond the physical body (within the depths of the mind) and not all of it is desirable. In fact there is a layer of ignorance within the mind which is completely undesirable.

From birth right through to this very moment you have been accumulating a subconscious past. This past is what you call yourself, your personality, the person you think of as you. This subconscious layering of past conditioning consists of all your aimless and problematic thinking, your attitudes, beliefs and opinions along with everything that you've become attached to in existence since you were born to this world. It also consists of all your psychological and emotional pain, misery, suffering and unhappiness. It is all there, within you, hidden in your mind and it thinks that IT is You! But is it?

Beneath the thin layer of mind known as the subconscious lies the unconscious. But what do you know of the unconscious, this vast and infinitely deep realm of your Psyche? Most people know very little of it because most of them are caught up in the subconscious . . . and I have to ask, are you any different?

Your reality, or what you really are, is hidden within the unconscious mind. The secret is to find a way to Transcend, Divine Through and Move Beyond the layer of ignorance, which you call yourself, the personality. In so doing you will re-connect with a greater Reality/Integrity than the self/personality.

How can you move beyond the conditioned mind and into the depths of the unconditioned mind? There is only one "Pure" way to do this, to move beyond the surface of yourself, and that requires you to become an observer of your "self" (self being everything you think you are . . but are not!). You have to separate your intelligent state of "Awareness" from your conditioned thinking mind and the only way to do this is by becoming "The Intelligent Observer" of yourself. You have to partake in a great "experiment". You have to take on the role of a scientist and become the observer of yourself. You must sit in self-observation, walk in self-observation and "be" in self-observation 24/7. You have to become the silent witness of all that is happening within your own psyche/mind. There is no other way . . . and sooner or later this is what you must do, if you are to become enlightened, liberated and free from discursive thinking and emotional unhappiness, if you are to move beyond the physical and beyond the conditioned mind.

Most people do not move beyond the conditioned mind. Even those who are involved in prayer and visualization are working within the conditioned thinking of the subconscious mind. They are calling up the past and inflicting it on the present, and in so doing they are NOT living in a state of present moment awareness. How could they when they are lost in the subconscious conditioned mind (the past in you), and are therefore not living in the freshness and newness of the Unconscious mind, which is the state of intelligent perception.

"I", the still mind and a body in existence; that is the integrated state of being, the enlightened state. The conditioned, subconscious mind, sits "BANG" in-between the body and "I". "I" am the intelligence that is reading these words now. That is what "I" am, but there is another I getting in the way. The I of the personality, which thinks it is you (or I), but it is not you, not the being you really are, it is an impostor! The "Truth" of this will become clear and real in your experience as you become an observer of the impostor, as you observe it wilfully making you think aimlessly and problematically even when you cry out for it to STOP! But it will not because it has become your master, it controls you and so the divine "I", the intelligence you really are, remains lost underneath this great impostor.

Which are you, are you the thoughts and feelings you observe within your mind or are you the intelligence that is observing those thoughts? Do you "think" that you are both? That's a nice trick, one of many that the thinker in you will perform in an attempt to make you fail in your attempt to break free from its strangle hold on you, but you must not fall for it. You are the observer of your thoughts, feelings and actions, you are the intelligence behind it all, and your task is to see this for yourself with great clarity of perception. The only way to reach a point where you can break free from the conditioned mind, and therefore experience enlightenment, is to be persistent in your self-observation. You must return to your laboratory every day and sit in meditation/self-observation, and then you must take your new found inner peace and stillness into the world with you and remain an observer, day in and day out until . . . you break free of the subconscious mind and enter the pristine clarity of the unconscious.

Beyond the physical there are deeper and ever deeper levels of mind and being. Just beyond the conditioned subconscious mind there is the unconditioned reality of the unconscious mind where the Truth of life on earth can be realized. This is where the truth regarding such words as immortal, eternal, spiritual and enlightenment is realised and it is the end of ignorance. It is death to all that is false within you and it is a re-birth of the divine reality and Integrity of your perfect state of BEING.

2008-05-30T03:42:00.000-07:00

This comment was posted recently on here and I wanted to address it in greater detail.

Hi Doug,
Barry Long and Eckhart Tolle are very good, acceptable teachers from what I can see. What do you think about those teacher's who practice "crazy wisdom", like Adi Da or Osho? They were/are dangerous characters, by many people's definition. And what about the Illuminati (translation: the enlightened) who apparently control the world and are the cause of the wars on earth (if you believe the theorists). Are they enlightened? What is enlightenment?

Crazy Wisdom? Well every teacher has his or her own style and each of us is attracted to different teachers and styles based on our own spiritual needs. I have read some of Osho's work some years ago now and I still have a book of his on the subject of Meditation. I have looked at Adi Da's work on the Internet in the past and read some of his material along with his very interesting poetry. I don't have a bad word to say about any teacher . . .

Ultimately we are drawn to what we need. You dear reader are either drawn to what I have to say on my sites, and the teachers I guide you to, or you are not. There is no right or wrong about it, there is no good or bad about it, everything is as it should be.

Wisdom is wisdom. It is the wisdom of that greater Truth-Reality-Integrity, which is within you now. What is it greater than? It is greater than all your attitudes-beliefs-opinions, and it is within you, waiting to be discovered now. The only problem is that it is buried underneath all your conditioning. Buried beneath all your conditioned attitudes, beliefs and opinions. You are that wisdom, you are that greater truth, reality and state of integrity that you long for, it is not separate and apart from you. Any teacher worth his or her salt will be guiding you within, into the depths of your very being where all truth is realised. The only crazy thing is listening to any teacher who does not guide you into this state of being, or into the realization of your greater Truth-Reality-Integrity.

The Illuminati? Starting wars? May I loll about now, please? You will never find an enlightened individual starting a war. The enlightened have removed all their conditioning, they are free of psychological and emotional unhappiness, and free of all problematic living, meaning they have no problems in their lives and therefore they don't inflict problems on others.

Calling yourself Illuminati and actually being Illuminati are not one and the same thing, are they? Are you free of all psychological pain, suffering, sorrow, misery and unhappiness now, and every moment? Is your life free of psychological and emotional problems, every moment, regardless of the events that unfold in your life? No? Then you are not enlightened. The individual who is at war with him/herself is the one who creates wars externally. They could be wars with other individuals or wars with other nations, it is all the same subject: Psychological and emotional unhappiness!

Are you inflicting your own psychological and emotional pain, misery and unhappiness on others in one way, shape or form and at any time? Yes? Then you are not enlightened.

Are you controlled by the fear of losing what you have in your life or the desire to have what you haven't already got? Yes? Then you are not enlightened.

If enlightenment is something that you desire then you have missed the point. Enlightenment is what remains when you no longer desire anything, including enlightenment. Nothing positive can be done to achieve the enlightened state. What you have to do is become fully conscious of all the ignorant conditioning within yourself, and through this process of becoming fully conscious, all that is false and not real or true within you will fall away. It is a process of negation or removing what is not real, removing what is not a part of your original state of being. What remains at the end of his process is your natural state of being, which is integrated, whole and complete. Just what this enlightened state is like you will have to discover for yourself, if you are willing to do the work!

Is that clear now? I trust that it is, but if greater clarification is required then you should make it known to me, for that is exactly what this site is all about . . . the realization of the purist and clearest state of perception possible: Enlightenment.

Eckhart Tolle, not reacting to content, www.soundstrue.com

2008-04-21T13:25:00.001-07:00

Here is Eckhart Tolle sharing some pure self-knowledge with all of us, enjoy.

Biography of Eckhart Tolle.

2008-04-18T13:28:00.000-07:00

Spiritual Teacher and author was born in Germany and educated at the Universities of London and Cambridge. At the age of twenty-nine a profound inner transformation radically changed the course of his life. The next few years were devoted to understanding, integrating and deepening that transformation, which marked the beginning of an intense inward journey. Later, he began to work in London with individuals and small groups as a counselor and spiritual teacher. Since 1995 he has lived in Vancouver, Canada.Eckhart Tolle is the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller The Power of Now (translated into 33 languages) and the highly acclaimed follow-up A New Earth, which are widely regarded as two of the most influential spiritual books of our time. Eckhart’s profound yet simple teachings have already helped countless people throughout the world find inner peace and greater fulfillment in their lives. At the core of the teachings lies the transformation of consciousness, a spiritual awakening that he sees as the next step in human evolution. An essential aspect of this awakening consists in transcending our ego-based state of consciousness. This is a prerequisite not only for personal happiness but also for the ending of violent conflict endemic on our planet.Eckhart is a sought-after public speaker and teaches and travels extensively throughout the world. Many of his talks, intensives and retreats are published on CD and DVD. Most of the teachings are given in English, but occasionally Eckhart also gives talks in German and Spanish. In addition to The Power of Now and A New Earth, Eckhart has written a book designed for meditative reading entitled Stillness Speaks. A book consisting of selections from The Power of Now is also available, entitled Practicing the Power of Now.

WISDOM

2008-04-18T12:58:00.000-07:00

WISDOM IN 100 WORDS

Wisdom or truth is the original and natural state of intelligence.

Intelligence is corrupted by likes and dislikes.

The result is the problematical human condition.

Likes are the desire to win and hold onto, and dislikes are the desire not to lose or fail.

Winning means pleasure or elation and losing means annoyance or unhappiness.

When likes and dislikes are dissolved the human condition of fluctuating pleasure and pain vanishes.

An uninterrupted state of equilibrium no ups, no downs is then constant.

And wisdom or truth is the natural expression

Everyone's life consists only of events.

Events are impersonal.

Events are personalised by the mind and emotions and made reasonable and purposeful by likes and dislikes.

Likes and dislikes determine the interests and desires of the person.

Not everyone has the same likes and dislikes which is why some are interested in golf and some are not and some are attracted to people that others are not.

Wisdom in a Further 110 Words

Rendering events reasonable and purposeful requires rational thought.

Rational thought is the futile attempt to make sense of sense or what living is about instead of realising the inexpressible truth behind it.

Rational thought may follow a logical sequence but having begun with an illogical and rational premise that truth is accessible by reasoning the result is a rational and illogical conclusion: an impression, thesis or a theory.

Thus all thinkers and rational people are fundamentally discontented or frustrated in their love lives and in pursuit of their aspirations.

This subconscious disturbance requires continuous compromise and pretence to conceal the fact from others.

Barry Long

Are you a slave to thought?

2008-04-18T12:48:00.000-07:00

Why has thought become so important in all our lives – thought being ideas, being the response to the accumulated memories in the brain cells? Perhaps many of you have not even asked such a question before, or if you have you may have said, ‘It’s of very little importance – what is important is emotion.’ But I don’t see how you can separate the two. If thought doesn’t give continuity to feeling, feeling dies very quickly. So why in our daily lives, in our grinding, boring, frightened lives, has thought taken on such inordinate importance? Ask yourself as I am asking myself – why is one a slave to thought – cunning, clever, thought which can organize, which can start things, which has invented so much, bred so many wars, created so much fear, so much anxiety, which is forever making images and chasing its own tail – thought which has enjoyed the pleasure of yesterday and given that pleasure continuity in the present and also in the future – thought which is always active, chattering, moving, constructing, taking away, adding, supposing?
Why is one a slave to thought ?

J Krishnamurti

2008-04-18T03:25:00.000-07:00

'If you leave the pool you have dug for yourself and go out into the river of life then life has an astonishing way of taking care of you, because then there is no taking care on your part.'
Krishnamurti

‘Emotional pain is behind all the cruelty, all the greed, and all the unhappiness in the world.’

Barry Long

'Emotional pain is the pool of unhappy conditioning that you have dug for yourself. When you have the courage to leave that pool of ignorance behind and go out into the river of life, you will discover that life has an astonishing way of taking care of all your needs. You simply have to be, nothing more is required of you, because the state of being is the solution.'

Doug McMillan

Looking at Religion . . .

2008-04-12T16:35:00.000-07:00

Do you know the original meaning of the word religion? Did you know that it's root is from the Latin word re'ligio, meaning the reconnection of man with his reality.

In his exceptional book "A Guide For The Perplexed," bestselling author and Philosopher E.F.Schumacher points out that religion is the re-connection (re-legio) of man with reality, whether this reality be called God, Truth, Allah, Sat-Chit-Ananda or Nirvana is not the vital point here. The vital point is that while an individual chooses to live through his or her belief system they will never have direct knowledge of the truth of life on earth. They will only have a belief/opinion. When an individual re-connects with their greater reality they no longer need to believe because they now have direct knowledge.

I tell it like it is . . . and I'm letting you know that there is a greater Integrity-Truth-Reality for you to discover within your very being. What is it greater than? It is greater than all your beliefs and opinions, and it is greater than your conditioned personality.

This great state of integrity is within you now, it is your very reality, and it is the truth you are looking for in your life. The only problem is that you are looking for it in the wrong place. You see, the truth is not out there. You won't find it out in the world of beliefs and opinions. Why? Simply because the truth is within your own being, hidden beneath all your conditioned attitudes, beliefs and opinions. The truth of your life, which is life on earth, is closer than breathing . . it is your reality, your own pure and innocent, original state of being. Your task is to re-connect with that original and pure state . . . and the time to start is now!

Is Religion Natural?

2008-04-11T13:31:00.000-07:00

'When one loses the deep intimate relationship with nature, then temples, mosques and churches become important.'

Krishnamurti, Beginnings of Learning

***

‘Your very nature is innocence and purity.’
Barry Long

***

'The Natural State of life on earth is free of all conditioning. Your true nature can only be realised by going through a process of dissolving and removing all the normal, but false conditioning from within your mind. By doing so you discover your original state of innocence and purity.'

Doug McMillan

Nothing is true . . Unless . .

2008-04-10T09:56:00.000-07:00

***

‘Nothing is true unless it is true in your experience.’

Barry Long

***

'Whatever you are giving your attention to is already pulsing an Energy vibration. And as you hold your attention upon it, you begin to vibrate as it is vibrating. Each time you focus upon it, and each time you offer the vibration, it feels easier for you to do it the next time, until, in time, you develop a sort of vibrational proclivity. It is like practicing anything; it can get easier and easier.'

From "Ask and It Is Given"
By Esther and Jerry Hicks

***

‘We must all give to something greater than what we are.’

Barry Long

***

Words of Wisdom . . .

2008-04-10T09:39:00.000-07:00

‘Your very nature is innocence and purity.’

Barry Long

***

'The Universe guides your everyday life experiences, and as such, you are exactly where you are supposed to be. Yet you tend to fight that fact...Until otherwise informed, enjoy where you are in life.'

From "Choosing Joy, Creating Abundance"
By Ellen Peterson

***

'Only now is real.'

Barry Long

***

'You must accept that everything is perfect at all times. You are exactly where you are supposed to be right now in your life. The moment you feel acceptance you will be ready to move on to your next adventure.'

From "Spiritual Selling"
By Joe Nunziata

***

‘Acknowledge the good wherever you see it.

For what you acknowledge you get and you bring it into existence more.’

Barry Long

***

Enlightenment, Questions and Answers.

2008-03-28T08:02:00.000-07:00

Q. What is enlightenment?

“Enlightenment is a state of perception beyond the thinking mind, and it is free of all psychological and emotional unhappiness. It is a completely non-problematic state of being beyond the thinking mind.”

That would be my briefest of summaries on the topic. Many people think that enlightenment is a very distant and mysterious or even mystical subject, but in my experience it is a very practical state of being to enter. It is a mystical state in the sense that it is beyond the normal level of everyday experience, but it is not unattainable. Why do I say that it is not unattainable? Because I, and many, many others have had, and are having, the direct experience of this state in our everyday lives right now. So I speak from experience on the subject of enlightenment, even if I have my limitations, like not being able to walk on water or heal the sick for example. I am however free of unhappiness. I do live in a state of pure and clear perception in which there are no more psychological and emotional problems being created in my life.

And so I would say that enlightenment is a joyful and clear state of pure perception containing within it direct knowledge about life’s purpose and meaning, and as such it is a state of being which is free of fear, doubt and worry.

But is knowing the answer the same as being the answer? An interesting twist on the subject has arisen with that question.

Q. Is knowing what enlightenment is the same as being in the enlightened state?

Hmmm, good question. Enlightenment is not a theory, it is a state of being, therefore one has to have the direct experience of the state before one can know it. Does that make sense? To me it makes complete sense because I have spent many years breaking down the psychological and emotional conditioning within the thinking mind. To another it may simply sound confusing, especially if they have never experienced a state of being beyond thought.

I had better expand on that.

Q. What is a state of being beyond thought?

It is a state that is centred in stillness. When the thinking mind it perfectly still, then, and only then, is a new state of being, realised.

You have to understand that the thinking mind is never still for long. It is always on the move. Thought is movement in the mind. When the mind is still there is no thought.

One has to have the realisation, which is a direct experience, of a still mind before one can know what the still mind knows. Up to that point all that anyone has is an opinion born of a mind that has not been stilled!

Q. What does a mind that has not been stilled know?

It knows its own conditioned thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and opinions.
What else could it know? It can only know what it thinks it is or thinks it knows. To know what it actually is would require it to be in a fully awake, intelligent state of perception, which means it would need to let go of the past.

Q. What is the past within the un-stilled mind?

The past within the mind that has not been stilled is its conditioning, which equates to all its thoughts, attitudes, beliefs, opinions and existential attachments. Meaning everything that has been tagged onto an individuals mind since it entered existence at birth.

The conditioned mind is a thinking mind, and as such it is a mind that creates its own unhappiness, but only the mind that has been completely stilled is aware of this fact. The thinking mind very often would argue against what I’ve just written, well why wouldn’t it, it doesn’t want to be found out as the phoney it is, does it?

Q. Why do I say that the thinking mind is a phoney?

The thinking mind and personality is living under the 'pretence' that it is you. In fact you probably think that you are all those thoughts and emotions that you experience everyday of your life, don’t you? It would be crazy for anyone to suggest otherwise, wouldn’t it? But the past in you is all those thoughts and emotions that you experience everyday of your life. In other words thought and emotion is the past repeating itself within your mind. It is a repetition of past experience, it is never fresh and new like the still mind is.

The enlightened mind, having separated from thought and emotion, is free of the past [or the last moment] as a burden.

The enlightened mind does not react into the world through thought and emotion, therefore it does not inflict unhappiness on the people around it.

The enlightened individual responds from a place of truth-reality-integrity within, and beyond the thinking mind, which is a joyful and loving state of being. This state of truth, reality and integrity is the creator of harmony in the world.

Q. If I say, and I do, that the only way anyone can know what enlightenment is, is to still the thinking mind, would that create a barrier for you, the reader?

Here we go again. Is enlightenment a theory? No, it is the most practical of all states and it requires one to enter it! There is no other way for anyone to enter the enlightened state of being, as that great man Barry Long used to say “Stillness is the Way”, there is no other.

If you don’t take practical action, by bringing stillness to the thinking mind, then for you enlightenment will remain a subject of conjecture. Something to have a chat about with friends, or argue about, and have beliefs and opinions about . . as the thinking mind tends to do. That is the world of thought and theory, it is not a place of truth.

Q. Is there a greater Truth-Reality-Integrity than the thinking mind is aware of?

It is my experience that when the thinking mind becomes still it enters a state of being beyond its normal level of experience and that is the beginning of what I call the enlightened state. I say the beginning because there are many levels of being within the consciousness of wo/man, and the stilling of thought is only the first step in an ongoing process of self-realisation.

In entering this still state of being one becomes aware of the difference between who you thought you were, the personality, and who or what you really are, the individual consciousness and intelligence behind it all.

What you are, your intelligent state of being/consciousness, is a greater truth, reality and integrity than the person you think you are.

The only way that you can discover what you are is by separating from what you think you are.
If that sounds confusing to you then why not read it again and again until you get the idea. Let me put it this way:

What you ‘think’ you are is not the same as what you ‘really’ are.

What you ‘really’ are is far superior to what you ’think’ you are.

When you separate what you ‘really’ are from what you presently ‘think’ you are, you realise that what you are is this greater truth, reality and integrity.

This greater truth, reality and integrated state, is your very being.

The only way to discover who or what you really are is to go through a process of self-discovery, which requires you to become an observer of your self . You do this on a moment to moment and daily basis. I’m speaking of an expanding state of self-awareness now, an expansion of consciousness and an awakening of intelligence.

It is your intelligent state of consciousness which awakens and observes all that is unintelligent within your mind/psyche. It then separates from the condition completely to stand alone as your greater state of truth-reality-integrity.

This, the so called enlightened know to be the truth, but the unenlightened know nothing about.

Those who are not in the enlightened state are lost in the normal condition that mankind presently finds itself in. The enlightened are actually in the natural state. The normal condition is a barrier, which stands in the way of you experiencing the natural state.

The majority of people on earth are lost in their normal conditioning, which is fluctuating between opposite polarities of the mind and personality, so they are never happy for long. Only those who enlighten their minds, by freeing it of the ignorance of its conditioning, live in the natural state of being . . One which is free of all unhappiness.

‘Only the individual who enlightens his or her mind, by liberating it from the ignorance of its conditioning, lives in the natural state of being and is therefore free of problematic living and unhappiness.’

Q. What does the individual who wants to experience enlightenment have to do?

They have to go through the self-realisation process.

Q. What is the self-realisation process, can it be described?

To realise something is to have the direct experience of it. For example you don’t believe that you can think, you know that you can think because you have the direct experience of thinking. If it is raining outside then you don’t believe it is raining do you, you know through the power of direct experience whether it is raining or not, yes?

Q. What is it to realise self then?

It is to have the direct experience of what ‘self’ is, not partially, certainly not as a belief or an opinion, but in its entirety, with no stone left unturned. But how?

At this point, it is important to understand that within you now there is a real ‘I’ and a false I.

The false I is simply everything you think you are, but are not. Whatever you now think you are is not what you are, it is not your state of truth-reality-integrity. Only when you no longer think will you have the direct perception of what you are.

The real ‘I’ is what has to be real-i-sed. Do you see the words real and I within the word realise, yes? You have to discover and have the direct experience of the real ‘I’ within you, but in order to do that you must be willing to become aware of the false I, which is everything you presently think of as yourself.

I am speaking of self-knowledge now. To know thyself in totality is a mighty task to undertake, it is not for those who just want to dabble in it. It requires dedication and a desire to discover the truth of yourself above and beyond all else in your life. Anything less will get you nowhere, except more belief and opinion, which the enlightened mind has moved beyond.

The enlightened mind does not believe in anything. It does not have an opinion. It knows. It knows through its very state of being everything it needs to know on a moment to moment basis. But that is all it knows. What it doesn’t need to know right now with regard to any aspect of its life [and especially with regard to the man made world], the enlightened mind is content not to know. The enlightened mind rests assured that when it needs to know something, that knowledge is provided in the moment of need. If something is needed for its existential survival, that need is fulfilled. Nothing is lacking, even though to the unenlightened mind, which is looking at the enlightened mind from its position of conditioned ignorance, that might not appear to be so!

The Reality of "I"

2008-02-04T02:52:00.000-08:00

This was a letter I sent to a contact on the subject of self-knowledge today. This contact is involved in the Martial arts and so it includes a general history of them but moves swiftly on to the deeper reasons why people are attracted to both the Martial Arts and Yoga.

Hello again,

Thanks for being so understanding and thank you for opening up to me in your email, very much appreciated. Although we do have a similar interest in self-knowledge, it is clear that our journeys to the realization of TRUTH have been different.

I started in Yoga at the age of 13 when my father started to take me to classes where I also learnt to sit and meditate formally. I have always had an interest in all things spiritual and I have studied "Practical Philosophy" at The London School of Economic Science and at one point I was a member of the Theosophical Society. I studied and applied the work of great teachers within Yoga and Vedanta. I put into practice the words of great men such as Krishnamurti, Barry Long and Maharishi. I have made a private study of Zen and Taoism. I feel very close to these eastern traditions. Here in western society I have always felt like a man out of place in a world where materialism rules the hearts of so many.

I know something of the Martial Arts. I know that man formulated them out of his psyche & deeper mind as a form of protection against his enemies who were attacking the enlightened mind. The skills called the Martial Arts were first created by monks within monasteries at a time when Man was evolving into physical beings out of the light of his spirit. At the beginning the enlightened wo/man did not need to use physical skills to protect him or herself from attack by the unenlightened. He had so much power as an enlightened BEING that nothing more was required, he or she was untouchable. At that point in our early history the enlightened mind was its own protection and could not be attacked or harmed by the un-evolved or unenlightened level of mind. But over time we, mankind, became more entrenched in our physical forms and so we began to lose our spiritual powers of protection. That is how we began to move into the martial art skills such as are taught in the eastern tradition. At the beginning it was a way for the Monks to protect themselves from attack from those seeking worldly gain. Today it is taught as a way for the individual to enter the stillness of their being, to be in the NOW as the REAL "I".

All spiritual teachings are actually a means for us to realise the real "I". Look at the word "realise", can you see the words real and "i" in there? The real "I" is the point of power within each of us, it is what "I" really am when I remove all my conditioning from my psyche and mind. The real "I" is always in a state of complete stillness, its point of focus is in "The Eternal Moment", which is always "Now". Only when the individual man or woman "STILLS" the mind does that individuals mind enter the "NOW" and become the reality of "I". At that point there is a totally different perspective on life, a new level of perception is achieved.

The martial arts and yoga are forms of meditation in "action" or motion. They are a way for each of us to enter our physical bodies with our "attention" or consciousness and then get into the mind and bring it into this moment, the here and NOW through stilling it. The aim is always to realise the Truth or reality of "I" . . the being I truly am. This is of course very difficult to explain to the unenlightened wo/man who very often thinks that what I have been talking about here sounds like nonsense because they are not yet ready to hear the truth or reconnect with the real "I". The awakened mind on the other hand will always connect with the Truth of what I have just written and be ready to discover more.

Thank you for sending me your links, I had a good look at them, they are very interesting. There are so many "ways" that people are using to "re-connect" with the "reality" of their "being" and they are not right or wrong ways, they are different ways. Some are slower than others. Some people are ready "NOW" and others need a longer route to discover the "Truth" of who and what they are, and what they are is the being behind the false conditioning of their personality. The personality is simply a mask of pretence, It is the false I. The real "I" is the being "I" am and have always been.

Remove the false I, your conditioned personality and all that remains is your reality . . the "Being" you really are. The being you really are is in the eternal moment, it is the point of creation, it is perfectly still . . it does NOT even think (only personality thinks). The real "I" is a state of pure and clear "Perception" and so it is said that the enlightened do not think, they perceive, and they do so from a point of perfect stillness of mind. The paradox here is that this point of stillness is moving at incredible speed . . at the speed of NOW, which is instant! Instant intelligence!!

"I" also have to add that it is the "I" in you, the real being that you are and call "I" who is in control of every aspect of your life. It is "I" who creates everything, every experience in my life . . "I" create the seemingly good, bad or indifferent as a means to awakening the spiritual intelligence of the life reading this. Do you see the TRUTH of this?

If you have questions or want to chat some more then please keep in touch,

I hope we can speak soon,
Doug.

From Barry Long

2007-11-26T04:57:00.000-08:00

'I reflect to you the God-consciousness in your body.''When a man realises the master consciousness, he realises God. To realise God is to realise the power of the universe, the power behind it all. And then you have realised the Most High, although the realisation of God never ends. It goes on. But it is a consciousness, not an awareness. For awareness is of the senses, of the body. We're aware of the flowers. We're aware of each other. But that's not consciousness. Consciousness is the knowledge of something that is invisible and right and true. It is the same for woman. But she realises, becomes, the consciousness of love. She realises love - and that is God for her.

To realise God or the master consciousness there has to be an absence of self in you, an absence of selfishness. While you don't give and give and give and love and love and love, you can't realise God. And that's why giving and love are so important in my teaching. In giving we tend to hold back a little. But you can't hold back and realise God.

All I can do is reflect that state of consciousness to you. But you have to be able to receive it along with my words of truth which describe life, death, love and God. That's the master consciousness - originality. Not having to quote anyone. Not having to quote any tradition. Utter and complete originality, coming every moment from the being.'

2007-11-26T04:51:00.000-08:00

'You are a light that is forever.

You are consciousness.

You are not just a person.

The person will trouble you.

The consciousness is what you know inside to be right and true.

That is the love inside you and the beauty inside you.'

By Barry Long.
www.barrylong.org

A Dose of Reality.

2007-10-12T12:07:00.000-07:00

Here is a quick dose of reality for you to consider . . .

What if what you are, as a human being, is superior to what you think you are? What if what you are is actually superior in every conceivable way to what your thinking mind thinks it is and as a consequence, the reality is that you are far superior to what you think you are? You see, I say that what you are is far superior to what you think you are, what if I'm right? Of course I could be wrong, but what if I'm right . . . what then? How are you going to find out?

What would happen to you now if your thinking mind went perfectly still, so still that you no longer had an opinion about who and what you are? I mean, if what you are is superior to what your thinking mind "thinks" you are, then it would have to go still before you could find out what you really are, before your reality would be revealed . . . wouldn't it? Otherwise you would remain lost in all your old attitudes, beliefs and opinions (thoughts) about yourself, and all those attitudes, beliefs and opinions are what you think you are, aren't they? Whether they are positive or negative thought patterns is unimportant, your thoughts are born of your past conditioning, the stuff of the past that continues to impose itself on you in this present moment.

Now come on, don't let the "thinker" in you get confused, stay with me here. If what you really are is a superior being to the entity that is always thinking inside your mind, how would you ever be able to discover, as an unquestionable fact, that superior state of being?

Well, let's face it, thinking isn't going to help you solve this one is it? You can't think your way through this one. In fact thinking could be the problem that is preventing you from being superior to what you are right now, couldn't it? The only way that you could be sure, for sure, is to bring the thinking mind to a point of perfect stillness, do you see this? Is it becoming clearer to you that there is only one way to discover a greater Integrity or reality than the thinking mind has to offer you and that is to, first and foremost, bring the thinking mind to a complete standstill?

Everyone on this blessed planet thinks, don't they? It is so normal for each of us to think that very few people ever question its validity [quite understandably], and if anyone does have the intelligence and courage to question the validity of the "thinking mind" they are very quickly shot down in flames by the thinking minds of all those people who are still controlled by their own thinking minds. The thinking mind rules the world!

The only way you will ever discover what you really are will be by bringing the thinking mind to a point of complete stillness and inner peace, which is also a state of clarity where you experience the simple joy of being. Then your innate intelligence will take over as the point of power and creativity in your life, all false conditioning will be obliterated from your psyche, and there will be no more psychological and emotional pain, misery, suffering or unhappiness in your life . . . your life will become problem free! How? We will be taking a close look at that in my next post, in the mean time . . .

Learning to meditate is the starting point for anyone who wants to enter a state of being which is a superior to the normal conditioned thinking mind. You can visit my store and find the very best books and tapes on the subject at http://astore.amazon.co.uk/unfolwisdo-21.

What Is The Problem With Life?

2007-10-01T02:56:00.000-07:00

"Problematic thinking leads to problematic living."

What do I mean by that statement? How does problematic thinking lead to problematic living? What is the "problem" with life and living? Why do we, mankind, seem to live such a problematic existence and is it natural?

Do you have problems in your life, if not continuously, well, at least occasionally . . . from time to time? Are there periods in your life when everything seems to be a problem or turns into a problem and nothing seems to simply fall into place or flow smoothly? If so, don't despair, you are not alone. Everyone, apart from a small number of people who have discovered a great secret, lives problematically.

Problematic living is "the norm". It is normal for everyone to have problems and because it is so normal, most people "think" that it is also natural, but it is not . . . and, if you stay with me, I'm going to show why it's not . . .

You have to understand that just because something is normal it doesn't mean that it is also natural. They are not one and the same, are they? If we take an example such as the car, we can say that cars are a normal part of life, we are all aware of them, yes? They are normal but they are not natural because they are man made, man has taken parts of the earth and created the car from them, but without mans intervention the car would not be here. The tree on the other hand is both normal and natural because trees are here with or without us. The tree is innate and the car is not. We didn't create the tree, did we? Perhaps we can say the same concerning problematic living, worry and unhappiness. Maybe living problematically , although a normal part of living, isn't natural to our life? We had better find out just to be sure, don't you agree? Most people would love to discover how they could eradicate worry and problematic living from their lives . . . wouldn't you?

We have all been told "As a man thinks so is he" or words to that effect, and modern day psychologists tell us that "We become what we think about." So it follows that if those statements are correct then when we think problematically we are going to create problems in our lives . . . but is that the truth? And, if it is the truth, what makes it so? Today you are about to discover the answers to these questions and I will also point you in the direction of the solution. What you do about it after that is going to be your responsibility, although I will give you guidance if you so choose.

You can now see the relationship between my opening words regarding "problematic thinking leading to problematic living" and the words of other teachers, past and present. But where does that leave us, am I talking about positive thinking here? Am I saying that if you think positively all the time that you will only have positive outcomes in your life with no more problems being created, it's a possibility rather than a probability isn't it? And how do you stop the mind from thinking negatively? Have you ever tried to stop thinking when you're caught in a negative and problematic mind set? Have you ever been lost in a negative spiral of worry? If you have, then you'll know just how difficult it is to bring it to a conclusion. Worry takes complete possession of your mind doesn't it? And no matter how many books are written on the merits of positive thinking [and there are merits], there is no way on earth that the thinking mind can remain positive all the time. Anyone who tells you different is lacking in "Self-knowledge."

Why do I say that? Well, the fact is that positive and negative thinking are simply opposite polarities. They are like two ends of the same piece of rope aren't they? You can't have one end without the other, just like all the other polarities such as happiness and unhappiness or excitement and depression along with expectation and disappointment. They are inseparable, each polarity being attached to other, so that when you use one end of the rope you end up using the whole rope . . . and the name of the rope is "thinking".

Positive and negative "thinking." The key is in the word THINKING. I know it seems impossible but I'm about to propose something to your thinking mind which you, or it, will "think" is quite preposterous. Totally insane even . . . but stay with me now, consider this . . . what would happen if you did NOT think? What then? Have you ever heard of such a thing, it is totally unbelievable to "think" that one could enter a state of no thought, what a state of complete mental vegetation that would be . . . wouldn't it?

Well, maybe it is, and maybe it's NOT. Perhaps the still mind isn't in a state of mental vegetation, you don't know do you, you have not stilled your mind and found out, have you? I'm asking you if you've brought your thinking principle under total control so that you never experience aimless or problematic thinking? Are you the master of your mind or does it still take you over with fear, doubt, worry and unhappiness from time to time? And is it possible that when the thinking mind is perfectly still it enters a natural state of "Being" where all problems and unhappiness are removed from the psyche permanently, is that a possibility? In other words perhaps the state of being is already perfect. Maybe when the mind is perfectly still it discovers its own intelligence was always there hidden beneath all that problematic thinking, what about that as a possibility worth investigating?

In my experience when the thinking mind is perfectly still and at peace it enters a natural state of joy and clarity beyond compare. The realization is that the intelligence that "I" am is perfectly still and yet paradoxically, it is supremely fast, it moves much faster than thought. Intelligence is perfectly still and simultaneously moving so fast that it is INSTANT. And this state of Being is the "Solution" that eradicates all problematic living because;

"When the thinking mind is perfectly still . . . perfection unfolds."

When the thinking mind is perfectly still the natural solution simply unfolds out of your own natural state of being. The natural state of being is the natural solution to all the problems in your life, but not if you think otherwise . . . because what you think is what you get! Until you no longer need to think and then what you get is the natural state, which is free from all problems.

Are all forms of thinking a problem? Do all forms of thinking lead to problematic living? Good questions and they need to be addressed. The first point I have to make is that all discursive thinking needs to be brought to a conclusion. What is discursive thinking? It is aimless thinking, which means thinking for the sake of thinking with no real purpose to it and that includes nice, pleasant, happy thoughts along with painful, sad and unhappy thoughts. Discursive thought is thought with a will of its own. It is thought that chatters on, and on, on, on and on in the background . . . never leaving you in peace. That has to come to a full STOP. But you will not be able to do it through force. Force would simply be pointless because that would require you to do battle in the mind through effort and trying, but we are bringing an end to all that effort and trying. How are we going to do that?

We are going to overcome the thinking mind by expanding our "awareness" of it. I will write material on this site that will help you to become more and more "aware" of all the tricks that the "thinker" gets up to. You will follow up on what I write by putting it into practice in your daily life. Together we will work towards your "Freedom" from the "thinkers" hold on you. We will do it very gently and yet we will remain firm, through the power of unfolding self-awareness & self-knowledge we will gradually wear the thinker down. Eventually all that will remain within you will be what is real and true; what you really are underneath everything you presently "think" you are!

The thinker in you is normal, it is a normal aspect of your conditioning, but it is not natural, it is not who you really are. Yes, it is true that you probably "think" that what you think & have opinions and beliefs about is who you are . . . but I'm here to let you know that that's the lie! The lie of the thinker in you is that you are what you think you are! Yes, I know how hard this is to take in, I know first hand through direct experience just how difficult the truth of life is to grasp . . . but stay with me and in time the truth of life, your life will be revealed to you, within you and as you. Will you do that, will you stay with me and ask questions of me so that you leave no stone unturned in your quest to discover the truth of your life and life on earth? Or will you follow the sheep . . . and live a normal life never discovering your inner power and integrity? I'll leave it with you to decide . . . . .

What is the Truth of Life?

2007-09-28T04:31:00.000-07:00

The truth regarding what aspect of life exactly? Are we looking at the truth of life on earth in its totality? Are we considering the truth of human life; why am I here, why am I alive? etc. or are we looking at what you "think" is the truth based on your particular view point, based on what you have been programmed to believe is the truth?

When people look at this subject they do so through a "filter" of psychological and emotional impressions that have accumulated in their psyche/mind since they were born to this planet. By the time each of us has reached adulthood we have already filled our heads with enough attitudes, beliefs and opinions, based on our experiences of life and living, to believe that what we, each of us, believes in must be the truth regardless of what others think. We do this because we have become "robotic", we are like walking, talking computers . . . garbage in, garbage out!

Everyone has been programmed by their experiences of living to believe in their own programme and so we live in a world where there is constant conflict because everyone is running different mental/emotional programs. Some differ slightly and some greatly. Some work together because they have very similar programs and others, being programs from the opposite polarity, are in disagreement. The greater the difference, and therefore distance between us, the greater the conflict.

The question I have to ask you is "Can you see the TRUTH in what you have just read?" Does any of this resonate within you as something that you need to take a closer look at and address in your life? Are you living in a robotic way, are all your attitudes, beliefs and opinions simply a form of mental and emotional programming of your mind that has lead you to be attached to what has been proffered to you as the truth? At this point it would be a good idea to go back to the beginning and just read this again so that you grasp the enormity of what you have just read and let it sink in . . .

***

In my experience what I have written here is the truth and the reason I can say that is because I have put in many years of self-observation and self-realization, which has lead to an expansion of consciousness and self-awareness. This process has dissolved the normal conditioned programming of my mind and replaced it with the original and natural state of Being. This state is the freshness and newness of present moment awareness, It is a state of pure and clear perception or intelligence that is free from all past conditioning.

So, in my experience, the Truth is that everyone on planet earth has been programmed to believe in, and have opinions about, something . . . anything and everything, and it is because of our programming that we live in a world of conflict where very few people actually know this Truth. Everyone is living through their programming and most have not realised that there is a greater Reality and Integrity hidden below the surface of themselves. Therefore everyone is living on the surface of themselves, very few know what is going on below the surface!

Below the surface, which equates to your programming (which is all your past conditioning) lies the Truth of who you are. It is your Reality and it is a Greater Integrity than the programme you are running through your mind everyday! That programme is the "lie", it is the impostor that creates unhappiness within the individual man and woman and it makes each of us live problematically. Everyone has periods of unhappiness and problems to overcome in this man made world, don't they? If not constantly than at least periodically, yes? Well, that is the lie! All problems on earth are created by mans conditioned programming. Remove the conditioning, remove the programming of the past and you enter a totally different state of being where there is no more unhappiness in your life . . . no more problems! That is the "Miracle" of the enlightened life . . .

Removing all problems from the world that man has created on the surface of this blessed earth would take a greater miracle. That would require all, or enough, men and women to be at a point of evolving consciousness where there was a shift in the consciousness of the planet . . . and that time has not yet arrived.

***

This article has a top rating on the Helium website http://www.helium.com/ Under the Religion & Spirituality Channel, click onto Self-help which will take you to Self-Awareness & Realization and then Reflections: The truth about life. Why not join us as a writer . . . see you there!

What is Meditation?

2007-09-27T05:39:00.000-07:00

Meditation is an Intelligent state of perception beyond the thinking mind.

When the thinking mind is perfectly still a new state of perception is realized where total "attention" to the present moment is experienced and this state of "present moment awareness" contains within it a great secret and power. A secret that the thinking mind is totally unaware of, but this state can only be experienced by the mind that has been stilled. This is because the thinking mind is not fully present, it is lost in thought, therefore the mind that has not realized "stillness" has no experience of it and is not qualified to make comment. That does not prevent it from doing so however, and that is how thought, belief and opinion are born; out of the ignorance of a mind that is not still.

The thinking mind does not know what it is like to be still, therefore all the thinking mind can do is have an opinion on the subject, which is of course . . . "thought." Opinion is an aspect of thought, it is one of the modes through which thought operates (belief & opinion are hardened layers of thought), and because 99.9% of the earths population have not "stilled" the thinking mind we live in a world of opinion and belief where the truth regarding the nature of "Stillness", and the "inner peace" of a mind that does not think, is not understood. The only solution is to "still" the thinking mind. Then and only then will you know what stillness leads to, because you will have the direct experience yourself, and no one will ever be able to take it away from you again. The secret of your own inner power will literally become you! Correct meditation is the tool that you can use to enter this "pristine" state of inner peace known as stillness, which reveals this point of power to you.

Meditation can also be seen as a series of stepping stones across the "stream of thought" within the mind. Correct meditation will take you by the hand and lead you across the stream of thought to the other side, whereas incorrect meditation will only lead you into confusion, and into a very wet experience! Incorrect meditation uses the thinking mind in an attempt to overcome that very same thinking mind, which is of course an impossible task. Why would the "thinker" want to defeat itself? The thinker in you is the one you have to become aware of and move beyond . . . into the stillness and inner peace that lies just beyond it. The fact is that "thought" can not bring "thought" to a point of stillness and there is a very good reason for this. Let's take a simple example. If you use a single word or phrase to focus your attention on what are you actually doing? You are thinking, yes? You are actually focused on one word or phrase to the exclusion of all others but you are still using the thinking mind in an attempt to still it . . .erm, do you see the problem here? It is like feeding the fire while you are fighting the flames. Thought feeds thought and stillness puts the flame of thought out! The point I am making here is that you will need to learn a form of meditation that is based upon you, your natural intelligence, turning in on itself as the observer of thought. And when I speak of thought I also include the emotions that are reactions born of thought. You literally have to "watch" yourself thinking continuously in order that you can take back control of your mind and therefore, as a consequence, your external life.

Some people when they learn incorrect forms of meditation end up having such a wet experience that they never attempt to cross the stream of the mind again! They end up saying that meditation doesn't work, that it is impossible to still the thinking mind. There are others who don't understand the benefits of meditation and see it as pointless. That's OK because such people are entitled to their opinion, no matter how blind that opinion or belief may be. The simple fact is that they are not yet ready to make a "jump in the level of being", out of thought, and into the perfection of the still mind. Only the individual who is willing to "still" the thinking mind (and in the process dissipate all belief & opinion) can have the direct experience of a greater reality or truth than the thinking mind. When stillness and inner peace are realized as your natural state of being you will experience this jump in the level of being, one that is free of what I would describe as all normal forms of negativity and unhappy conditioning.
Why would anyone want to still the thinking mind?

Stillness is a state of "Inner Peace" and inner peace is the end of worry. So, right from the start, we have one good reason . . . a life of freedom from worry. What is worry? Worry is the mind thinking problematically, with a will of its own, without pause. Have you ever spent time in self-observation? By that I mean have you ever spent time observing the way your mind works and watched it in action? The action of the mind is thought. That is the first step across the stream of the thinking mind; Begin with "Self-Observation." Watch yourself thinking and getting emotional and observe your thoughts and emotions as they rise and fall. And do this without judging those thoughts and emotions as being good or bad, right or wrong or even likable or dis-likable.

You will need to spend considerable time observing the way your mind operates and the way thought and emotion are connected. I don't know if you have ever noticed but if you are unhappy it is because your mind is thinking about something and you then begin to become emotional about it.

Meditation, when practiced with true dedication, will remove unhappiness from your life. It is not possible to be unhappy when the mind is perfectly still. Why? Because for the thinking mind to be perfectly still all ignorance and false conditioning have to be dissolved, dissipated and removed from your being. Then you are in a state of total "peace of mind."
But that's not all. When you still your mind you'll also experience what true "joy" is. Some people call it "bliss" and others "love" but the label is not important. What is important is the direct experience of this state of being. Peace, joy, bliss and love are words that describe a state of BEING, they are not emotions, they are what remain when all normal conditioned emotions have been removed from your total system. (The most appropriate name for your total system is the general verb "Being.")

Would you like to experience a life that is free of all psychological and emotional unhappiness, is that possible? Yes it is possible and not only will you be free from pain, misery, suffering and unhappiness, which is the normal human condition but your life will also change externally. Seemingly from nowhere changes will begin to unfold in your life. The external circumstances of living will begin to improve or change for the better. Why and how does this happen? It happens because at your very center, the center of your being, there is the perfection of the original state. And the original state, being perfect, is attempting to "unfold" as your life . . . the life that you are. This perfect state of being, which is at your center, is perfectly still. It does not move, it doesn't go anywhere or do anything, it does not even think . . . it just is! But in its "isness" there is total perfection. No problems, no unhappiness, no mental or emotional misery and no struggle or trying to be something it's not.

This perfect state may be "thought of" as a blank canvass by the minds of the unenlightened, and there is nothing wrong with that, other than the fact that this "blank canvass" is your own state of pure and clear Intelligence. What the enlightened have realized is that this state of pure and clear intelligence is the real "i" in the word real"i"zation. In other words it is what "I" really am when all past conditioning has been removed from my sub-conscious mind.
This blank canvass, which is your Intelligence free from the willful interference of your problematic thinking, attitudes, beliefs, opinions and the conditioning of the personality, is perfection.

Some people call this state heaven, paradise or a garden of Eden but whatever label you give it, there is one fact that every man or woman who fully investigates this subject discovers; "the center is already perfect." It is the natural state of perfect stillness and inner peace at the center of each of us and it is filled with a natural "Joy" that has no opposite polarity, no sorrow, contained within it.

The direct experience of your center, which is the "realization" of who and what you "really" are, automatically and naturally dissolves, dissipates and removes all your conditioned negativity, aimless and problematic thinking (worry) and emotional unhappiness.
The realization of the perfect state brings that very perfection with it into existence; through you, through your life . . . as your life. Not at some future date, not when you experience physical death but now, while you are alive. The time to begin the process of bringing the perfection of paradise to earth is . . . Now. Let us begin!

What is going on Inside You . . .

2007-09-15T01:32:00.000-07:00

What is going on inside you, who are you really, is there anything to discover beyond your physical existence?

Let's take a look at the Metaphysical: Meta is a word meaning beyond. What is there to discover beyond the physical? There is so much there, beyond the physical body (within the depths of the mind) and not all of it is desirable. In fact there is a layer of ignorance within the mind which is completely undesirable.

From birth right through to this very moment you have been accumulating a subconscious past. This past is what you call yourself, your personality, the person you think of as you. This subconscious layering of past conditioning consists of all your aimless and problematic thinking, your attitudes, beliefs and opinions along with everything that you've become attached to in existence since you were born to this world. It also consists of all your psychological and emotional pain, misery, suffering and unhappiness. It is all there, within you, hidden in your mind and it thinks that IT is You! But is it?

Beneath the thin layer of mind known as the subconscious lies the unconscious. But what do you know of the unconscious, this vast and infinitely deep realm of your Psyche? Most people know very little of it because most of them are caught up in the subconscious . . . and I have to ask, are you any different?

Your reality, or what you really are, is hidden within the unconscious mind. The secret is to find a way to Transcend, Divine Through and Move Beyond the layer of ignorance, which you call yourself, the personality. In so doing you will re-connect with a greater Reality/Integrity than the self/personality.

How can you move beyond the conditioned mind and into the depths of the unconditioned mind? There is only one "Pure" way to do this, to move beyond the surface of yourself, and that requires you to become an observer of your "self" (self being everything you think you are . . but are not!). You have to separate your intelligent state of "Awareness" from your conditioned thinking mind and the only way to do this is by becoming "The Intelligent Observer" of yourself. You have to partake in a great "experiment". You have to take on the role of a scientist and become the observer of yourself. You must sit in self-observation, walk in self-observation and "be" in self-observation 24/7. You have to become the silent witness of all that is happening within your own psyche/mind. There is no other way . . . and sooner or later this is what you must do, if you are to become enlightened, liberated and free from discursive thinking and emotional unhappiness, if you are to move beyond the physical and beyond the conditioned mind.

Most people do not move beyond the conditioned mind. Even those who are involved in prayer and visualization are working within the conditioned thinking of the subconcsious mind. They are calling up the past and inflicting it on the present, and in so doing they are NOT living in a state of present moment awareness. How could they when they are lost in the subconscious conditioned mind (the past in you), and are therefore not living in the freshness and newness of the Unconscious mind, which is the state of intelligent perception.

"I", the still mind and a body in existence; that is the integrated state of being, the enlightened state. The conditioned, subconscious mind, sits "BANG" in-between the the body and "I". "I" am the intelligence that is reading these words now. That is what "I" am, but there is another I getting in the way. The I of the personality, which thinks it is you (or I), but it is not you, not the being you really are, it is an impostor! The "Truth" of this will become clear and real in your experience as you become an observer of the impostor, as you observe it wilfully making you think aimlessly and problematically even when you cry out for it to STOP! But it will not because it has become your master, it controls you and so the divine "I", the intelligence you really are, remains lost underneath this great impostor.

Which are you, are you the thoughts and feelings you observe within your mind or are you the intelligence that is observing those thoughts? Do you "think" that you are both? That's a nice trick, one of many that the thinker in you will perform in an attempt to make you fail in your attempt to break free from its strangle hold on you, but you must not fall for it. You are the observer of your thoughts, feelings and actions, you are the intelligence behind it all, and your task is to see this for yourself with great clarity of perception. The only way to reach a point where you can break free from the conditioned mind, and therefore experience enlightenment, is to be persistent in your self-observation. You must return to your laboratory every day and sit in meditation/self-observation, and then you must take your new found inner peace and stillness into the world with you and remain an observer, day in and day out until . . . you break free of the subconscious mind and enter the pristine clarity of the unconscious.

Beyond the physical there are deeper and ever deeper levels of mind and being. Beyond the conditioned subconscious mind there is the unconditioned reality of the unconscious mind where the Truth of life on earth can be realized. This is where the truth regarding such words as immortal, eternal, spiritual and enlightenment is realised and it is the end of ignorance. It is death to all that is false within you and it is a re-birth of the divine reality and Integrity of your perfect state of BEING.

Self-Knowledge

Tony Parsons intro part 2

So All There Is, Is This . . .

tony parsons exposing the myth

Adyashanti - The Enlightened Shoe

Meditating Into Being

PSTEC is "Freedom from Unwanted Emotion".

Hello everyone,

Are you looking for ways to improve the quality of your life? Well here is something well worth your time to investigate, it is PSTEC, and as a qualified 'Emotional Freedom Techniques' practitioner I can tell you, having put PSTEC into practice myself, that it is very, VERY effective . . .

. . . It's 100% Free, Fast, & Powerful. Suited to Self Help or Therapy

Richard Dawkins cruelly answers audience question

Enlightenment - Eckhart Tolle

Welcome To Reality . . .

Look Here: 1Yogi2Many has landed!

Consciousness

The Teaching of Ramesh S. Balsekar

ACKNOWLEDGING YOUR PURITY

Wisdom of Do Nothing / Adyashanti

Paradoxical Illusions

Become A Master Of Time

Eckhart Tolle: Uncut Interview, Part 3

Eckhart Tolle: Uncut Interview, Part 2

Eckhart Tolle: Uncut Interview, Part 1

Unfolding Beauty . . .

"The Music of Ecstasy rides within the river of my Breath,

Pouring its nectar of light through the city of my Heart"

Carolina Cacicedo

Here is a link to his official site, which is very beautiful indeed and well worth your investigation.

Kabir, The Mystic Poet.

The Truth Within Kabir's Words . .

Kabir, The Mystic Poet

Kabir, The Mystic Poet.

What Is The Meaning of . . .

Lao Tzu

Rapier Self-Knowledge

Have You Discovered 'The Way In' Yet?

The Way In: A Book of Self-discovery - Plain Statements of Essential TruthBy Barry Long

Editorial Reviews

Realizations: My Posts on 'Twitter' today . . With Padding!

Quotes on Spiritual Knowledge (Dwyer,Campbell,Tolle,Teresa,Dalai Lama,Kubler-Ross,Einstein...)

Questions and Answers on this blog!

Eckhart Tolle Quotes/Pictures to Music

Happiness is . . .

Self or God Realization?

Awakening NOW Documentary Film

On the Subject of Meditation . . .

The Truth Of Life

Freedom from Depression and Unhappiness

How Come?

Smile, Life is Good!

Part Two: The Normal Condition of Living in the World.

The Golden Thread of Truth

What is THE TRUTH OF LIFE ON EARTH?

Emotional Freedom Techniques . . How Good Are They?

Want to know a great secret?

The Horns of the Devil!

The Natural State.

Enlightenment.

Enlightenment Q & A: Day Eight . . How to Still the Mind.

Enlightenment Q & A: Day Seven . . begin with Meditation.

Q. Why begin with Meditation?

Meditation to Realization.

Enlightenment Q & A: Day Six. Looking at Opinion and Belief.

Enlightenment Q & A: Day Five, Taking a closer look at consciousness.

To Realize.

Enlightenment Q & A: Day Four.

Enlightenment Q & A: Day Three.

Enlightenment Q&A Day Two

Enlightenment Q & A . . . Day One.

Health Issues. Where do they fit in with Self-knowledge?

Nothing is lacking . . .

His Cup Runneth Over . . .

What a fool I am! I never should have done that, I'll never forgive myself . . .

Moving Beyond Your Physical Existence.

Recent Comments on this site . .

Eckhart Tolle, not reacting to content, www.soundstrue.com

Biography of Eckhart Tolle.

WISDOM

Are you a slave to thought?

Looking at Religion . . .

The Way In: A Book of Self-discovery - Plain Statements of Essential Truth
By Barry Long