Words of Wisdom . . .

‘Your very nature is innocence and purity.’

Barry Long

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'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

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'Only now is real.'

Barry Long

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'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

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‘Acknowledge the good wherever you see it.

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

Barry Long

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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.”

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"

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

'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.'

'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.

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?

"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 . . . . .