In order to embrace the totality of being, one must be ready for one thing – one must be ready to surrender one´s hold on that sense of false identity which is the mind. The later must be completely put aside, along with all expectations, desires, and fears. One must remain completely detached from all personal experiences and preconceived ideas. One must withdraw from all memory so as to be in a state of direct affiliation with what is real – the totality of life. One must be ready to move ahead with a naked openness, a state of total receptivity to the blessing of self-realization.
There may be endless experiences of conscious immersion in one´s natural state of infinite being, as there may be numerous glimpses of self-realization, but there is only one state of permanent abidance in the totality of being. All possible experiences and instances of self-realization are to lead you to a place of complete nakedness where there isn´t anybody left to know anything of self-realization; only self-realization shall remain, and this is the oneness of the totality. This is liberation – the end of the journey. In fact, one must discriminate between an experience of self-realization and an actual permanent state of being which is self-realization.
The experiences of self-realization come and go, as these experiences remain part of the unfoldment of consciousness on its path of purification. These experiences may indicate a shift in one´s state of perception, but as mere experiences, they still pertain to the mind, which is engaged in the process of its own transformation.
When the mind effectively works on itself through the practice of self-awareness, eventually a certain level of spiritual maturity is reached, and so there comes a time when such practice comes to an end. One arrives at a place where there is no longer any mind to recall anything, as there isn´t anybody to practice nor anybody to witness anything. Self-awareness has culminated in that which is Liberation. Consciousness within you has awakened!
It is the nature of the mind to question what lies after death and to inquire about the past and future. The ego is not satisfied with what it is, so it needs to play with theories and find answers to imaginary questions.
The ego does not want to hear the simple truth of existence, which is always present and constitutes the ultimate experience. This truth is the one of the Self. The ego cannot hear such truth, for it is contradictory to its nature. The fact is that the ego cannot conceive of its own death. This is why it would rather inquire about abstract things of the past and future instead of the present.
The answers that the ego seeks about the world imply that it is the spectator. The ignorant mind confuses the Self with perceived objects and remains confused by the unreality of its identification with phenomena. In reality, there is neither subject nor perceived object; the subject and object are one and the same. Likewise, there is no ego, only an entity that expresses itself in many forms: the absolute. Therefore, only the absolute is real.
It is through the "I" that the world arises. The "I" perceives through the objects with which it identifies and sees as real. But only ignorance can come from this. The mind is merely asleep at this moment, and the truth of one´s true nature veiled.
From true being comes the "I" and from the "I" comes the world of objects, without which the "I" couldn´t succeed in finding any purpose to its existence. The "I" achieves a sense of tangibility in its world by identifying with its mental projections. Being in the world that it has created, it believes it is real and seeks to organize it in the most perfect way, but in vain since neither the world nor the observer really exists.
When the objects of the mind are no longer, the mind also disappears. The "I" appears at the same time as space and time. Inevitably, there is the necessity for the "I" to have things to do, to experiment with, to know and accomplish and to create an illusion of a world in which it most realize itself.
The "I" establishes the goal of finding the Self, since it is the natural course of all life; what the "I" looks for is the fullness of life. In order for us to identify with the objects of consciousness, we mistake the truth for time and space. But this is erroneous, since only the unity of consciousness has always existed. If consciousness were something to be found, it would be something external to oneself.
All that has a beginning has an end. From ignorance we seek knowledge, but what we find is the endless need to do so. Knowledge starts with the illusion of the ego. What reality can be found from unreality? The mind, in its search for fullness, goes in circles. Ignorance is its shadow. Ignorance must be dissolved in order to allow the depths to come up to the surface. With this comes true knowledge and experience.
Reality has no beginning and no end. All that has a beginning must have an end. Therefore, thoughts are not real. Thoughts arise, change form, and disappear, only to have their place taken by other thoughts. The mind commits an error in the belief that anything external – which can only be its own projection – will give it what it lacks inwardly. But the intellect, through force of habit, persists in projecting models for the mind´s liberation.
The intellect can invent anything, from the most gross to the most subtle thought forms. This propensity for unconscious imagining entangles the mind in delusion. Only when the mind has ceased giving continuity to its thoughts, does it get a glimpse of that which neither comes nor goes, of that which neither composes an inward nor an outward.
Peace of mind does not come from the outside and cannot possibly be something of the mind. The later can only experience the impermanence of things since it is impermanent itself. Since reality is without beginning and end, it is absolute, and therefore, it has always existed. The intellect can only deal with things of a finite nature, it cannot conceive the presence of that which has no form.
Reality is without form, and this is what we can´t seem to understand. The mind cannot comprehend that which is immaterial and omnipresent. It is fractured by the limitations that it imposes upon itself. The intellect itself is the limitation, for it is a creature specifically designed to maneuver through the maze of the finite realm.
At times we wonder how it is possible to calm the mind, when all that we are aware of is the noise. We think that we can calm the mind by taking it in a particular direction, and so we attempt to aim the mind at our preconceived notion of calmness. Let us understand this: silence does not reside in the house of the mind and cannot possibly be invited. Our efforts to find silence will only add to our delusion. In running after silence, we are only giving continuity to the noise of the mind. Here we have the thinking entity on one side and thought on the other side, as if they were separate. The mind cannot be divided from its thoughts. Therefore, anything that the mind pursues can only be a source of confusion. This action of a will separated from the rest of thoughts is based on a thought structure, and only serves to enhance the continuity of the noise.
We must eliminate the thinker, and the thoughts will reveal their own empty nature, and therefore move out of the mind. This is how the silence of mind is found. When inquiring about the source of the mind, the thinker is found as being the one thought at the origin of all thoughts. If this underlying dynamic is fully recognized, the thinking process is soon mastered. Identification with the thought process is the issue here; when thoughts are no longer pursued, when they are observed, but given no energy, the thinker also vanishes and what remains is the pure silence of infinite being. When the mind resumes its simple natural state, all is already complete and all is achieved. The true nature of being is silence.
Nothing has an independent existence; all things and all beings derive their existence from relationships. These relationships between one thing and another, between one being and another are not independent and isolated, they do not exist in a vacuum, but extend to the infinite that embraces the universe in its entirety.
The fact of our existence signifies a connection with the entire universe and thus, with the origin of all things. We must pay attention to all that is around us so that we recognize the sacred gift that is given by life. Without this sacred gift, we could not exist.
The challenges and experiences of life constitute our path, and we should accept them with gratitude, whatever they may be, for everything in this life is a gift.
Generally speaking, relationships are perceived, as they exist within the context of one´s own little individual life, with its pursuits and ambitions, its work situation, its necessities and circumstances. Our relationships are interpreted through the limited field of our daily individual existence.
It is rare for us to inquire about the origin of our lives and our reason for being. Not that we need to reflect on it or that we absolutely must find answers, but we seem to find it difficult to simply observe the vast field of life and to perceive the connectedness of all things, particularly the connections between our minds and the events of our lives. To perceive this, it is not necessary to engage in endless reflection. We automatically tend to think that being present to the inner voice implies some form of intense mental activity!
When the mind goes through difficulties of whatever order, we ask the question, why is this happening? This question tends to come up when things are not going well for us. What is happening is that the mind is being compelled to find its place in life. At some point, the questioning becomes painful and we don´t really wish to continue. We prefer to be well established in habits that may afford us protection from unpredictable events. This is a very dangerous instinctive tendency – the inclination to hold onto the known and to forget that we need to invest in deep self-inquiry.
