Awakening from the Dream of Separation 12/24/2009
Trusting the Heart Wisdom of the Truth...  Imagine if you were already aligned with Consciousness: perfect, whole, and complete. If this were the case then only your True Self, that which you always are, can confirm your own knowing, your own awakening. Know this is happening now, the Truth of the Divine Consciousness is continually recognizing itself. Just relax in your own knowing and begin to recognize how all is arising out of Consciousness, including your own thoughts and your sense of being a separate self. Thus, true recognition can only come from within. Validation can only come from the inner teacher, which is the Source of all other and all knowing. When duality is seen through, there is truly only One. Consciousness is revealed to include all, the manifestation of student, teacher, and even our beloved object of devotion. Even the thoughts we have believed have been our obstacle are recognized as being Consciousness. This is an especially powerful realization, as the belief in being a separate self is so often reinforced by our attachment to "our" thoughts. However, just imagine if your thoughts were not being generated by "you" as a separate one. Would there then be a problem? Even the battle to maintain ourselves as a spiritual being would no longer be our doing. Imagine being free from the burden of maintaining spiritual effort, of trying to be more than you are right now. When it is realized that the unchanging sense of ourselves is Consciousness, we awaken to the Truth of who we truly are. Just breathe in, without letting thoughts or the effort to control them become a distraction. If they are there, or effort happens, just notice this without trying to change anything. Just breathe and feel who you are. This simple act can lead again and again to experiencing the space within that remains unchanging. This is the same for everyone and is what unites us as being One. When we awaken to being One, we know that we are all Conscious Awareness, then the illusion of separation ceases. Finding this unchanging space within us is our pathway home. Consciousness awaits for us to awaken to who we truly are, to the One Heart. Let love be our guide. Just follow the feeling of Love within ourselves, feeling the Heart Space which is unchanging. When attention rests here, we will know the Truth. There will be no need for further seeking or validation. Love reveals itself as being ourselves. We awaken out of the dream of separation and know we have always been One with Consciousness.This is trusting the Heart Wisdom of the Truth, something we can feel by just attuning to the vibration of love, our own breath, and allowing attention to rest in the Heart Space. Whatever spiritual road we may follow, all lead back to the same place. Consciousness awaits, and in the end is recognized as the One that has been creating the search and the union of Divine Love. 1 Comment The Pilgrimage for Truth (Part 2) 12/10/2009
Awakening in the “Kingdom of God.”  When we touch upon our true nature, the boundaries and sense of being a separate one begin to dissolve. We awaken from the dream of our egoic conditioning and the thoughts we believed were keeping us from Freedom, realizing that even these boundaries were never real. Then we see the teachings of the Buddha: “Form is Empty, Emptiness is Form.” The Universe is contained within us, revealed in the sound of the bird singing, a rainbow of light, or in the gust of wind that enlivens us. Or, as Achaan Chah said, “Once you understand not-self in your heart, the burden of life will be lifted…” We have always been walking in the “Kingdom of God” or in the “Land of Buddha.” Our spiritual path was never taking us anywhere but back to ourselves. Finally, Ramana Maharshi taught, “The whole of Vedanta is contained in the two Biblical statements ‘I am that I am’ and ‘Be still and know that I am God.’” With a single breath into the silent space of the heart, we can know the Truth. Awakening is experientially knowing we are what we have been seeking. The search is our homecoming. As we return to our own hearts, our pilgrimage to find “enlightenment” ends. We awaken in the “Kingdom of God” and realize we never went anywhere. The Pilgrimage for Truth (Part 1) 12/10/2009
Awakening to the “Kingdom of God.”  Living with an awareness of Presence, of who we truly are, is the ultimate pilgrimage we can take. But, this pilgrimage does not take us to some distant land, just deeper within ourselves. This is the secret of the Mystics. The space of the Heart or the space of Emptiness we touch upon during our spiritual practice, or when we simply attune to the present moment, is the “Kingdom of God.” It is within us. Awakening is the discovery of what has been here all the time below the thoughts we have believed define us and determine our lives. Rumi put it this way, “You want everything to be yours? Become nothing to yourself and all things,” and “Eat on and on, you Lovers, at Eternity’s table. Its feast is forever and spread out for you.” With an open heart to life, and our breathing keeping our mind in harmony, our perception of life can flow like a current. We can open our lives, our hearts, to the current of love that is flowing through all of us. When we attune to the space of our hearts, and rest in the gaps between thoughts, which are actually arising spontaneously, we are able to connect with our own highest guidance. Yet, this guidance is not our egoic conditioning telling us where we need to go next, it is the Divine’s energy, the movement of Consciousness, the Presence of who we truly are. Awakening by Touching Presence 12/07/2009
Getting an Experiential Taste of “Who You Truly Are” The presence of who we are is timeless. It has always been the same for as long as we can remember. Just reflecting for a few moments can lead to gaining an experiential understanding of this space. To recognize the inner space of presence we simply tune into the sense perception of what it feels like to be ourselves. Just feel the essence of yourself. Drop below the mind’s chatter and feel who you are. It is that easy. In fact it is so simple many quickly start looking for something beyond what is here right now. This is what keeps many on the wheel of seeking. Just take a few moments to breathe into the heart space in order to relax into your sense of being. Just feel you. It may help to close your eyes for the next part. As you are relaxing into the heart space feeling what it feels like to be you, observe whether this essence of yourself is male or female. Is it large or small? What color is it? Have you ever known a time when you did not know this feeling? Now, allow your attention to rest in the space of the heart a little deeper, feeling the core of yourself that lets you know that you indeed exist. Without words or following the thoughts of the mind, just feel what you are experiencing. The space of who you truly are is formless; it is beyond the limits of your body. This space is ageless and indescribable. Yet, it is how you know that you are alive. We all know this space. It is the same sense of ourselves, without the thinking mind defining us as male or female, young or old. This space is beyond self-definitions. It is here Now. This is our true nature, our connection to the Divine. Touching Presence by means of following the breath or focusing on the space of the heart can be experienced always. Awakening is discovering that we and everything else is arising in this Presence. We are this Presence. We are That. Overcoming Duality 12/06/2009
The Paradox of Controlling Thoughts... Consciousness, the Self, is not somewhere far away to be reached. You are already That. Come home to yourself. In the beginning you only have to give up your habit of identifying yourself with the non-Self, which are our thoughts. Focusing on the breath or the heart space is a potent practice to this means. Initially, we need to learn that we are not our thoughts. It calls for us to stop identifying ourselves with them as this keeps the concept of being a separate self going. As our spiritual path deepens we discover our True Nature is the essence of all that is, which ultimately also includes our thoughts. This is the paradox to the spiritual path. Towards the end of seeking, we experientially realize that our thoughts are just as much as Consciousness as everything else. Consciousness is this Presence—it is this Now in whatever form it may take. To overcome duality, we need to stop pushing away what we don’t like, which often becomes the thoughts or other “non-spiritual” attributes we may feel we have. Consciousness embraces and is all there is. We are That. Awakening to the Present Moment 12/03/2009
Question: What is the significance of the present moment? Great question! Of course, it is to find out through our own experiential insights. However, when we are truly present we are not just following what our thoughts may tell us about a situation or particular feeling. Our judgements/ thoughts bring us away from resting in the Now. Getting lost in past and future thinking is the main source of suffering. Commonly we follow thoughts about what just happened or what may happen to "Me." So, it is to rest attention in the present moment, by following the breath or finding the space of the heart. This way we begin to dislodge ourselves from the "Story of I" we have believed ourselves to be. By doing this repeatedly it breaks us free of the trance. Then, the present moment can reveal what is real, that which is arising in Consciousness (which paradoxically still includes everything we are experiencing). We are just present to what is, no matter if we are playing our role in the story, or just resting in our true nature. When we awaken to the present moment, it is all the same. |
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