The Spiritual Mind Trap

Truth is not an idea.

Truth is the most 'self-evident' thing there is. Seeking truth as or via an idea is exactly what makes it elude one. Seeking it simply makes one look away from it, whereas truth is the very thing one is looking at. One may simply address it as 'life'. It is so obvious that we miss it. It is the totality of that which is present at this very moment; the total assemblage of all in our awareness. The totality of all that is arising is this awareness.

Truth is the WHOLE. Always right here. We miss it because we are always looking for an alternative, an explanation. What is seen cannot be seen without the seer behind it. The two are always present together. This is what is always present when we are busy making other plans for an alternative reality, of far away worlds of our own imagining. Truth is like the air that we breath, so obvious that we only notice it when we gasp for air. This created alternative truth, is ironically, the very thing that creates the void in life that so many seek to fill with so much 'spirituality,' whether of the material or esoteric kind, or more often than not, both at the same time. A constant seeking for satisfaction somewhere out there, or somewhere deep inside. It is the same seeking.

The reality of our immediate unadulterated observation, when it has become the marker of our experience, loosens the death-grip of our alternative confabulations. The experience of sitting in your self-created void conjures up all sorts of teachings; letting go, surrender, stop holding on and being aware etc. All of this is nothing to write home about. These are simply more of what is going on only in one's head, not what is assembled before one in this present moment, what one can call reality. None of it is relevant to life itself. Awareness is always present and is undiminished by what it is aware of. Simply sitting without the constant definition of the content of one's awareness is the antidote to the addictions of one's seeking to be more than one already is. You cannot be more than the summation of all that arises moment by moment. The attempt to surpass this is a construction that fashions the void that seeking has to fill.

'Holding on' and 'surrendering' arise to alternate in the mind's self-created oscillation in its surrogate verisimilitude. Surrendering does not make one more aware than holding on. Both result in an addition to what is arising out of the assemblage of life without our self-generated commentary. A change in perspective does not change what is perceived only how it is perceived. And yes, I know, what is presented here, is one perspective. I am only suggesting that looking down at one's feet simply makes one lose sight of the whole road. This is the mind game played by spirituality. It allows one to score points in the universal humbug of teachers and gurus and form cults and ways of living that detract from one's own simple authentic and integral life. This life will live you, whether you like it, or not.

Is Evil simply Live in Reverse?

A little musing on the notion of Evil

Evil has no self-existence

Sometimes our action is right and sometimes our action is wrong. When our actions are sufficiently wrong, we call them evil. What do we mean by right or wrong? One of the complementary opposites is in accord with our true nature and one is not. What is our true nature? One nature is true and the other is not. If you do not know your true nature, then you simply are not. No one is good or evil; evil has no existence without volitional actions. Likewise for good.

It is our actions that have evil effects or good effects. Until there is a realisation that you are being moved around by causes and effects yourself, you will assume that you are the originator of these causes and effects. Freedom from this seemingly perpetual state of bondage is often called liberation. Liberation is simply the freedom of being your true nature, which we will call 'you' even though you are not you, until you are the true you, which of course is not you. In truth, your true nature is not 'you', and not 'not you'. It is in the space between the 'you' and the 'not you' that you are. In that space there is no separation between the two. Therefore, you are always you, even when you are dreaming someone else. That good or evil person. That good or evil you.

Zen and the Art of Self Maintenance (not to be taken seriously)

In this life I have spent countless hours cleaning the windscreen of this obscured mind and I feel at last, it is more than the windscreen wipers that need replacing.

There is no garage and no mechanic needed. Neither is it available to me anymore, simply even to buy another windscreen. No. The whole car has to go. Even a Tesla cannot save me from what I myself must do, despite the fact that there are more and more ‘recharge’ stations springing up everywhere, to give the self more green credentials and satisfy some angry schoolgirl.

Zen, as you may know, is the very antithesis of self maintenance. It is the thing that is done by what I call myself. In these very pluralistic, post-modern times when, “I am right” and my outrage is much more important than the facts, it is a statement of rebellion to really take responsibility for my delusions and to own up to the wholesomeness of not knowing. That state of being, that is really the most honest of states, a place of listening without the projection of the protected self, that like the Corona Virus has so many sites of attachment and is very infectious. Indeed, a virologist of the self should be in high demand.

But then, what do I know?

Is there a solution to the self?

When we seek solutions we add another problem to the already existing problem: There is no solution without a problem to warrant it.

Condemning the self as a problem is like throwing your most precious gift away. Of course, this statement flies in the face of the self that has constantly been proposed as our foremost ontological problem; the biggest roadblock in our evolution. So first we need to understand what we mean by self. Are we mistaking self-interest for self? Could we consider, at least for a moment, that the self may be part of the order of the universe, in harmony with everything; and if this is the case, then there  will not be self-interest, rather all-interest; interest in the all.

If we make the self the problem then correspondingly we must see the consequence of this thinking as requiring a solution. Problems are never absent of solutions, so this problem must by necessity need to be solved. In this way, we set ourselves up for conflict. This very condemnation is the problem. The self poses itself as a problem to be solved by the very same problem. This is the sword attempting to cut itself. So, before I condemn it, suppress it, deny it or try to transcend it, it may reward us to actually look at it. Can we look at this without seeing the self as problem? What if the self is a part of a whole that has no existence of its own, but is simply part of a totality of being and consequently non-existent as a separate existence? What if this self, on re-joining the whole, is transmuted in that whole and in such harmony, is no longer individual, alone, distinct and separate: In fact, therefore does not exist at all. What if all effort to be rid of the self is just reinforcement of non-existence in a mistaken bid at freedom from an illusion of independent existence: An anomaly in the Universe of wholeness?

You may say that the self brings you pleasure, but it also brings you pain. Would one in harmony experience these extremes, or are they the poles of a duality of being that is the result of fragmentation? And, therefore, is the self a fragmented figment born of an image produced by the process of choosing separation as a way of being that relies now on memory of that which cannot any longer be remembered by that fragmented figment? And, if we are to look for solutions, because this self is the problem, then this solution could be to have no solutions; simply a deep level of allowing, an openness of being that surrenders to the whole that we are and always have been and always continues to be.

Free yourself from the fed thoughts that identify the self as the body, in distinction from other bodies and allow the true source of your mind in the True Self to reveal the fact (as we have discussed before in The self and the Soul) that the self is only an apparency, an illusion that has its source in the Self. Where there is subject with no object, there the Self is. This is living from the Soul.

The Innocency of Love

Love is innocency: It is the activity of the very light that we are. Innocency is not naiveté, it is simply free from the taint of ideals and beliefs and is therefore totally without the slavery and imprisonment of the conditioned state of mind.

Therefore, Love in its innocency, is action that is without attachments. Action means the active present, which indicates that it cannot be based on an ideal or a belief (for they are in the past), nor on hope (for hope is in the future), otherwise such action would not be in the present. In Love there is no division between the action and what the action should be, that is to say, our ideas about it. Action with timelessness, with no reference to the future and no pointing to the past; not according to experience or moral codes, not accordingly as a Christian, Muslim, Jew or Buddhist and according to no form-ulation of the mind; this is Love.

Love is the innocency of immediacy. This activity is then the living of life and not the mind's indulgence in its action, in the separation of the ownership of the act. It is a priory to thought, for our thought is sequential to true action. True impulse to movement comes before thought.

Where does thought have a place in this immediacy of this state of innocency?

It is no doubt obvious that thought must play a part in our lives, and so it must, in the organisation of our activity in the time and place of our being, in others words, it has a place in our daily lives. However, we require a type of thought that does not perpetuate the conditioning of the mind in its self-seeking isolation. What we require is co-operative thought, as this allows us to be without the idiosyncrasies of the individual in separation.  Co-operative thought, by its very definition, requires the inclusion of all in its purpose and therefore serves all in its participation. When we remain in the innocency of Love we may then organise and plan for the future that includes us all, free from the tyranny of the past. Equally we remain free from hope for the future that is anyway based on past experience and remain open to its unfolding grace. We do not try to fill the space of our being ahead of our expansion into it. We allow the pull of this expansion of the universe to constantly open before us, as the moon pulls the tide and the sea is equally willing to oblige. The tranquility of the still waters of the true Self reflects everything as it truly is, without the filters of the past or future, in the eternal presence and so without time. The simple innocency of a mirror that reflects all thing clearly. 

Love is not a formulation of the mind; it is found in the spaciousness of our own Being and will never be found in con-form-ity. Ours is the opportunity to be the Form of Love - yet for this to be so, we have to let go of the love of form; everything that we have form-ulated. Then we awaken to Formlessness of Form and the Love that holds it All.

Making a Case for Simplicity (A One-Sided View: and if you think that I should present otherwise, read my previous post about "A Balanced View".

If life is not simple, then it is born of ignorance. Complexity arises  from ignorance and simplicity arises from awareness. Complexity issues forth from separation and tends towards more separation as the complexity grows. Simplicity grows as connection grows and the result is more simplicity. Simplicity expands awareness and awareness provides more simplicity. This is true expansion and is the way of the universe.

If you think that it is the other way around and continue to think more; thinking again, along the same lines in complexity, will not get you anywhere, but further from this truth. Just simplify and leave complexity behind and expansion is the inevitable outcome. Simplicity moves towards Unity and One is the simplest of all that can be conceived and is the All that is beyond further perception. Simplicity brings a lessening of what is not One thus reducing complexity. And the Truth is that simplicity allows you to see more by knowing what is less  and allowing a return to our natural state of being: It is the path to Unity the expansion of our return to the Divine. It is the removal of the endless concepts of limitation that complexity has created and a return to the limitlessness of our Source.

Complexity of life is always away from Source and away from our true beginning. Simplicity ends our self-created convolutions and returns us to a state of Co-creation with All. Simplicity comes from a movement not a thought. It is a single step impulsed in the direction of our Source that is everywhere: Know the simplicity of that.

Certainly, one may see the irony in the fact that individuality (the false ego) has led to more and more complexity and that simplicity leads more and more to the true Oneness of all that is: Yet, this is the way that it is. And, in the end, what could be simpler than a return to the Infinite First.

Is there a balanced viewpoint?

A while back, I received a communication, via Facebook, that included an emoticon of an angry face that was posted in response to a short article that I wrote on the nature of consciousness and the consequences of separating the world into subject and object. This led to a reflection that I am presenting here. It seems to me that if I were to read an article that did not align with the truth, as I know it to be, then I would move onto something else and not give it space in the limitation of my brain, to leave more room for more agreeable material. And that would be that.

It is only reasonable to be aware that we owe greater respect, on our part, to the view of debunkers of the Ancient Wisdom, otherwise we become guilty of the same disdain that many materialistic, positivistic and scientific ideologues show towards those presenting this perpetual knowledge. The Ancient Wisdom includes all; whether they wish to be included or not. There need be no protection from outside challenge, because challenge is no threat to reality. It is most important to remember that the critical thinking of our contemporary naysayers does not preclude clear thinking on the part of those who claim more. The Ancient Wisdom simply presents that there is more and this is naturally very irritating for those who claim less than this more. Claiming more by actually claiming less is an uncomfortable place to be and produces a tension that needs to let off steam occasionally.

And perhaps you may ask, "What about a balanced viewpoint"? A balanced viewpoint is often presented as the way to be fair, consistent and rational. Really, of course, on deeper reflection, it is simply sitting on the fence with the wind blowing in the direction of the current paradigm of so-called rational thought. This position is not one of relaxation, but does satisfy a comfort of professional standing in some circles of life. This predicament is not open awareness at all: It is a shutting down of the very power to really know. And to really know can never take the position of sitting on the fence of not knowing. Ultimately, we have to let go of conventional knowing to really know what we truly know. There is no paradox presented here, no confusion in understanding: A paradox is not a conflict with reality but rather a conflict with your ideas about how reality should be.   In other words, a paradox only exists when your version of reality differs from reality itself. Paradox requires duality born of separation and in true knowing there is no room for separation.

The problem with setting ourselves up as "neutral judges" is that we are still in judgement and that is inescapably a reaction in itself. In everything that we think, speak and do, we align with an energy of consciousness: This is inescapable  also. There is no neutral position. There is no objectivity; that was the meaning and purpose of the article that was so disapproved of with the angry emoticon and what sparked this response. We are all one single subject within the realm of distinction and the objectification of things outside of ourselves is the root of our very separation.

Darkness is the absence of light. Light is not the absence of darkness. One can never have the situation that "the light is on, but there is no-one home".  If there is light, there is also always the One (and if you cannot see the truth of that, you will know what is missing from your vision). As the saying goes, you are either in the light or in the dark about things, . I am not saying who is in the light or who is in the dark. I am not approving nor disapproving of another, simply aligning or not with the consciousness behind what the other has said, written or shown. If we react to another, because they do not share in what we share, we deny them their equality in expression. It is simple to allow them to occupy their space in the world, just as they are. If you know all to be who they truly are, how could it be otherwise? You will get no unhappy emoticons from me.  

Ignorance begets oppression.

Ignorance allows for oppression. The less that you know about yourself and are disconnected from the truth, the more you can be controlled. This is the truth.

The extraordinary thing is that this is the very same story also told by those who want to control you and will attempt to hook you with it. So, the question is, and ultimately comes back to, "Who is telling the truth"?

Usually, the one who is most invested in having you agree with them, has the more greatly deformed version of reality. Deforming reality, by reducing its field, is perhaps the greatest lie. So many facts are simply delusions planted as seeds to grow in our collective minds. One of the greatest fuels for delusion is the hunger for recognition: Our systems both thrive on it and derive it.

A second great lie to further inculcate the confusion is complication. If a thing is complicated enough, we may give up owing to frustration and exhaustion from the task of understanding, from tainted thinking. There is presented a wonderful labyrinth, that of course, contains sufficient truths to tantalise the mind, but never the truth.

These two, in combination, starve us of truth whilst overloading our waking life with information that has little to do with True Life. We then add our own special touch to this fiasco by wanting to own this confusion as our own. I want my part in it: I want to be a player. We live in a cave of desires where where we can only see our own images as true and other people's beliefs as lies. The separated ego has its want and goes to war. Then we can fight each other over imbecilic notions of right and wrong. By focussing on the right and the wrong of things we miss the Truth that is not possessed by either pole. The truth will not be found in the North, nor in the South; such argueing is folly. You will not find it in the media, nor in mouths of politician.

Perhaps the farmer may see more of it than the financier; the less learned more that most of the intelligentsia . Perhaps....? Mostly our human society begs for knowledge to improve our lives. It gives rise to the attraction of knowledge and greed. We then fall foul of false promises, like that of the billionaire who wants to share his get rich quickly secrets in a self-help book for workers on the minimum wage. The book will be found to full of cliches about the ethics of earning a crust. You may be allowed a bite of the crust, but never will you own the loaf: You will never be allowed to join the Old Boys' Club. You will never be part of the Trust Fund Kids who only share the unspoken lies with each other.

Our most fundamental error is the belief that things are absolutely as we perceive them.

In True Authority there is no oppression.

"Who is telling the truth"? Only YOU know.

The self and the Soul

I haven't posted for a while. This morning, as I was musing on the relationship (or not) between self and Soul, I felt to share this with you. The first paragraph defines it all, so bear with me:

As long as the self separates itself, by positing itself as a subjective centre from which it identifies objects as phenomena, it is bound by this experience to identification with this separate subject-object experience.  Freedom from this identification comes only from the abandonment of this false relationship by allowing a true relationship to occur that is free of the interference of an illusionary self. This occurs only when a completely new volitionally free event takes place. An event that requires the deepest level of allowing, free from a self directed outcome. One then lives and thinks from a unified and universal place that has no centre that we can call a  separate self. There is no longer a volitional interference in the unfolding of life: simply a connection that is expanded from the Soul. This is the ending of suffering, because when we live from the Soul there is no longer an object to suffer. The objectification of the self, as a disconnected subject, is our very suffering. This identification of a separate self, as a subject of experience, produces an object, distinct and discrete from other objects and is the seed of all misery. If this is understood, then it can be further understood that there is no separate one to suffer.

If this is true, then the question arises as to the nature of Self-awareness itself. This requires an understanding of the above paragraph and then one can say that, once this is understood, the self (spelt with a little 's') is the separated identification in a subject-object relationship and the Self (spelt with a capital 'S') is the experience in true connection: that is to say, the Soul.

Therefore, with this being known, one can also say that, in Self-awareness (one's innermost experience of being) there is only room for one type of awareness, the awareness of True Self or Essence. The locus of Self-awareness is Space. This is the province of the Soul, a locus whose centre is everywhere and circumference is infinite. This Self is experienced as unconditioned  and completely free of the little self. Take the shining sun as an example to complete this understanding:

The sun in the sky shines its light equally on all. There is no discrimination as to where the rays put forth their warming light. There is no selfishness in its emanating glory. This is what is meant by lack of self. 

What Is Our Evolution?

 

This blog presents not a simple discourse to entertain the mind. It is not 'philosophical' in the sense that it is speculative about the nature of being as further entertainment in the vastness of the internet, but rather, it posits a way of living that brings us closer to our essence. It does not ask simply, "What is it all about?"; it asks, "How do I need to be, in order to be saved?". If you do not like the idea of salvation and that word caused a reaction, then you do not yet recognise our human plight and, further, there will be no relationship with what is presented. But dear reader, if you continue to read, holding the state of humanity in your heart, there may emerge, firstly such a notion, then a feeling and finally a knowing, that we do indeed need to save ourselves from our self-imposed suffering. We have become so comfortable with suffering that it has lulled us to sleep. The truth is that a desire to reawaken to our true nature shines under the cover of arrogance towards our universal being of love. For many who are willing to look, still there is a desire to remain 'objective' under the so-called clarity of thought, rather than undergo the experience of the relationship with the infinite that requires the greatest of subjectivity. We have become a society of the intellect which looks down upon the community of feeling with distain. Our representative thinkers and philosophers, the elite of the academic world, present a version of reality that exists only in the separation of ideas. This comes with the notion of detachment, but this is a false detachment because it seeks refuge (and therefore comfort) in the mind. Such a safe position will never encounter the real vicissitudes of life which may open the heart to freedom from the thought-dominated known. The True Known, to such minds, is unknown. Engagement in a life of visible emotions brings no less comfort. Suffering in comfort remains suffering nonetheless.

There is no risk for the thinker here. I do not ask you to cloud the clarity of your thought with religious beliefs, and idealistic philosophy, but stay the course of thinking, only this time with an openness of heart that surpasses all need for belief and ideation. We are all called upon to release ourselves from the grip of conforming images to see the nature of that light that gives all such images their capacity to be.

This call to awakening is not about the extinction of the ego or any real part of you. This very life is for finding what you have lost long ago. It is not about losing something. In this finding of what you have lost, there is simply the dissolution of what is not real, seen from the standpoint of having found your true perspective. This perspective is outlined and developed in the Ageless Wisdom of our past, presented now through one who has had the privilege of knowing another further along the path of our return. This other One will appear as these blogs expand what is available to us all.