Sunday, July 27, 2008

Thought appears in Thought Free Being.


Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj & Sri Ranjit Maharaj - Bombay, India.


Note:

What the mind ‘sees’ is multiplicity, the world and things.
What actually registers in the 'pure seeing' consistently, without any division, is oneness. - No labels are attached to THAT because it is beyond the 'mind'.

It is the apparent ‘point of view’ of mere conceptualizing of that one-ness appearing as 'an individual', as a ‘seer’ and the 'seen', as a ‘knower’ and the 'known', that is what SEEMINGLY divides the indivisible One-ness into 'Duality'– but this is only in the 'appearance', which is 'happening' in the so-called ‘mind’ - The duality is only in appearance.
The habit is of the 'me' relating to the world and consequentially to 'that which is', via an ‘image’ of ‘self’. - That 'image of self', to which everything is referred to, it cannot actually SEE or KNOW anything.
This needs to be recognized. - The habit needs to be questioned.

One of the most potent ways to reveal naked cognition is:

Where is the seeing actually taking place?

Don't pass over this or dismiss it. - Well, not if you are 'serious' about this 'finding out what is really going on'. - We too often dismiss anything that threatens the fortress of belief.

All that that 'mind image of self' is, is imagination.
Mind is time - it is not the 'seeing-knowing'.
The 'I Know' is always questionable.
All there truly is, is Knowing - knowing beyond the limits of a 'knower' and the 'known'.

The 'mind' taking itself to be separate, it imagines ‘a puzzle of oneness’ - and all the pieces must be found – that is 'the seeking'. - The puzzle has to be put back together again - before completeness can be achieved.
It is a crap story, an endless story -a fragmentation of ideas in the mind. - It is a very popular business and very profitable for those who ‘sell’ the ‘lost pieces’.
In taking oneself to be a separate entity, a 'person' that 'oneness' of what we truly are enters into a dream - and 'People' in that dream are 'suckers' for buying those 'lost pieces' - 'hidden secrets' - 'buried treasure' etc.
The puzzle only 'appears' for the mind. - There is no puzzle to solve in Being.
The ONLY way out of that endless seeking is to start from the fact that you ARE that ONE, without a second. - Simply BE.
Drop the fragmentation concepts and simply BE….SEE…..KNOW.

The expansive sense of being is ever fresh in this moment.
Be open towards it, simply by letting go of 'old ideas' about 'self'.


"There is no good or bad (right or wrong) - but thinking makes it so"
- William Shakespeare.

Today's note:

The ‘teacher’ or ‘guru’ is only a signpost – a ‘pointer’.
Many aspirants gather around the signpost and make a lifestyle living near the signpost - "devotees of the signpost".
They ignore what the signpost is pointing at.

Some signposts actually point away from 'the actuality' of simple being and yet the ‘words’ on the sign 'seem' to be accurate.
A genuine signpost points you beyond the mind, into natural being presence-awareness.
Some signposts look 'real good', freshly painted and crisp - but they only 'pretend' to point you 'beyond the mind' - they actually point you back into endless mind stuff, with more 'work to be done', 'post awakening' and various other 'time bound concepts', which is the 'bondage of self' - all servicing 'a believed in entity' - or they point in multiple directions so as to occupy the mind on a 'merry go round ride' to nowhere.

Be careful to examine your preferred signpost carefully.
"The proof of the pudding is in the eating."
If an unmistakable resonance in being reverberates in you (a sense of expansion of being) then it is a true signpost.
If there is only an intellectual excitement and a proliferation of endless concepts, then one must certainly take a closer look at the signpost. - It is not about convincing the mind of some specialized concepts.
Such pointing is most certainly pointing the wrong way.
Non Dual jargon, like "There is no right way or wrong way" is just piffle and is just talk.

In seeing through the appearance of being a ‘me’ there ‘appears’ a ‘new freedom’ – this freedom is not actually ‘new’ because that freedom is the ‘natural state’ and that has always been ‘here’ – it has merely been overlooked through an engagement with ‘believing’ in that ‘me’ and its story.
In seeing that the body is merely an appearance, an instrument - and in seeing ‘these thoughts that come and go’ are not what I truly am, is it really helpful to say that I am these appearances?
In being free of it, in the ‘appearance of guiding others’, is it truly helpful to say that I am ‘all of it’, to imply that ‘I am that me’?
No it is not helpful at all. – In fact it is a misguided piece of advice.
Some ‘teachers’ may sense that they are very clear about everything – yet they need to realize that those who are attempting to be free of those ‘things’, things that they themselves were once caught in, these ‘seekers’ need clear advice that will cut through those forms of identification.
If your preferred 'teacher' sounds like 'a second hand car salesman', then he or she is most likely not pointing very clearly. - Adding new concepts about some process is NOT what is needed. - The negation of the belief in 'time' and 'me' is central to exposing what is true. - No personal benefit or achievement is in that exposure.
Emphatic statements implying that you are that ‘me’ and all of its attachments is actually not clear pointing – one could say it is counter productive.

If you want a clear and precise pointing to your own true nature – then drop all thought and simply be - that is the source of your own being – this living presence.

If that seems impossible then find a clear ‘teacher’ and there is no one I know of, other than Bob Adamson, who is speaking directly, without deviation, speaking from the natural state. – While Bob is still ‘with us’ an opportunity is available.
Why settle for second best?
These thoughts expressed here, just like all thoughts, appear spontaneously.

Bob will not tell you that you are that ‘me’ – others can do that but it will not free you. There never was a 'me' caught in phenomena - but you must see this very precisely for yourself.
You must see most clearly, in the immediacy of presence, that the ‘me’ is just an idea. Once seen clearly, one can use the word ‘me’ and ‘I’ without any trouble.
Without seeing through the ‘me’ then there will be endless trouble and you will drown in your own imaginary suffering.
These words here may cause a stir with certain characters – that is not my concern.
Telling it straight and true is what this is all about.
Whether it is ‘heard’ is another matter.


***

Where am I? - Watch short movie of the Earth rotating on its invisible axis and the Moon passing by - an actual film taken from 'outer space'. Click here.

The whole universe moves and turns upon emptiness - where are you seeing from?

Note: The last copy of "Everything is Clear and Obvious" has been sold. - The FREE e-book version is still available - see right hand side of screen on the 'shining' website.

NEWS: You can now order "Gleanings from Nisargadatta" directly from Mark West, the 'author'. - Click on following words: Click on here
- Why not get both books - Bob's new one and Mark's.

The Urban Guru Cafe - a Radio Show (podcast) on the subject of Non Duality.
(f
ree download-able mp3's - it is growing like Jack's beanstalk) - Don't miss it.
12 programs are already on the site. - Part 2 of the Stephen Wingate interview and part 2 of "What is Awareness" both appear on the site now.

Anyone who wishes to email questions or comments to me can do so, very easily. gilbert.schultz (at) gmail.com replace the (at) with @.

Today's note:

'Who' is it that gets caught up in thoughts?
Are thoughts free to come and go? - Is it true that anyone ever was caught up in thoughts - what are thoughts comprised of and what is the 'substance' of the one caught up in them? - Examining this factor alone, reveals what needs to be seen.

One without a second means exactly that. - There is no duality in Non Duality.
There never was any ‘entity’ ever.
At no ‘point’ in any ‘time’ was there ever any ‘entity’ caught in any phenomena whatsoever nor freed from such bondage.
The bondage of self is a fiction.
This fact may be totally confirmed in this instant - by simply dropping thought and recognizing the clear space of cognition. - That clear and empty space of cognition is not divided into parts, right and left, right and wrong, good and bad.
There is no 'point' in that space and there is no boundary either.
Close your eyes now and see if you can find a point or a boundary.
Sit with that clear space and recognize that that 'space-like awareness' is the 'place' where everything appears, the whole universe appears nowhere other than right there.
That space is not filled with Christians or Buddhists, Muslims or Jews. - In fact there is no one there at all - nothing except your true nature and that is not a form - it has no color, shape or form. - It is so familiar to you, you have overlooked it consistently.
Stop ignoring it.

The whole drama of duality, including the appearances of teachers and pupils, is an insubstantial ‘play of the elements’ and they are nothing but ‘images’ appearing on awareness.
Like the appearance of multiple reflections in a mirror, they can never jump out of the mirror or even bump into each other.
To say that awareness is just another story is to miss the fact that what the word ‘awareness’ refers to is not a concept.
Awareness itself remains ‘timelessly’ indescribable and indefinable.
All of our descriptions and definitions fall short, because every single description or definition is nothing but an appearance in or on awareness.
‘You’ cannot negate that instantaneous cognizing (knowing) that is happening – THAT activity of knowing is awareness.
Can you grasp the import of such pointing?
Not with a concept, nor with a ‘knower’– only AS the knowing does it reveal itself in its fullness.
The rest is merely concepts and floundering intellectual gymnastics.
Words appear on or in awareness, just like all phenomena appear in or on that same unchanging presence-awareness.
Just as LIFE, sentient or otherwise, is the prerequisite to all activities, awareness is the prerequisite to knowing anything at all.
Awareness and the activity of knowing cannot be separated.
It is only the ‘mind’ that seemingly separates THAT naked presence-awareness.
The seeker cannot get there. – That imaginary journey is totally useless.
What has truly been achieved by so much struggle and effort?
How close are you now to that, that which you strive for so vigilantly?
Have you ever truly moved out of THIS presence?

Be honest with yourself - why not?
Is fooling oneself such a good idea? - Convincing oneself that so much has been achieved and 'soon' I will 'get there'. - Oh what a tiresome story it is.
What is it that we are overlooking?

What is wrong with right now? - if we don't think about it.

‘Thought free being’ is the gem that we overlook and go off in the mind looking for some projected, imagined prize.
All the while the true prize lies ‘under our very noses’.
What a remarkable joke it all is – but few are laughing.
The effort to remain in a state of being a serious seeker is tedious to say the least.
To relax in being is effortless’
Try it sometime – you may be surprised.

The mind may play a game of being judge, jury and executioner - but where is that activity taking place and how real is it?
Does any of it have any BEING - or is it all as insubstantial as a mirage?

Contemplate these things. - If you wish to.

Because there is no entertainment here for the whims and wishes of seekers and all of their erroneous beliefs, 'my life' is not crowded by them wanting more and more fodder. - No submission is required. - No seminars and no big fees. - The clear message can be delivered simply and effectively within this unchanging presence.
Time itself is revealed to be nothing but a concept. - Knowing that simple fact is enough to release the distorted and convoluted 'form' of the seeker.
Oddly enough, it seems few are willing to let go of that 'person' that they think they are - and/or that 'spiritual-ized self-image'.



Some words from William:


"This above all: to thine own self be true". - Hamlet Act I, Scene III.

"Everyone can master a grief but he that has it". - Much Ado about Nothing Quote Act III, Scene II

“There’s a skirmish of wit between them”.
Much Ado about Nothing. Quote Act I. Scene 1.

“Some Cupid kills with arrows, some with traps”.
Much Ado about Nothing. Quote Act III. Scene 1.

“Are you good men and true?” ~ Much Ado about Nothing. Quote Act III. Scene 3.

"All the world 's a stage, and all the men and women merely players. They have their exits and their entrances; and one man in his time plays many parts." ~ As You Like It

"What's in a name? -That which we call a rose by any other name would smell as sweet." ~ Romeo and Juliette

"Alas, poor world, what treasure hast thou lost!" ~ Venus & Adonis


"There is no right or wrong - but thinking makes it so" (from memory)


Quotes from William Shakespeare

Monday, July 21, 2008

Irrespective of what you think - Being IS.


On the 'other side' of what is true, there are hundreds of 'teachers' who make a very comfortable lifestyle out of telling very indirect messages - elaborate stories of enlightenment and about the 'becoming' process - and that nonsense keeps thousands and thousands of seekers bound into erroneous notions of 'trying to become' those same conceptualized fabrications of mind - and the irony of it all is that no one EVER becomes anything other than what they ARE - they can certainly 'pretend' to have 'become' enlightened and many do - and they tell their stories about 'my amazing experiences of enlightenment' and 'how' 'I' achieved it - and make hundreds pay over and over for listening to their stories and their 'special' advice. - When I read their words the 'hooks' usually appear in the very first sentence - to suck you into the story.
They appeal to the 'spiritual ego' almost exclusively and it works very well for them.


The direct message does not suck anybody into a story - it pulls you out of stories altogether....and reveals the LIVING PRESENCE of what you ARE.....right NOW.

There is no personalized achievement to BEING.
Take a look.
Where did you get that body that you call your own?
Did you achieve that? - Did you make the life force that flows through that body?

The obvious self-pride of these teachers is just a puffed up believed in story about 'self'.

Is that what 'we' are looking for? - To become like them?

Oddly enough, few are grateful for hearing the direct message - because in most cases it is rejected almost instantly by the habitually engrossed mind. - A few manage to 'stay with it' and absorb the message of what is being pointed out. - They could be said to be 'the lucky ones'.

Today's Note:

Your freedom lies in this immediate ‘presence’.
If you look for it with the mind it cannot be found.
The mind is time, duration. – Your true nature is timeless.
There is nothing you can 'do' to 'get to' (implies distance and time) this freedom simply because it is timelessly present.
It is not hidden yet it appears to be hidden - for the biased 'seeker'.
The seeker’s 'journey to freedom' is nothing but a mental journey, imagination, image-ing, a journey seemingly made by 'a thought' (the seeker).
It is all 'made of' concepts, images – it is nothing but a ‘failure to find’, as soon as the first (virtual) step is taken.
In a realm of belief the 'I' is conceptually moving away from the natural state.
The only time that erroneous belief is seen through is in 'this moment of clear sight'.
There is no other moment of clear sight - this is it - you have never left 'this moment'.

The dualistic mind is the fruit of one of two trees in 'the Garden of Eden'.
The other tree is The Tree of Life.
This symbolism is significant.
One tree symbolizes 'living being' and the other symbolizes the realm of polarized thought, good-bad, right-wrong etc.
We inadvertently ignore the natural state and 'go with' thoughts, concepts and ideas - usually, if not always, about some other place or some other time.
In this way, 'this moment', of the actuality, is 'apparently' occupied by 'other-ness'. The ACTUAL 'present evidence' of THIS immediate living presence is ignored, not noticed - even though it registers cleanly and precisely - irrespective of the mind content.
(Understanding is not via the naming of things.)

Take a closer look, have you not been chasing after ‘things’, which you have projected from your own mind?
‘Things’ we have been told about, 'things' we have been seduced into believing, without any sensible questioning of these ‘things’.
Erroneous beliefs cannot withstand a clear investigation.
Why should we believe anything that we cannot verify for ourselves?
There are so many who 'pretend' to be ‘clear seeing’, those who are seduced by their own self-image, who seemingly lead us off on a wild goose chase.
The more the merrier.
Is it our own indulgence in a false self-center, 'me', that blinds us to seeing through all those stories about a 'journey' to a future time?

The radical nature of ‘direct pointing’ goes over the heads of so many.
Is it because it cuts through 'time' and leaves THIS present moment bare, naked?

Seeing this is not via concepts.

Glazed eyes, or a turning away, belongs to the resistance to letting go of 'old ideas' about who and what we 'think' we are – a resistance to actually seeing what is true about ourselves.

What could be more pertinent than to find out what I am?
What I truly am.
Freedom from all methods and practices (time and duration) freedom from all these ‘things’ lies in this immediate presence, totally available – but not as a ‘person’.

The ‘persona’ is the mask, a mere appearance – it is not the true nature.
That mask, if believed in takes on the nature of a prison - a 'cage of limitations'.
Freedom from all this ‘stuff’ is not to be found in the ruminations of the restless mind.
Decades may pass by, while so many go on and on asking the question ‘Who am I?’
These ones are nothing but the non-recognition of the fact that the foundation of 'the one asking the question' is nothing but a ‘thought’, an idea.
It is an appearance in mind - a mere concept. - Why is this so difficult to see? - It is so obvious yet the habitual engagement with thought is not challenged - because 'I' still believe 'I am' these thoughts or at least the owner of these thoughts - which lends them 'my identity'.
Illusions of mind will not dissipate just by wishing them to. - They must be released and seen for what they are.
The only way 'out of the mind' is to stop. – Cease from thought for a moment and allow the subtle nature of silent being to reveal itself.
Don’t hold onto some idea that silence is the key.
Once this silent being is recognized clearly, it does not mean thought ceases to appear.
No, thought will always appear and disappear.
It is the stream of consciousness.
All we need is to recognize it for what it is.
The unruly mind will lose its restless nature once the habit of believing is cracked – believing that thoughts are reality.

You can pull these words apart and argue as much as you want about them or any words at all – or you can recognize what it is that I am pointing at.
It is not up to ‘me’.
The resonance of being itself is the potentiality – the ONLY potentiality – irrespective of what you or anyone thinks.

Email: Quote from the above: “There is no other moment of clear sight - this is it - you have never left 'this moment'”

The above is very clear and crystal. - It is what we are. - It sees through the folly of seeking. -We are searching for our very self, our being which we already are. - It is as you say foolish. - It is the knowing and seeing the present moment, the Now, without the thought, without the movement of time. - It is not even hidden if we don't think it is hidden, even though it may be invisible. - Like you say it is clear and obvious. - We can see it clearly if we are not worried about seeking and searching by thinking.

Thanks again, - Sincerely, - M.

Reply: Seeing and knowing THIS is happening ‘before’ the mind translates anything. – Seeing is not affected by time - the appearance of this thing called 'time' is appearing in the seeing. - Therefore, seeing is timeless. - The mind translations ‘appear’ with apparent duration within THIS clear SEEING. – So in effect, all the mind can 'do' is make up a story about THIS via labels and words, all learned and they are from memory - the past. - So 'we use' the past to inform us about the present and believe in these translations.
The understanding is 'beyond the mind', it is actually silent, wordless - it is THIS totally immediate ‘knowing presence’.
What I am, what you are, has never been anything but THIS.
This information cannot mean anything unless the resonance of its obviousness is actively present. - If the mind is caught in 'translation time' it remains meaningless mumbo jumbo.

Thursday, July 17, 2008

Ancient Wisdom is in one's own Being - not the mind.


Wisdom is intelligence expressing itself, naturally, without 'becoming' a 'wise one'.


Words are NEVER that actual 'thing' that they refer to.
Awareness is a word. - The words 'I am aware' are not the awareness.
The words 'I am' are not the being-ness - they are simply expressions.
LOVE is a word.
The love of being is at the core of our existence.
We love to be.
Light is radiance.
Love is radiance.
Love of Self is undivided 'presence' - all inclusive.
The 'healing' is in seeing through the illusion of separateness.
The sense and the feeling of separation is based on an idea - the feeling follows the idea, the concept. -The feeling of separation vanishes once the idea has been exposed as false.
The 'space-like awareness', where seeing is happening, is not actually divided into two or more parts.
That fact is so clearly obvious we miss it - because it is so transparently obvious.
That 'clear space' is not a thought - the thought 'appears' in it.
In that clarity, seeing is 'taking place' and in that, all concepts appear - they appear nowhere else.
None of these thoughts, concepts or images, have any substance that can ACTUALLY divide this 'space of knowing'. - Only in appearance does separation appear to take place - it can be recognized that all such notions are concepts only.
You can chop the waves on the beach, as vigorously as you wish, with the sharpest sword, but you cannot divide 'the Ocean' - you cannot divide the 'wakefulness' with a concept no matter how refined it may be.
That wakefulness, is Non Dual.
The mind only seemingly divides it. - See this fact right now.

We imagine that the wisdom of the ancients is hard to ‘get to’.
The fact that when reading those ancient words, the resonance that reverberates through our being, is because we ‘already know it’. - Being resonance is LIFE itself.
Do we exchange the living-ness for stale old concepts?
That wisdom is not something that one can come to through thinking about it.
No University can teach you how to be what you ARE.

See that there is clear and precise wisdom innately in being.
It is NOT concepts in the mind. - Concepts may be expressed from it but they remain as what they are. - They can appear to be vehicles for wisdom - however the recognition arises because we already know it. - It is re-cognized.
'To cognize' means 'To Know'.

It is not some difficult intellectual thing to strive for. - No one can give it to you - because it is already yours.
The old 'time bound' habit is to create, in mind, a sacred mountain to climb, a difficult terrain to traverse - a sacred journey.

We ignore the natural state and take up all manner of complexities, creating all manner of obstacles for ourself and it is all in vain - it is spiritual 'imaging' and unnecessary suffering.

Stop looking for answers in the mind.
All the mind has is, is second hand stuff, learned words, images and memories.

Wisdom is spontaneously here. – It effortlessly expresses itself and it does not rely on anything from the past.
See everything as fresh and new. – In this manner, we see into the true nature of everything.
However, as long as ‘you’ perpetuate the concept of being ‘someone’ searching for ‘something’, the natural wisdom of being will evade you.
The ‘self-image’ we have is a mind construction, a mix of pride and guilt, all about some thing called 'me'.

It reminds me of the joke about being nothing. – Two Rabbi’s are in the Synagogue kneeling each day, saying their prayers: “Oh God, I am nothing, I am nothing”.
The janitor goes about his cleaning each day. – Then one day he decides to join them. – The janitor (possibly a gentile) kneels and prays: “Oh God, I am nothing, I am nothing.” - One of the Rabbi’s turns to the other and whispers “Look who thinks he is nothing”.

"The truth cannot be organized", so said J. Krishnamurti. - Once you start to organize the truth, the devil steps in and says "Hey, I will help you organize the truth".

We can all have a good laugh about the 'Look who thinks he is nothing' joke. - It is very funny, especially the first time you hear it. - But when it comes to taking a good look at one's own spiritual arrogance, it is no laughing matter - well, not until it is seen through most thoroughly.

The following notes are not for the meek and mild.
My advice is to follow the resonance in being. - Make that your touchstone.
It does not matter who or where the message comes from.
Stop collecting a mish mash of spiritual books and concepts. - That is a sure way to bring confusion.
Just follow the resonance in being.


Added Note: on the Therapy illusion. (Business is business is thriving business)

In the clear and open view of ordinary wakefulness, ‘post awakening therapy’ is an illusion, all about a 'me' that does not have any substance or independence.

Some words pop up from memory: "Don't go sticking your head in a hornets nest".
Everything is happening spontaneously - there is no 'doer' - so what is all the drama about?

Where do all of our agreements and our arguments take place?
Where does all the clear and precise evidence ‘for or against anything’ appear?
Where does anything and everything appear?
Where is the witnessing taking place, the witnessing of all these ‘events’ (large or small, vast or minute)
Where does the ‘time’, the duration of this witnessing take place?
What ‘ground’ do you stand on and what bias is there to your opinions about all of these questions?
Where is it taking place?
Can you find the witness?
What knowledge do you have and where do you store it?
Can you offer it to another and ask for a hefty fee?
Can you stand straight and tall and parade like a peacock, full of vanity and call yourself a saviour of humanity?
Where does all the drama of life take place?
Who is the witness of the drama?
Can you find him (or her)?

There is no duality in Non Duality.
In the appearance of life, so-called non dualists have turned Non Duality into a circus of dualistic tricks and business opportunities.

Where does all of the drama of life appear?
What duration does it have?
What is wrong with right now? – If you do not think about it?

Monday, July 14, 2008

Incomprehensible for mind - yet natural for being.

Incomprehensible for the dualistic mind. - Being is Knowing.

Being a slave to concepts about ‘special states of being’ is foolish.

Let me state clearly that there are no concepts being indulged in here. - I have no investment in a self-image, that I am 'someone special' or that something special has happened to me. - I have not attained any state of being - either enlightenment or whatever name you want to give it. - It could be said that it is 'the ordinary' that contains the miraculous. - We overlook the ordinary 'pure functions of being' and go looking for some 'thing', some idea of 'becoming' - imitating what is suggested to us by 'suggestion' itself. - We ignore the FACT of wonderment - the fact of our own being - just as we are. - What a miracle.
You may imagine that you are in the process of ‘becoming’ – you may have been given many tools to achieve your desire of becoming something ‘more’ than what you are.
Who is the observer of this ‘becoming’?
Is that anything stable?
Is it not merely thoughts about becoming and self-assessments, more thoughts and judgments made about some self-analysis?
Where do all of these activities take place?
Isn’t it all simply an appearance in being?
We can re-arrange ‘the furniture’ in our minds but nothing of this activity will ever ‘become’ anything but what it is.
The appearances cannot be THAT, which is unchanging, that 'one without a second' – they are appearances and they cannot be that changeless fact of being, it is THAT, the changeless, in which ALL the appearances appear. - You are THAT - not the transient appearances - That fact is obviously here right now and it permeates this living moment - totally ascertainable (for anyone at all, right here, right now) because it is a FACT. - What prevents the seeing of that fact? - It can only be mind stuff that gets in the way. - Drop it.
Some say that such expressions are from the Absolute, not from where they see things from. - The fact is that ALL true SEEING is not actually 'happening' via the mind's content. - The translations of the mind cannot SEE. - These translations appear to be so quickly 'on the scene' we habitually believe that this 'believed in entity' is seeing - is knowing. - It is simply NOT true. - There is only ONE Seeing happening. - Where are you Seeing from? - Don't be tempted by any 'idea' about that. - Where is the seeing happening? - This question delivers the mind to beyond its realm. - No conceptual answer can satisfy - Frustration or denial is a usual response. - The SEEING is prior to all concepts. - Calling it an 'Absolute View' which only a 'sacred few' have access to is just a story for the mind. - Believing in stories in preference to the actuality is an 'insubstantial problem'. - A problem that dissolves instantly if it is truly questioned thoroughly and actually.
Believing in ‘the process of becoming’ is the error.
99.999% of teachers are ‘guilty’ of proliferating concepts of ‘becoming’.
It is all useless and it leads ‘you consistently away’ from the obvious FACT of Being.
Place your trust in one who ‘points’ directly at the facts.
Is it not obvious that all these years of following the practices of ‘becoming’ have not led you anywhere – that fabulous and imaginary ‘realization’ keeps slipping out of view. – It remains ‘up ahead’ somewhere in ‘the future’. - It will continue to do so – because it is only a concept. – Being a slave to concepts about ‘special states of being’ is foolish.
Stop ignoring the natural state of simple being. – It is non-conceptual.

I can almost hear a reply. – “That is too difficult, to just simply be”.
Why is that so difficult?
Are you so sold on the idea of making effort, that ‘the simplicity of being’ is turned into an unattainable ‘thing’?
Being is Being is Being.
A lion is not making an effort to be a lion. - Effort may appear in the activity of a lion chasing a deer - the Being of the lion or the deer is not changing or becoming anything but what it is. - Why do you imagine that you can become something 'greater' than what you are? - Because it has been suggested and it has been believed in - that is why.
Mere concepts - concepts that fill a space called 'mind' and thus an ignoring of natural being as one is, seemingly takes us away from that simplicity of 'being what I am'.
Being is there timelessly, naturally, 'before' such erroneous efforts are even indulged in.
Being requires NO effort whatsoever. – effort appears in being - not for the sake of being. - No ‘person’ has ever ‘become’ more than the being-ness. – The ‘person’ is just a bunch of thoughts. - See if you can stand on those beliefs. - They are an erroneous foundation - a delusion. ("Build your house on the Rock - not on the shifting sands")
Many aspirants go into hiding at this point, the shutters come down and a defensive mechanism kicks in. - Reaction is behavior - not being.

Why is simply being so difficult?
Being has nothing to do with that believed in ‘entity’ called ‘me’.
The ‘me’ is a fictional character. – It has NO Being whatsoever – it is only belief.
Empty rhetoric about "that me must be what I am because there is no separation".. is flimsy intellectualizing – it is 'a cowards excuse', NOT to investigate that ‘me’ and truly find out what is real about it, if anything.
Habitual resistance, to really taking a good look, is like a fortress wall around the ‘me’.
A self-made prison – full of fictional drama and suffering – all of it is unnecessary.
"I can't let go of this idea about 'who' I am, because if I let go of that, who or what will I be?" - Like the man who couldn't knock on God's door - self-exiled because the courage to really KNOW was smothered by self-doubts.

All these points may be a bit sharp, too probing for the average ‘seeker’.
It is not meant for them - they get what they need through beliefs - they are not happy - but they won't hear what is being offered - so what else can be done?

No matter how sharp it appears to be, it really needs to be looked into – putting it off is tantamount to another ‘ten year sentence’ in that ‘cage of limited views’.

We must recognize that the open view of 'simply being present to what is', is clear.
It is the belief in what the mind brings into the picture, that is what 'seemingly' clouds the view.

A certain concept may appear to help but if it is clung onto, it will obscure the view with a mind set, which is not the clear view at all.

Our habit is to believe what the mind translates from 'what is'.
All the while, 'What is' is totally available 'ever-prior' to mind translations.
In the midst of a 'sticky belief' the clear view is actually unobstructed for BEING, which is the SEEING itself.
For the believed in 'entity', all it has is concepts and it cannot truly see anything at all.
There is only one SEEING happening - and the 'me' is nothing but an appearance in that seeing. - See that fact and relax in being.

Saturday, July 12, 2008

Seeing through the self-centre is not via the mind.

Extract from Everything is Clear and Obvious:

"Knowing is instant.
Words are (always) secondary.
In the realm of words and concepts, we appear to leave THIS immediate knowing and enter into a realm of descriptions.
In that psychological 'journey' of mind, you can only 'arrive back' at the place you have never left, which of course is now.
This 'space of immediate knowing' has never left you.
It is, in fact, what you are."


The following is a single paragraph extract from a 6 part Note written a few weeks ago:


The innate capacity of pure knowing belongs to our true nature - and it lies at the core of what we are.
What we truly ARE is not depending on anything at all.
It needs no time to find completion – it requires no method to adhere to and it requires no concept at all.
Its nature is NON conceptual.

Recognize that.

Some additional points are:

This natural BEING is not relying upon any concepts or conditional mind - it is non dual.
If you cannot see that that is what you are then simply 'Stay' with THAT and it naturally dissolves erroneous beliefs in dualism.
However, the holding onto the core belief in being 'someone' will appear to bring about a 'split' in that open space of knowing - SEE that for what it is.

Do not 'go with' any concept - and so the sense of separation will dissolve naturally.
Repeat this as often as possible and the idea of being separate cannot survive.

Then, be attentive, because the 'idea' of 'now I am enlightened' will pop up. - Do not entertain this concept. - It is separation weaving its way back into the picture.
There is No Duality in Non Duality.

The display of competition in the 'spiritual circles' is a joke and obviously fed by ignorance.


Today's Note:

If there is no impulse to be totally ‘honest’ with oneself, why should ‘what is actually true’ reveal itself?
Could it be possible that what you have been searching for, for most of your life, is ‘something’ that is so obviously present in ‘your very being’, so obvious that you miss it completely?
Have you fallen over and over for some ‘story’, some philosophical convoluted complex equation, some spiritual formula or have you simply fallen for some charismatic character?
Have you handed over your trust to someone, some teacher, who shows ‘signs’ of having, owning, what it is you are seeking?

If that teacher ‘allows’ you to spend year after year, treading the treadmill, chasing some exalted state of mind, then he is not pointing at what is true at all.
The ‘system’ of such teachers is a prison made of concepts.

It is a very profitable spiritual game, that is for sure – but it is not about what is true.
Everything but that.
The whistle blower may be a very unpopular ‘appearance’ in life.
But he still blows the whistle irregardless.

All organized spiritual groups contain an expectation of exclusivity.
The sense of separation is fed by such spoken or unspoken ‘contracts’.

As J. Krishnamurti says:– “The Truth cannot be organized” & “Truth is a pathless land”.
What IS is what IS.


Today's Note:
The error of seeking is so obvious, it is not even suspected.
The error is the insistence of being ‘someone’ that is searching for ‘something’ that you 'imagine' that you don't already have.
That is the hitch, the self-center 'knot' that cannot be undone by the seeker.
The angst of the seeker is a self feeding 'loop'.
The only way out of it, is to recognize it and drop it - and be what you are, just as you are.
The ‘pointer’ “The answer is not in the mind” can be put another way, “There is no answer in the mind”.
Stop looking in the mind. – Drop the concepts and see.

Then the mind usually comes up with: “How can I do that?”
There is no 'How' - that can only be an addition of more thought or concepts.

Just stop thought and see. - Drop it.
It may only seem to last a few moments - but see into those moments - simply be in the moment and let the mind rest on nothing at all.
That moment may appear to go away - but in the subsequent re-tasting of it, one realizes that THIS moment is all there ever is. - It is the mind content that comes and goes and that coming and going INCLUDES the IDEA of 'me'.

In that clear space of BEING, there is nothing that you can say about that no thought ‘state’. – We can call it a state but it is actually not a state at all.
In staying with that empty mind, it is found to be full of livingness – and we can call that 'thoughtless reality'.
There is nothing wrong in that. – 'Until' the mind re-enters with its 'me' stuff.
The IDEA of 'me' CANNOT see or Know anything.
So, in seeing that 'stuff' for what it is, without wanting to alter it, there is STILL no problem. - What a blessed relief (for no one).
It may be recognized that it is the re-engagement with the 'me', that is where the problems re-enter - and that 'happens' because of the believed in 'entity' 'me' has not been questioned or looked at closely. - It is belief - mere thoughts. - It has NO being whatsoever - so how can you BE that 'stuff'?

All of the mind content, no matter what it is, is only an appearance in or on the 'natural state’. - The mind is clear and empty - right now.
Reach in there and grasp a thought, if you can find the mind.
Thoughts have no substance at all.
Get a taste of that fact, over and over.

Stories in the mind go on and on.
Here is one: Some latest fabulous ‘guru’ comes to town and seekers flock to him imagining that he will be ‘The One’ - the one to tip the scales. - The local gurus get upset because their 'flock' numbers drop as these 'sorry souls' pop along to the 'The latest Pide Piper'.

The 'mind projection' of 'a savior' who 'comes to town' is just another error of belief - the belief that he will, most hopefully, be 'The One' - and it cannot be anything but an error. – Why?
Because what YOU truly ARE is that ONE. – Seeking that ONE through some other guru or teacher is a dualistic trap for the mind - a prison. - Why are so many spending decades with Gurus and teachers? - To get a certificate? - To give away half their wages?
(Note: Nisargadatta said eight days was enough to absorb the message.)

These traveling 'non duality minstrels' all come and go - and the seekers are left seeking - it happens over and over.
After the 'wham bam', the local gurus pick up the pieces and pull the flock back together and resume their 'trade'.
Don't get me wrong: - There is no judgment here about any of it - I am just telling a story - one that may be very familiar to you.
No one is 'doing any of it'. - It is all in the appearance of 'things'. - By investing hope in all these 'special teachers' and 'things' we entrap ourselves on a path to nowhere.
What is necessary is already 'right here' - there is nothing you need from someone else, in order to realize this moment of life. - No concept is ever this Life. - Drop all concepts and Life is obviously this livingness, without a single thought to support it.

The mind conceptualizes all of the ‘pointers’ and with those concepts, it creates another mind trap.
Seeing through the self-center is NOT via the mind. – Living without a self-center is not a memorized concept or something one can imitate. – There never was a 'me’ – just see that fact and be over and done with the 'latest fad' or the latest 'hot' traveling guru. - Surely you are exhausted by now? - How many teachers are you going to run along to?
What is needed is a simple messenger - it is extremely simple - but everyone is attracted to the 'teachers' who play the promotional game and dress up in all the garb and 'walk with sobriety and conscious intention' in an atmosphere of sacredness.
There is no need for long winded stories and contracts with gurus or teachers.

In five minutes, it is possible to point out the essential facts. - Whether it is heard is another matter.

The insistence on being 'someone' seeking 'something' and 'imagining' you don't have it, that is the hitch - the knot of self-torture.

Wednesday, July 09, 2008

Who is seeing?

The clear and precise intelligence ‘in’ one who has truly realized THIS, has no interest in telling elaborate stories about ‘how it was achieved’. – Nothing has been achieved at all – all that happens is the stories are seen through.
All mind content is known for what it is – no concerns over the past and the habitual fears about the future have fallen away altogether.
There is no dependence on any ‘thing’ in the present, past or future.
There is no indulgence or interest in ‘looking back’ into memory, it is known in an absolute sense, that there is no point in dragging up the ‘story’ of ‘the journey’ - and it is known for certain that there is no use in imposing those stories onto others, as if they had some relevant importance.
It cannot benefit anyone.
You may notice that almost all teachers indulge in 'their story of attainment' - and 'seekers', through ignorance, want to imitate that 'story'. - It is all useless.

In the direct pointing, above all else, there is ‘no impulse’ to imply that someone else should ‘do’ some sort of practice – not even one tiny practice, no practice whatsoever – none at all. - This fact alone eliminates 99.99% of teachers - useless, except as someone to imitate. - What joy can there be in that? - Endless notions of 'becoming' is self delusion on all fronts - the teacher is included in that conceptualized realm of mind stuff.
In the direct pointing, there is a knowing that all of the ‘appearance of how things are’, is nothing but ‘an appearance’ of being – it has no substance whatsoever – and the illusion of pushing some concepts via 'suggestion' about some elusive ‘substance of being’, all concerning the re-arrangement of ‘things’, so that enlightenment can ‘come’, that is known in an absolute sense to be a trap for the mind.
The natural state is present - it is just ignored. - It cannot 'come' because it already IS.
Stop ignoring it.
What is TRUE, along with a natural compassion, prevents any such ideas about elaborate time bound methods and practices from misleading the unwary, they never pass through the lips of 'the true messenger'.
The true messenger does not 'play a game' of being anyone 'special'. - He delivers the message. - There is NO interest in collecting 'followers'.
THIS ‘presence of knowing’ can never be about any kind of 'appearance' of any notions of BECOMING – because it already IS – As it always has been.

We overlook the natural state of simple 'presence with what is’ and go off in the mind with stale old habitual beliefs. – Those beliefs cannot stand up to a clear and precise investigation of the substance they are believed to contain. – Don’t be put off by some teacher saying that the investigation is just more seeking. – INTELLIGENCE and SEEING belong to 'presence-awareness' - the close examination of beliefs is revealed to be insubstantial, transient 'mind-content'.
This revelation is totally radical, from the perspective of mind.
Yet it is totally ordinary from the perspective of simple 'silent being' and seeing ‘what is’.

Telling this, does not win me any friends in 'the spiritual circle'. - The spiritual 'business' is rife with practices and methods all leading nowhere at all - good for business though - "good on 'em".
The messenger may appreciate an expression of gratitude but it is not sort after.
If your teacher has these qualities then you may well have found a true messenger.

Email: -
“When I first found your e-book “Everything is Clear and Obvious”, I remember well, reading it, and that night the sleeping was very good – I slept well. - And the next day, in the waking state, it was like, ‘I am in the background witnessing all that happens’. Later that view, (which is probably the 'knowing' you refer to) that view later seemed to diminish, it is like the ‘personality’, that type of limited perspective, came again
." – Sergio

Reply: Yes, all manner of things ‘appear’ in that 'knowing', that ‘open view’ – whatever appears in and on that, they are all transient appearances.
The habit is to believe that "I am in the mind", a character in the body. – See it for what it is. - The body and the mind content both appear on awareness.
If the body (your body) is the 'first pattern' to appear in the experience of the world (for you) - The first 'thing' you see is 'space' and the body appears in that space - and if that pattern, which we usually associate our 'self' with, the body, is not recognized as an appearance also - then that is the obscuring factor.
Where are you seeing from? - Is it not from that space? - Does it have any boundary?
Does it have a form? - A color? - Is it not spaciousness itself?

This spacious ‘open view’ is always here – it is the very nature of 'being', of awareness itself. – It is the basis of every experience, prior to whatever the mind translates it into.
– It is knowing.

Note: The mentioned e-book is a free download-able pdf file on the shining through the mind website - top right hand side of screen.

Email:

Hi Gilbert, - Sometimes there is a seeing of the personality as a thought. - It is so simple that I can hardly believe it. - The seeing is usually brief and followed by a sort of return to the previous way of perceiving. - Is it really this simple?
I see the seen but not the seer. - The seeing seems to just happen out of nothing.
Is nothing the seer?


Although there are occasional 'glimpses' of this seeing, the understanding is not on gut-level. - I still suffer, although there is an increased ability to let emotions and states just be and float on by at their own pace.
Sometimes I feel almost desperate, because I really, really want to understand this now. - I do not want to seek anymore, I want to live. - I do not want to be obsessed by this anymore.
Best regards – Jens.

Reply:

Yes, it is so simple we miss it.
SEEING is happening. -
Always.
There is No seer that has any independence or substance 'apart' from SEEING.
There is NO 'entity' that is seeing anything. - Believing there is is just a thought.
The 'thinker' is a thought.
"I am thinking" is just another thought appearing in the knowing-seeing.
It is the emptiness that is seeing-knowing.
This emptiness is not a void - it is pure intelligence.
There is no benefit or harm in it for anyone.
Believing there is is just a thought.
There never was a 'someone'.
The 'person' is NOT reality.

Whatever you see is not you.
The 'seer' is a thought only - 'I see'.
Have a look - does that 'I' have any substance?
If it did, surely you would know that by now. - You are not a fool and yet this obvious fact has eluded you. - Why?
The duality of 'the seen' and 'the seer' are only appearances in SEEING.

You say you want to stop seeking - that 'you' is nothing but thought based habits.
That 'you' may want to add substance to 'itself' by attaching itself to anything and everything - but nothing works for long.
What you actually ARE can never seek - because it is already THAT. - Start there as THAT and then the seeking cannot even 'get off the ground'.

The moments of seeing clearly (the glimpses) you speak of are moments when the 'me' is absent. - The 'space' in which a 'thick forest' appears in, is always there, whether deforestation happens or not.

These glimpses appear to come and go - but is that actually true?
The momentary glimpse of the Ocean does not mean the Ocean disappears. - SEE what it is that seemingly obscures the view. - It is inevitably 'mind content'.

The seeing is always present - what comes and goes is the thoughts, concepts, images etc.

In the appearance of 'things' you identify yourself with (those) thoughts.

My advice is: Drop them - and just BE the seeing.

Even though this is pointed out over and over, no one seems to hear it - actually quite a few have heard it and seen the truth of it - but generally the habit of identifying will not allow any 'space of knowing' to remain uncluttered. - The nature of mind is to divide. - Even though it has no power at all, that habit of believing in a 'me' reappears simply because it is believed in and never questioned.
WHO is it that believes it?

See if you can find any substance to that self-center that you believe is 'you'.
That is what needs to happen - it cannot be done by a 'you' - intelligence 'does' it.
Be that intelligence that you ARE.
Yes, it is indeed so very simple. - But you must persist in this examination - this exploration of what you are.
The mind will not want to stay with it - it will throw up all manner of diversions because that is the habit.
Do not hold onto anything - let the thoughts flow freely, let them appear and disappear - do not take delivery of them. - They will be 'Returned to sender' - They will lose their apparent 'attraction' and will recede into being only transparent 'visitors' or a slight 'buzz' in the background.
Realize this profundity: What you truly are has NEVER stepped OUT of presence.

You ARE present and aware - As Bob says: 'you are not asleep'.
Awareness is not a concept.
The concept about awareness is just a name, a concept.

Write again if needs be.

Warm regards - Gilbert.

Monday, July 07, 2008

The Profound Evidence is (the) Knowing.

Today's Note is not for the timid or the meek and mild - in fact many will not be able to follow what is being pointed out - if only one does, then these words are not wasted - As Nisargadatta pointed out about what he was expounding: "There are no customers for this knowledge".
Those who gather customers (seekers) are not telling it straight - because they obviously don't know the essence of it clearly. - Ironically, it seems, this one here makes virtually no money from this 'pointing' at what is true. - If there was any ambition here, this 'knowledge' could 'set me up' into a very comfortable life style, with hundreds of followers and all the trappings that come with it, women hanging around like flies, all wanting some 'shaktipat' or whatever you call 'it'.
- Not even a thought of such things can survive here, not for even 2 moments. - The direct message must be told. - It cannot have any conditions placed before it. - Payment is not a prerequisite. - It may 'come after' or not. - Whether gratitude arises anywhere for these expressions, is not of any concern to 'me' because there is no 'me'.
The 'seeker' is 'self-absorbed' illusion - a pattern of energy. - There is no self - 'who' really wants to know that?



The Profound Evidence is (the) Knowing.
The Knowing
is the Profound Evidence. - They are One.
No separation.
The most profound evidence of reality is right here, right now. – The only ‘reason’ it is not recognized is because of ‘reason’ itself – thought patterns ‘apparently’ obscure reality. – The obviousness of ‘space’ is overlooked in the same way that this profundity of ‘presence’ is overlooked.

The reality that 'you are' is THAT in which space and time ‘appear’ – space and time are known from beyond space and time – These attributes of ‘the manifestation’ appear or register on THAT 'knowing', which is not actually subjected to clarity, nor to obscurity. – No matter how much thought is given to this – no matter how much ‘effort’ is made to perceive THAT fact – those activities are only appearances in THAT direct and immediate cognition. - This subtle point is registering in that knowing and the description, and the images in mind, are never the 'thing' being described.
That is a movement in mind, a process, in time.
Knowing is not in time - it never budges from THIS Instant. - It is only the description and mentation that seemingly moves away (into a landscape of thought) - but even that has no existence except AS the immediate vibration that IT IS.

Such information may still the mind. - The wonder of 'knowing' itself may arise (or not).

Any concept about an ‘entity’ being present in THAT knowing, is only 'a transient appearance'. – It has NO duration at all. - Repeated belief lends those appearances in mind an apparent duration and 'being'. - 'The source' of noticing this fact (or anything at all) is knowing and the mind content is an 'appearance'. - It may be an appearance of a ‘turning point’, a 'profound insight' – one that has no actual physical existence in space or time and it is totally impersonal. - It remains 'as if' totally stationary - it is THIS knowing-presence.
In THAT, there is no one (no separate pattern of energy) to indulge in fantasies or stories of someone that is 'enlightened'. - All such talk is fanciful notions and belongs to dualistic mind. - This is known to be true in your own essence.

One cannot, and need not, place oneself anywhere 'apart' from the 'knowing' - THIS knowing has no detectable form or location.

The simplicity of whatever is ‘happening’ (right now, as always) is registering in the ‘knowing’. – In THAT there is No ‘knower’ and No ‘known’ - No Subject and No object. – It is Non Dual. - ALL Inclusive. - Reality.
Because there is no separation, there is no one that can separate this knowing from whatever it is that is known - except conceptually (mind stuff). - To believe that there is, is mere transient content of mind. - No proof can ever support it - but such facts are avoided by the mind, because it is 'too close for comfort'.

A cognitive Scientist may spend a life time trying to establish what the 'I' is. - He remains searching with nothing to rest on - nothing substantial - all he has is theories. - Theories are patterns in the mind. - Not a lot to show for a life times work.

The ‘activity of knowing’ is the ‘foundation’ of every experience – 'the activity of knowing' is not what the mind translates that or any experiencing into.
This is where 'everyone' stumbles - and that could be said to be a natural occurrence because the 'personal approach' is weighted by the bias of an 'attachment'. - The subtle notion of a 'someone', (a thought of being someone) a someone that is wanting a preconceived 'outcome'- which can only ever be more transient content of mind.
The bias of the mind is 'ME'. - The 'me' is NOT reality.
This fact, when it 'finally sinks in', it confounds the intellect and leaves it in a ‘state’ of poverty (a sense of "I don't really know") - that may transpose as a very subtle experiencing of 'expansion' of this 'space-like awareness'.

(A weight is lifted from being)

The profound revelation that may be so easily missed is that at no point is the
intelligence incapacitated. - Intelligence remains throughout all experiencing and apparent ordeals.
Knowing is presence.
One could say that 'intelligence' is witnessing 'the whole universal activity' - all 'time and space patterns' appear in THAT - 'IS That' - Intelligence.
The intelligence and the knowing are ONE.
You KNOW that you exist – any expression about that fact is a translation in the mind, words, concepts, ideas. - The expression may be witnessed and known to be only an appearance in what is 'totally indescribable'.

Belief has nothing to do with it. – Belief belongs to the realm of dualistic mind. Knowing is ‘at all times’ beyond the mind content. - We can call it 'Pure Mind' if that helps. - Pure Mind is not limited to any of the content of mind.
What you ARE is 'seemingly connected' to 'the world of impressions' via ‘knowing’ – not via thoughts etc. – The ‘entity’ one may believe one is, depends entirely on ‘mind content’. - And that does not have the capacity of knowing - only apparent 'connections'.
The knowing suffuses all.

A lot of ‘people’ get hot and bothered about ‘who is clear and who is not clear’, when it comes to the so-called Non Duality ‘teachers’, websites, books and so on. - There has been some not so subtle pointing out of erroneous teachers on this website as well.
It is all futile, nothing but a game of opinions and bias – all of it belongs to the appearance of transient ‘things’. - Entertainment only.

The point is that when one hears a clear message, it is like 'a hunting dog' picking up on the strong scent of ‘the fox’. - Nothing can put that dog off the trail, he is totally ‘one pointed’ from the moment he picks up the scent. – All he needs to do is ‘follow the trail’.
In other words: Follow that resonance in being. - Innately we KNOW.
One 'appears' to retrace ones own Being 'back' to this immediate presence - this Knowing.
In this 'way', one need not worry about who is clear and who is not.
You realize that you ARE the ‘space of clarity’ in which everything appears….and NOTHING can remove 'you' from THAT Knowing….Everything, without exception is known to be an appearance in THAT.
Such profound 'pointing' is not welcome for most 'adherents' because of 'erroneous knowledge' that is being held onto. - Knowledge that some guru or teacher has convinced them is true.
"Who cares?"

Thursday, July 03, 2008

The Masquerade

Note to all concerned:
Due to increasing technical difficulties, or some sort of interference, the shining through the mind website has not been functioning as usual. - Some business type 'tycoon' (racoon) has purchased the name of the site in the 'dot com' side of things at some sort of 'dot com auction' and has been trying to sell me my own website name. - So my advice to all is to link to my blogsite, "Nonduality Notes" (the same notes appear there), instead of the shining through the mind website. If by chance the 'shining' website becomes in-operative, I will dissolve it. - I am not interested in playing extortion games with opportunists. - This is a non profit site.



Today's Note:

If there is no discrimination between what ‘appears’ as thoughts, concepts and story constructions in ‘your own mind’ – between that and the actuality of ‘what is’ – then what can you possibly know about reality?

Are 'you' searching for it 'out there'? - Using all manner of second hand wisdom to find it?

Reality cuts through all illusion - 'the mirage of water' is NOT water - it just 'appears' to be water. - All of our sacred beliefs are just like that mirage of water.

If you refuse to put aside your erroneous beliefs, even for just a moment, then what kind of shock is needed to shatter your stubborn resistance? - Who has the time and who has the effort to persistently 'knock on your door'?



How many times do you need to hear it - to be told?

What you seek you already are. - The fantasy character is chasing 'a concept of reality' or some other concept, like 'enlightenment'.

The ONLY 'place' to 'start from' is 'to be what you are'. - In that clear and open view everything is seen for what it is. - That natural open view does not depend on any concept at all and belief does not even enter the picture - or if it does, and belief kicks in to full gear, then the view is not open.

Without that clear and incisive seeing, isn’t everything mixed up in a concoction of floating opinions and beliefs? - Isn't that 'me' at the mercy of an unpredictable tide and that 'me' gets tossed around like a cork on the sea. - Is that the basis of... 'my personal knowledge of what is real'?

We fight like cats and dogs to protect our self-image and our beliefs, to protect that paper castle, imagining it will keep us safe.

There is no hiding from reality – it is clear and obvious.

Who do you image you are fooling, except yourself?

Hiding behind a semi-conscious persona, a mask is best left for the Masquerade Ball and party games.






The Urban Guru Cafe is soaring. - Click on blue lettering to go visit the site.

... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ... ...


The Urban Guru Cafe is a podcasting site, set up a few months ago - providing new material to contemplate, including interviews with those speaking 'directly' from their own knowing - rather than telling you what you have to believe. - All on this subject of Non Duality.
A new program is made and released every 2 weeks (approx). - If you have not listened yet - Do yourself a favor - take a listen.

I have just listened again to Bob on The Urban Guru Café (dot com) - program number 9. – It is extremely simple and direct - but you have to follow closely to what is being pointed out.
At no point does Bob rely on any story or belief about anything at all. - He simply tells it straight. - Any Buddhist, Zen or Christian, any follower of any religion whatsoever, can listen to this program and hear the essence of their own religion – because each religion is telling the same message, as long as you stay with the directness, the essential pointers. - With most religions that essential message gets covered over by all manner of ‘conditions’ and stories – That exclusiveness is ‘separation’. – As soon as you join a religion, you are most usually expected to be exclusive – you exclude all the other religions. – What Bob is pointing out is that essence of what you are is totally inclusive. - There is NO separation. – Take a listen to number 9.


P.S. - By the way, The Urban Guru Café is most definitely soaring - with about 10% exponential growth per day. – Amazing – word is spreading.