It is the identification with thinking that at some point drops off like a dead leaf, leaving the mind free to reside in its true and permanent identity of infinite being. At this point, thinking is no longer directing the way one looks at things or situations; it is not relied upon for determining what is real. As one resides within the true identity, thinking is no longer circumscribed by conceptual boundaries. It has nothing to cling to. Having no objects to pursue, nothing to play with, and nothing to appropriate, it can only remain inactive, leaving the mind in peace with the universal.

However, it is not that the thinking process comes to an end; it continues to function as needed according to the demands of situations that arise, just as the rest of the physical body persists through its destined existence on this earthly plane. Following the transformation of self-realization, the mind incorporates the thinking process as the tool that it is, just as the body keeps doing its thing without altering the deep stillness of the mind.

The thinking process is merely a mechanism that processes information. It is a tool that organizes sensory input and processes knowledge, which is essential to our functioning on this earthly plane. Without thinking, one would lapse into a vegetative state of existence. The mind is always the problem and not its particular functions. However, when the mind is quietly present, thinking assumes a most fluid, precise, efficient mode of operation. As the mind evolves to higher states of consciousness and its vibratory frequency becomes elevated, the thought process itself becomes refined. Extrasensory perceptions may become incorporated into the thought process at these higher levels of consciousness.

It is false to say that when the mind gives precedence to the intellect that it is truly more active, or that increased intellectual activity translates to enhancement of the brain's capabilities. The contrary is true. You may be standing in the galleys trying hard to see everything, but your view won't compare to the perspective from a mountain top, where the whole picture may be seen at a glance.

Residing at the core of one's true identity is all-embracing, as this is the domain of infinite being, a realm of such vastness that any thought may only pass by and return to emptiness. May as well leave everything as it is.

The mind's primal impulse is to either act on its thought process or to simply react from it - thus maintaining and reinforcing its conditioned identity based on the past. When the mind merely bounds back and forth from one thought to another, it is pushed into a very tiny corner of its consciousness, thus creating a wall of resistance to the infinite potential that lies within itself. When the mind is indeed merely reacting and bounding from one thought to another, it is obviously not aware of doing so. The flow of thoughts is merely taking over the mind, which keeps it in an unconscious and somewhat dormant state, for yes, when the mind is merely acting out its thought process, it remains in a state of unconsciousness and this is how the mind is said to be conditioned by thought patterns which erect a wall of resistance to ward off the immensity of life's force.

Any thought process is based on unconsciousness, for there cannot be any conscious thought - although one may be able to be conscious within a thought process. Because the mind's conditioned tendency is to act on its thoughts and to incorporate everything in its field of awareness into this egocentric momentum, a great deal of intensity of presence is required to revert this unconscious process. The mind cannot simply think about being conscious, it must act on it effortlessly, for at the moment it chooses one direction or another, which implies a participation on its part, it gives power to the thought process. However, when the mind is simply passively aware, this signifies that it is not pursuing any thinking and this is precisely why this practice is said to be passive, for there are no longer any “thinker”.

The thought may rise at first about being conscious, which may be seen as a starting point, so to speak, but at the moment one becomes conscious of the thought process, a gap is being expanded within the flow of thought. A sanctuary of space and silence is being established in one's mind. Such awareness requires an intensity of presence that is not related to verbal or conceptual thought, and this is what brings the mind to a place of consciousness. At the moment one's awareness is brought into the process of thinking, the mind is no longer trapped in the flow of thoughts, as it has accessed a vantage point from which it may observe the thoughts as they pass by.

The practice of awareness is not something of the mind, but of another realm, a place of consciousness which cannot be described in conceptual terms. It is something one must experience. The manifestation of this state of passive awareness indicates that the mind has reverted its attention to the very core of its being, which can only be whole. It is within the whole that one's being is found to be integral and thus united with the universal. When there is no longer any identification with thought forms, the “I” has nowhere to go and therefore vanishes, along with its limitations. When there is no longer any thought arising as “I-thought”, what remains is that which has always been - the conscious presence which is one with the totality of the universal.

It is indeed of the very nature of ego to identify with form and to sustain itself in its endeavor to acquire or to struggle with something external to itself. And since ego is but a result of the past, and is truly nothing more than a conglomeration of thought forms, it cannot access that which lies beyond thought forms, which is the everlasting power of life itself. Anything outside of its wall of thoughts and past experiences is foreign to its forged design. It cannot have an insight into the mechanics and fusion of intricate and invisible laws of the universal that lie underneath its veil - and these are the laws that direct the flow of all that exists under the sun.

As the mind's attention is turned outwardly, it assumes that its life can only be organized according to its will and that, without such a will, life would revert to a void where nothing would be happening. The perception of life's intricate perplexity in its multidimensionality cannot be perceived when the mind's attention is turned towards the external appearances of one's life. This is the reason that the power of the universe cannot be trusted when the mind's orientation is strictly externalized. It can only ponder over such ideas but cannot directly experience the implementation of these universal forces. It can only react to external input or situations by either pursuing or combating the external manifestations of life's force, but it cannot consciously participate in the creative process so as to harmonize and align its actions and thoughts with such power. To achieve this alignment, it can only subdue its activity and remain silent. It is then that the mind may find a place that may reveal something independent of its own biased mechanism of survival.

As the mind learns to restrain itself from reacting to its projections (projections that are all based on mere sensory responses), it creates a space for something beyond itself to surface and reveal the play of universal laws on the screen of consciousness. As the mind learns to maintain its awareness, it assumes a sense of radiance and wholeness, and with this transformation, the absolute supremacy of these universal laws is revealed. As one taps into the beyond, one can only behave according to such a perception of the whole. When one taps into that unseen realm, all one's actions are naturally aligned with the creative universal force, and thus perfectly fitted to the circumstances of the present. The mind cannot act independently to determine the course of events, for its operation is never independent of the totality. And what is one to achieve, regardless of the seriousness of any choice, if one remains disconnected from the whole? Such willfulness also carries the responsibilities inherent in all manifestation: one must deal with the situations one creates, and one is obliged to clean up whatever mess one makes.

To trust life means that one becomes sensitive to the reality of wholeness, for nothing exists apart from that wholeness. Nothing may exist divided from the whole. And the effort to deny the existence of the whole can only result in misery. As long as the mind identifies with objects of thought, it will try to look at life as a means to an end. When operating from this egoistic perspective, the mind bears the consequences of its actions and remains bound to its attainment or failure. Such a mind cannot show trust in life's omnipresent organization. It can only show apprehension of that which remains unknown, and this unknown is perceived as a threat to the false sense of identity and attachment. Therefore, the only way one can trust that life will take care of one's existence is to subdue any activity of mind, while at the same time practicing detached observation of existence with such intensity that one becomes the whole. Only when one embodies this state of connection with the totality can one unquestionably ascertain that life is indeed taking care of it all.

Trust comes when one embraces the whole. From then on, everything happens just as it should happen, and the mind gently witnesses the extraordinary organization that has always prevailed and will always reign. The mind can only trust life and act accordingly. When the whole is perceived as the whole, the question about what to do, or the fear of what may happen do not arise. All is already happening the best way possible as the immensity of life is now flowing freely. At that time of complete transmutation of consciousness, not only is life expressing its absolute presence and magnificence - as it has always been - but it is also revealing the very purpose of one's existence: to return home, to be one with the holiness of being. The universal can only support such a being, since this being lives in accordance with the whole - perfectly aligned and at one with the very purpose of existence.

The ego structure is essentially based on the will to become and this will to become is an attempt to address the inherent lack which is perceived in ego’s transitory composition. It is because the ego is constructed of impressions of fluctuating transitory phenomenon that it needs to either pursue a future or merely affirm itself with either objects or mere ideas. Therefore the ego can only be imprisoned within time and space. And since it knows nothing other than its own memories and projections, it looks back into the past and realizes its incompleteness, from which sprang the idea that tomorrow will resolve its search for completion and extended duration. The ego looks at completion of being as a duration within time. It does not conceive of a state of being that exists independently of past and future. A state of being that is infinite is beyond its comprehension. The only thing it is indirectly aware of is its transitory foundation. Thus comes the need to become, to have, or to reject - from which arises feelings of enthusiasm or fear.

Ego does not know anything about neutrality. It needs to be partial. It needs to struggle with its environment and with itself in order to have any sense of existence. Without any movement away from what is, there cannot be any ego. The ego can only manifest a resistance to the swiftness and irrevocability of life’s momentum. The ego is essentially an attempt to not only resist the flow of life, but to alter that flow for its own benefit. Its existence is meant to be an endless struggle, and because of this endless sense of incompleteness, it needs a future to give it an impression that it can escape from its fundamental lack. However, the illusory expansion of ego only exists because of the very nature of life’s flow and manifestation of the very infinite expansion of life as a whole. The ego is a process of centralizing that energy force. It is the restricted reflection of life’s force, but because the will to become is an awkward movement, forcing the mind to look outwardly for its fulfillment, it places a veil over the inward reality of infinite and complete being.

From a universal point of view, the ego represents an entropic structure that needs to collapse, a transmutation waiting to happen. It is a transitory phase that forces the spirit to disentangle itself from false identification with forms. It obliges the spirit to seek out and return to its origin, which is the light at the center of itself. The chaotic nature of ego can only force the spirit to reflect on itself in order to find the true meaning of existence.

The less the spirit looks outwardly for its definition, the better chance it has to connect with its true inner identity, and then less struggle and fewer lessons are needed, and a better sense of real permanency is found. This is not found as an event that all of a sudden comes to you; it is rather a sudden realization of that which was already there. Therefore, to uproot that will to become is to reside in the permanency of what is already there. No movement, no efforts, or expectation can lead to that place. In contrary, these are the very limitations imposed on the reality of infinite being. One must come to the realization that ego’s existence is merely a transitory phase designed to create chaos in order for the spirit to seek its return home in peace. Thus, if there is no movement away from what is nor any desire to have or to become, the mind can only abide in the permanency of infinite being.

The truth is that Eternal Life has been there along. Anything else is illusion - that which you call your limited life, your life of sin, misery, ignorance. Nothing of such ever existed. There has never been neither good nor evil, neither paradise nor hell. These are all of the nature of dualistic consciousness, which only abides by the rules of ideas.

Eternal Life is not an idea: it is a reality. If it were an idea, or something that exists somewhere, it wouldn’t be Eternal; it would be bound by the limitation of time, which is an impossibility. Because we’ve taken it as an idea, we’ve created a life of misery, a life that is bound to be a place of torture. And this is our life, the life that we cling to, the life that we take as real, and therefore projecting the idea of this Eternal Life as being something out of reach, something that can only exist somewhere else, a particular place that we may find when we die - something that may be found if these other ideas of being good may prevail and this other idea of doing wrong should cease.

So here we are, bouncing around from one idea to the other in the hope that we’ll succeed in establishing ourselves in this alien idea of eternity. What if the mind were not to pursue any ideas? What if the mind were simply to surrender any ideas about itself and about life? What if the mind were to abandon all memories, and all ideas of the future, and surrender to life as a whole? Not tomorrow, not as an idea, but as an act in the actuality of the present? At that very moment, something other than ideas would take over. That can only be Eternal Life. And one would come to the realization that life has never been other than eternal. This is the quality of surrender.