Urban Guru Cafe

gilbert says:

Well, here is a NEW one. These comment pages are for genuine questions and insights.
Share what you have. Let’s not let this turn into a Raggle Taggle Gypsy tug of war.
The EGO does not exist. Full Stop.

Rate it!   0

Karl says:

Thank you John and Areti.

My précy of today’s discussion is this:
______________________________________

Identity (false identity) is only a creation of the Mind.

Mind doesn’t understand ‘This’… because it only works in Duality.

Feelings are created by Mind.

It’s not what happens to you… but how you deal(feel) with what happens to you.

“Life goes on the same”… because it always did!

Before enlightenment… chop wood and carry water!

After enlightenment… ditto

Can’t remember who said… ‘The film is already in the can’
Karl

Rate it!   0

milton says:

God bless John Wheeler. How can you get any more direct?

What exactly does “Full Stop” mean?

If we can’t have any hints about phase 2 of UGC, how about just a couple of pointers? By the way, some of us may not have much of a mind to blow after Phase One.

Gilbert, you put Steve and Cameron to shame, but I’m still wearing my hockey helmet.

Rate it!   0

Robin says:

Thank you Gilbert and Areti for having another podcast with John.

He is so clear regarding the fact that “anyone” can see THIS through their own direct experience. It is not for the “chosen few”. How can it be when you ALREADY are what you seek?

Awesome!

Rate it!   0

Sara says:

WOW! John Wheeler gets right to the point. Thanks for sharing this with us.

Rate it!   0

gilbert says:

NO ONE KNOWS what will happen next. If you imagine that you are one step ahead of everyone else, you are dreaming.

Rate it!   0

Christok says:

John’s message is clear….find out who or what this ‘me’ is. find out what your true identity is. The direct looking in your present experience will reveal who/what you truly are.

I’m a relative newcomer to this non-duality and apart from a few glimpses into the truths being pointed to…I just don’t get it! If, through this looking, I discover that there really is no one here…what happens to all the relationships in my life? Do I stop caring for my children? Does that connection then become meaningless? What happens to the history that I share with them as well brothers, sisters, mother and father etc? Does this ‘me’, this life I’ve lived til now suddenly become bogus? What I’m saying is that I am fearful that my children will fail to have a real relationship with their father and I with them.

Does the abiding in the space like awareness mean detachment from loved ones?

Chris

Rate it!   0

Robin says:

Gilbert,

You are definitely one entertaining, controversial, innovative and informative NO ONE! The fun and pointing never stop! P.S. Not fair threatening that there may not be an Urban Guru Cafe Phase II…

Rate it!   0

gilbert says:

It was less than two weeks ago I heard Bob in his opening talk say: “There is no transmission – that is just a story” – and further on: “There is no duality in Non Duality”

I would say that what is necessary is to be ‘pointed’ to our true nature – a seeming arresting of the minds habit of looking ‘out there’ or an arresting of being consumed by concepts – and so a natural opening to what IS reveals itself. This can happen at any moment. Right NOW is the best time – the ONLY time.
The arresting in-formation can be from a book, the spoken word or even something as simple as an unexpected birds song. Being with someone like Bob tends to bring a sense of being on the razors edge – you are there to HEAR something – that ‘Something’ cuts through the minds habitual veil so long as our ‘old ideas’ are dropped.
Recognition happens. Yet cognition is always present.
There are NO pre-requisites for BEING what you ARE.
There is no becoming whatsoever.
There is NO me or ego.
Life goes on more or less exactly the same.
NO EVENT takes place.
NO EVENT EVER took place.
Nothing is created and nothing is destroyed.
What you are trying to realize is already present.
It is like trying to discover empty space by looking at objects.
All objects are an appearance only.
They may seem very solid and real.
Reality is THAT which does not change.
There is no ME to find or see.
But this MUST be discovered in a most intimate way for yourself – even though there is no self as such.
It does not mean that the seeming me does not still appear.
Furthermore: To no one in particular………..make note of that………
Those who pretend to have no ‘me’ and play a holier than thou game are deluded souls.
Spirituality is one of the most pretentious games. Most aspirants of popular gurus turn my stomach with their airs of goody goody two shoes. It is so false it is not funny.
All this angel crap and pink haze nonsense is ‘loony bin’ material.
Give me an ordinary person any day. The most difficult ones are the ones who have been filled up with nonsense by some popular guru. The laborious deconstruction of their belief system is exhausting to say the least. Call me arrogant or without compassion or whatever you wish. Spiritual people STINK of self-importance.
Treading on egg shells is not my style. If you can’t face the fact that you are not an entity then please spare me the details of your self-inflicted sufferings.
I am not talking to anyone in particular. These words may stir up some response.
Now, see if you can find a center to it all.
Who is this one that gets offended by mere words?
Is there some sort of spiritual self-image hanging around there somewhere.
It is a pest and it distorts everything that is openly given.
Everything registers cleanly before the mind translates it.
Our problem is that we believe in what the mind is telling us.
Reality is not in thought. Thought appears on or in awareness.
They are NOT your thoughts. They simply appear and disappear.
SEE that. Examine this idea of being a self.
This is totally radical stuff. You won’t read about it in the Sunday Papers.
You don’t need to be in the presence of someone like Bob – but it seems to help a great deal for some. Others can go along to meetings for years and still hang onto a belief in the mind content and the ‘me’. They can even say that they have seen through the me etc. You can stir up a bucket of water for hours – but if you leave it for a few minutes it will return to stillness. The true nature of the mind is emptiness.
The belief in the ‘me’ is the stirring stick. Throw it away and let the mind rest on nothing at all. SEE what happens then.
These pointers are priceless – yet few ever take in seriously – they pass over it and go on their way, seeking another answer – in the mind.
YES, there is a FIRE burning here (as this seeming individual) – it started some years ago – it burnt away all my beliefs and the ‘me’ with it.
All your sacred rituals, methods and practices, robes, beads and trinkets will not protect you from this fire.
It starts with a clear recognition and it will not stop. The resonance comes in brief moments – they get more frequent and then they knit together into WHOLENESS.
There is no going back. THIS IS IT.

Rate it!   0

Robin says:

“Spiritual people STINK of self-importance.”
This STINK may sometimes get so strong, that in fact it serves as a catalyst in looking at one’s true nature. It appears that is what is happening here…can’t stand the SMELL!

Rate it!   0

Ralph says:

John, I enjoyed listening to your talk with Areti. As I was listening to the podcast a question came up.
Are you saying that because you know who you truly are , there is no more identification with psychological suffering ? That there are no repressed thoughts or identification with any beliefs that may still have a hold on you ? In other words, it is definitely’ full stop’ with no hidden beliefs or blind spots .

Rate it!   0

gilbert says:

There is no answer in the mind. Mind is time.
Mind will simply ‘continue’ to ‘appear’ as an unfolding fractal pattern.
The pattern is already SET. A pattern is a repetition is it not?
The kitchen tablecloth has a pattern design on it. It, the pattern, repeats itself.
These thoughts appear and disappear in ‘time’ – a seeming movement of this ‘thing’ called time. It is ONE pattern. The seeming individual patterns within the ONE Pattern are nothing but ‘details’ of this SINGULAR Pattern – the APPEARANCE. A FRACTAL SET. FIND where it is not moving and SEE that none of it is moving. REALITY is OBVIOUS. How have you missed it for ‘so long’?
Each day is similar to the last, yet each day and each moment is unique. You cannot separate the day from the moment because they are ONE and the SAME.
IT is REAL as THIS immediacy. What the mind translates it into is just the pattern. Have you EVER had an original thought? TRULY? Did you EVER DO anything original? Have you found ‘The HEART SUTRA’ in your OWN HEART?
Or is it ‘out there’ somewhere? Or does the Buddha have it in the realms of imagination? The word Buddha simply means AWAKE.
Are you not AWAKE right NOW?
No one KNOWS what will unfold in this pattern called time. Fortunes are made and lost on predictions on HOW the patterns will behave. No one truly KNOWS what will happen next. There is no one separate from THAT – What IS. That which appears is the change-ful. You are not that changing pattern and you are not in time.
If you keep believing that you are in time, then ‘you’ will remain as a belief. A belief is NOT the ACTUAL.
This is why we say Start with the ONLY fact you can be absolutely certain of. The Fact of your OWN BEING.
In staying with this fact, consciously, everything is recognized as an appearance, as a flowing RIVER of phenomenal seeming ‘events’ in ‘time’. Yet the concept of time is cut through by the very stability of that which never changes.
What you are is reality. All the ‘reasoning’, all the explanations, all the stories, all the seeming separate atoms of the universe are nothing but an appearance.
Go to the CORE of you own BEING and let go of all the WHY’s and WHERE-for’s. BE what you ARE. You are not a thought.
There is NO answer in the mind.

If I had to perform this brain surgery on the same ‘person’ every day, there wouldn’t be much brain left by NOW.

Rate it!   0

gilbert says:

John may come to these pages and answer some of the questions. In the ‘meantime’ I will keep the ball rolling.
Simply get this clear for yourself. No one is going to believe what you say.
Once you are stable, then you can pull them out of it. If you TRY before you are stable, then the struggle may drag you back into the pattern. Do not be a missionary.
They will try to destroy you. It is the easiest way to lose all your friends.
Let the light shine – but don’t contrive to SAVE anyone. SAVE yourself first, then intelligence will ACT. It is the natural state. It will dissolve all resistance.

Rate it!   0

Ralph says:

I know what you are saying zibago. What to do ?
but your friend was correct when she said you are trying to convince me…. wasn’t she ? It appears that we all go through many gurus before we end up with only one guru (the guru within) ….. so may I suggest to just let it be and when and if she is ready, she will hear it but ‘in truth’ there is ‘no other’ so not to worry, right ? . My recommendation is just be available to be ‘present’ with anyone who wants to hear it. It is a beautiful experience when you are present with someone who is ready to hear it but unfortunately there are very few takers but you know where they are coming from because you were ‘stuck’ there for many many years yourself, right ?

So… C’est la vie ! it is what it is.

Rate it!   0

peggy says:

Gilbert,

Do thoughts play a part at all in what happens in the appearance? For instant, a person commits a crime & they say, ‘I couldn’t get the thought out of my mind” so I went ahead and robbed the bank or molested someone or whatever….

It seems as if most if not all actions start with a thought?

I guess I’m wondering if I never have another thought, will I still get up everyday & brush my teeth, make breakfast, go to work…etc. I personally think it would be bliss to never think again but would I then just be a vegetable?

I’ve done the “pause the thought thing” but that last about a nanosecond for me.

Rate it!   0

Randall Friend says:

Peggy,

“I have a thought” is the first illusion, the platform from which the other illusions grow. No one has a thought, no one is thinking, no one is pausing thought. Thoughts appear in the impersonal space called “I AM”. This primacy of KNOWING is not-two.

Thought is simply another appearance – sensation witnessed within the mirror of Self. Thought doesn’t need to stop, although if that false “ME” is seen to be false, compulsive thought dies a natural death as there is obviously no reference point for it. It is almost entirely referencing that false ME.

The “I” that has a thought is just MORE thought. The “I” that seems to be the body-mind, the DOER of thought, is itself nothing but a thought-based identification. If that thought pauses, comes and goes, the clear presence of I-AM-ness remains unaffected.

What stands in the way of this understanding? Nothing at all. Trying to figure it all out is the intellect hard at work, under the most basic premise that YOU ARE the intellect. It simply cannot be figured out in the mind. Continuing to do so is continuing to identify with the intellect. “I must figure it out.”

Figuring it out means the falling away of the individual who may figure it out. That does not come due to analysis. That is already fully present and only seemingly obscured due to the illusion that it NEEDS to be figured out, that something needs to happen, to change, to become better.

You are not the mind, not the intellect, not the thinker.

What you are – obviously – is aware of the passing intellect, while you remain. You are not thinking, seeking, struggling, confused, awake or asleep, unenlightened or enlightened…

You just ARE – every “thing” is appearance IN you. This isn’t figured out, this is simply recognized as ALREADY the case.

Rate it!   0

John Wheeler says:

Ralph wrote:

“John, I enjoyed listening to your talk with Areti. As I was listening to the podcast a question came up. Are you saying that because you know who you truly are , there is no more identification with psychological suffering ? That there are no repressed thoughts or identification with any beliefs that may still have a hold on you ? In other words, it is definitely’ full stop’ with no hidden beliefs or blind spots.”

Hi, Ralph,

This is somewhat looking at the wrong end of the equation in my view. Here’s my take on it ….

Thoughts and beliefs are not the problem, per se, and do not constitute suffering as I am speaking about it here. What I am talking about is the erroneous sense of being something that one is not (the limited defective person standing apart from reality). That notion, if left unexamined, becomes the root of all other thoughts and concepts related to that imaginary reference point. Another way to describe this would be: the conceptual self and all the self-centered concepts the mind has created to define that presumed entity. The unquestioned identification with that conceptualizing results in overlooking our actual being or nature. This is what I am referring to as “suffering”. This means all of the seeking, doubts, anxiety and dis-ease that stem from the unexamined belief in the reality of the self-center and our identity as that.

When the matter of identity is resolved, the belief, fixation and/or identification is no longer going into the concepts and so the seeking, suffering and doubt is conclusively addressed. You are what you are, not what the mind was defining you to be. And all is clear from that perspective. Thoughts, feelings, beliefs, etc., will appear but they are not a problem, as they are no longer referred to a fictitious entity that was equated with our self. Like everything else in life, the appearances move through and resolve themselves naturally according to circumstances.

Thoughts, feelings, and experiences are no more “yours” than the clouds, winds and rain in the sky. No one says “my clouds”, “my rain”, etc. Nor does anyone talk about repressed or unexamined winds, rain and clouds, etc. That would be a case of misplaced personalization! But the body, emotions, thoughts, etc., are as much a natural expression as any other display of nature. You do not have to “do” anything with natural phenomena to be what you are. Nor do you have to “do” anything with the body-mind to be what you are.

And, of course, this has nothing to do with “living the teaching”, “embodying it”, “bringing it to the heart” or whatever. Those approaches fall to pieces the moment it becomes clear there is no entity present to do such things. Such notions make an implicit reference to the presumed separate person or entity, so they keep the ignorance in spin by leaving the root unexamined.

This is not so much about getting rid of or processing beliefs, blind spots or repressed material, etc. That will generally result in an interminable process that leaves the root issue unaddressed. Instead, it is the dissolution of the assumption that there is anyone present to have such things. In other words, the habit of referencing the content to “me” is what is resolved. That is the freedom, and it is entirely independent of the nature of the content. That is why the freedom is never progressive or achieved by “someone” in time. This certainly has nothing to do with dissolving conditioning, as is popularly assumed. It is more of deep knowing that the person having the problem never existed in the first place.

That is all just one end of the stick, so to speak. On the positive side is the fact of your natural state or true condition, which is that ever-present clarity, vividness, and fullness that is already perfect as is. It is utterly unconditioned and not determine by the appearances at all.

The livingness goes on from a position where all is settled and at ease. That is not a result of some reconfiguration of the appearance, but a clear appreciation of the nature of what is here and now.

Love,
John

Rate it!   0

gilbert says:

That is all mind stuff and counter to the directive. There is NO ONE to pause a thought but thought can be paused very easily. That indicates in NO UNCERTAIN WAY that there is an intelligence present. The habit of of believing that ‘I am someone’ which appears to assert itself with all these diversions away from the simplicity of simple being – the simple act of seeing – knowing.
Naked awareness does not need to make any excuses to protect itself.
It is the ‘me’, a mere belief, that appears as a mind dividing itself endlessly, as an attachment to believed in thoughts as IF they, along with the ‘me’, had some substance.
This conflict is suffering. Drop the story about suffering and see what happens.
The ‘I’ has NO POWER whatsoever – it cannot pause a thought because it itself is a thought.
Right here, we are getting to the crux of the matter.
The mind will do its best to avoid the naked truth. It will appear to embellish this moment with every kind of proliferating conceptual postulations.
Pause it and SEE.
If for some ‘reason’ there is an unwillingness there to ‘do’ this, then what can be done to help you? This is no game for the mind. It is total liberation from the belief in being an ‘entity’. There is no room for any weakness in this. The ‘meek inherit the Earth’.
That means the believed in ‘me’ remains bound to the body identification and perishes with the body. If you BELIEVE that this is your destiny then so be it. It is a dream only. A dream is real in its immediacy but it is a fleeting appearance.
Wakefulness is not touched by the dream or the ‘me’.
This is ‘the Gateway’ out of suffering – but the courage MUST be found in one’s true nature – not in the mind. The mind can appear to confirm or deny ‘something’ and it is ALL in the appearance of ‘things’. You can’t trick yourself out of the delusions of the mind – although thousands upon thousand try every day – through meditation and laborious practices that DON’T work. It is a rude awakening – so to speak. Yet the natural state is ever-present. DO you have a choice?

Rate it!   0

milton says:

Gilbert: Why the self-righteous stance towards the false gurus? Are they any more false than the rest of appearance? Whose stomach is turned, given there is no “you” to react? The fragrance of self-importance seems to creep into diatribes against the spirituality game. Sometimes it seems that you display diamonds on a bed of garbage. Maybe it’s just “me.” Don’t worry, I have my hockey helmet on, and I know that there is no “you” to offend anyway.

Ralph: I agree with you that mixing the relative and absolute is confusing. One thing I liked about John’s podcast was that it was evident that “time and effort” preceded his eventual awakening to his true nature, although from the absolute standpoint nothing ever happened, and he was always “there.” I don’t understand what you mean by the “validity of these beliefs that appear to have a strong hold on the so-called self.” Do you simply mean acknowledgment that the beliefs are there? I would seem that once one “gets to the root of this” the battle would be over because there would be no one to carry on the battle.

Rate it!   0

John Wheeler says:

Ralph,

A few comments in line….

R: Hi John, thanks for your response. Let me try to explain how it is seen from over here. Just another point of view.

J: Yes. All points of view! Nothing of what is basic and true is being contradicted at any time. You are present and aware. Full stop. Thou art that, your mind is the Buddha, etc. Beyond that, it gets down to how much continued interest one is willing to give to the contrary concept that you exist as some separation person apart from the immediacy of what is clear and present.

R: In truth there is no ‘me’ or ‘other’. So there is no problem. Full stop.

J: Yes. But it appears that perhaps you are not fully prepared to follow your own advice! A “full stop, but….” is not really a full stop. I will attempt to clarify this in my comments below.

R: Now from the absolute view you make your point very clear but from the relative view which is where the question was asked it is very unclear.

J: These are all conceptual divisions created by the mind. The minute you begin following the concepts it gives the appearance of things being murky and unclear, no doubt.

R: The way I see it is that the truth of who you are includes the human aspect of ‘what is’. This is what is causing the suffering, the frustration, etc…

J: This is mis-diagnosing the issue, which is why the core remains unresolved. The body-mind appearance is rather benign and non-problematic. As Nisargadatta once said, “What do you expect from a mere body-mind?”. The real issue is the false concept of self and the subsequent association of the body-mind-personality with that concept. In all that conceptualization, you overlook the simple truth that you have never been a person in bondage in the first place. Hunting through the body-mind appearance searching for hidden problems and unresolved material is not going to clarify things. This is not to deny the relative value of medical treatment or psychological support, etc. Just don’t mix up levels of discourse here.

R: To DENY this is what keeps the so-called separate self in bondage.

J: This is not true at all, and is again a mis-diagnosis of the problem, in my view. The assumption of the existence of the separate self IS the apparent bondage. If you tackle it there, at the root, you will find the problem much more straightforward. If not, the root of the issue will go unexamined, the identification with the body-mind will thrive, and you will find yourself trying to alter, modify or correct appearances in an attempt to fix something the mind has determined to be wrong according to some concept.

R: So even though one gets to the root of this, the battle is not over because their appears to still be ‘beliefs’ that keep the separate self in place.

J: This is getting the problem backwards and will not work. Believe me, after a few decades of trying this, I learned through experience. What keeps the self-centered beliefs “in place” is the belief in the self-center concept. This is what I call the lynch pin. The separate self concept is the CAUSE of the other beliefs or concepts. The resulting concepts are the EFFECTS or SYMPTOMS. My advice is to look at the cause. Tackle the root, rather than trimming the leaves.

R: I am not speaking of ‘fixing’ or ‘getting’ or ‘becoming’ but instead to be ‘present’ in the face of those hidden uncomfortable beliefs (thoughts) if and when they arise.. They must be seen for what they truly are, just ‘thoughts believed’. This takes COURAGE.

J: For whom? This gives much fodder for the separate self concept and its sense of its own importance. I think you can see the ego identity is still active here. There is still an assumption of someone in bondage in this view.

R: All is included in what is including the belief in the separate self . Investigate and see if it is true. Honesty and courage are necessary to see the validity of these beliefs that appear to have a strong hold on the so-called separate self.

J: Instead of all this drama for the separate self, just have a straight look to see if it is even present. In general, I agree with your intent here. All I am suggesting is to cut to the chase and thresh out this entity. If it is NOT, then who is even present to have the problem. Then it is truly full stop.

R: I agree with what you are saying but I feel that there is more to it than ‘just seeing’ and ‘just knowing’. There is work to be done .

J: Again, for whom? As long as the notion of separation is given belief, there will be an interest in returning to more work, more things to do, etc. See the real implication of the point that you are what you are seeking. Also, see the real implication that the ego is a false assumption, a completely non-existent phantom. Your comments indicate to me that these points are not completely clear or fully understood. Don’t just give lip-service to these points and go back to working on the non-existent entity and its problems! As Ramana Maharshi once said, very aptly, don’t follow the thoughts but see for whom they arise. All problems are for the ego notion. When you look for it, you see it is NOT. Then are no problems, because there is no one to have any problems. This is the real spirit and intent of the inquiry, in my view.

R: ‘Time and effort’ is necessary to see that ‘time and effort’ is what stands in the way of true seeing.

J: Not really true. This is not about true seeing per se, but rather being what you are. Anyone can see for themselves that “time” and “effort” bear no relation to being your present self. No amount of time will bring any closer to what is present. Same with effort. I would agree with you in the sense that seeing the immediacy or undeniable facts being pointed to, the concepts of “time” and “effort” naturally fall away. But why introduce the false concepts as prerequisites for seeing their falseness?

R: Anyway, this is how it is seen from over here.

J: I appreciate your perspective and in many ways see what you are getting at. The only issue I see is that if we emphasize too much the work, courage, time, effort, etc., which are all purely conceptual, it is apt to cause a diversion away from the real point being made. The basic point of non-duality is that here and now, you are THAT. Said another way: there has never been a separation at any time. Why not take this crisply as is from the start and see it for yourself? That is what allows the “full stop” and the direct re-cognition that there is nothing wrong, now or ever. It is not an issue of tinkering with the body-mind appearance and drumming up notions of work, effort, time, courage.

As I said, I agree with the intent of much of what you are getting at, but I am simply adding some clarifying points based on my experience in looking into this over the years. Don’t settle for a “full stop, but …” approach. Instead, follow the points to their full conclusion.

Love,
John

Rate it!   0

Ralph says:

Hi Milton,

What I am saying is that not only do we need to acknowledge ‘beliefs’ but more importantly come face to face with the ones that we ‘repress’ when they show their face. What keeps us separate is our beliefs. They must be seen as false in order to be free from them. I am speaking of hidden beliefs that we believe are true and ‘suppress’ them because the pain of facing them is too much to bear and thus keeps the belief alive . This is an ongoing journey because there is unfinished business to do and perhaps this is why the dream is still ongoing even after one awakens to the truth. In a way you can say that consciousness wants to embrace all of itself to itself. This is where you find true freedom. Perhaps consciousness is also playing the part of a ‘separate person’, separate from itself and it recognizes itself whenever there is a aha ! moment .

Also is it possible that the absolute and the relative are both included in ‘what is’ ?
Why do we separate the two ? ….. just wondering.

Rate it!   0

gilbert says:

Many ‘people’ believe that they have attained a certain amount of ‘enlightenment’ – BUT they still get offended by words.
If words can offend you, then the one saying the words is doing you a favor, no?
To live in a deluded state of mind, believing that ‘I am enlightened’ is a most absurd way to be.
There are 15,000 perceivable different shades of gray. White is white. Black is Black.
The White, the Black and the 15,000 shades of gray ‘in between’ all REGISTER equally in pure cognition – ‘long before’ any idea of being a ‘person’ turns up.
Many ‘people’ are called to serve a ‘higher power’ as priests, ministers, teachers and whatever. A great number of them get corrupted by that same imaginary power.
A little temptation comes along and they take the bait. Now they are in a real pickle. They have to sidestep their own shortcomings and attempt to preserve the IMAGE of being pure. This inner turmoil ‘creates’ a torment in the psyche and all manner of obscene ‘scenes’ unfold.
There is only one Power – one Presence – one reality – one moment.
The conceptual notion of personal power is nothing but ego. Yet ego does not exist. If we get to the source of all ‘our troubles’, we find a ‘foot print’, a ghost of the ‘me’ – and yet it does not exist.
‘We’ MUST SEE that it does not exist. You may imagine that there is plenty of time to ‘sort this out’. A Buddhist will tell you it will take a thousand life times.
That is crap. And you know it is. There is ONLY ONE MOMENT and THIS is IT. You can sort it out right here and right NOW-NOW-NOW-NOW.
There is NO other TIME than right NOW.

Just because words are expressed in a blunt and frank manner, does not mean that there is any anger within them.
Loving and patient expressions may work efficiently and it may just be ‘what the doctor ordered’. In my experience it rarely works, if at all – it just keeps the ‘patient’ wanting more lovely images to play with in their mind.
A sign post does not change its clear and brief message to suit the traveler. It just points (this way) and says “London” (or whatever).
It does not point and say, “if you do such and such, sit down and meditate for two hours every day and also do such and such, then take a few steps, sit down again and contemplate the sign post and then try and go down deep into the truth” etc. etc.
Direct pointing is ALWAYS pointing in the immediacy at THIS immediate moment just as it is. NO SEPARATION.
What we are saying here is that you DON’T have to take any steps in any direction. What you SEEK you already ARE.
The absurd thing is that ‘people’ hear that and then go back into the mind seeking another answer, because ‘this one’ is too brief and too direct.
It is too confronting to the belief system. Well, there is no way around it my dear one. You had better get used to it.
The SEEKING is the problem. OK…so where does that leave you?
RIGHT HERE, RIGHT NOW – IN this same MOMENT that all of your favorite gurus and sages had their famous realization within.
IT IS the SAME moment. This moment is not full of beliefs – it is clear and empty. It is not divided into day and night or any duality at all.
A belief NEVER separates ANYTHING except as ever-more conceptual postulations. That is all in the mind. It only seemingly separates. WHY give it any credence at all? SO long as you keep believing that a belief has some power it will evade detection. It is ALL in the mind and when you look for the mind you cannot find one.
THIS should indicate something exceedingly profound.
What is so common and it seems that everyone repeatedly sidesteps any opportunity to LOOK at it, is this:
As soon as ‘you’ take the position or posture of being ‘someone’ trying to achieve ‘something’ then ‘you’ have already entered into a paradox that cannot be resolved.
NO seeker EVER finds anything it is looking for. It is all illusions of the mind.
Can that believed in ‘person’ ever BECOME nothing in order to realize its own nothing-ness? – NO, there is NO ‘becoming’.
Isn’t this very clearly obvious right NOW – without a thought about such ‘things’? Have a look. Can you truly find any of the ‘things’ right NOW? – NO you cannot and there is a complete KNOWING ‘here’ that you can’t find them – whatever you ‘think’ you find is nothing but ephemeral appearances in the mind. You cannot grasp a single one of them.

There is no way around this? ‘You’ can try every angle and tread every path that there appears to be and make every possible effort and it will achieve NOTHING.
How THICK is the skin of this believed in ME?
It has no substance whatsoever.
It ONLY seems to be a problem because it is constantly referred to from a habit of doing so.
The one who OWNS the habit is a fictional character.
‘You’ as that believed in ‘person’ have NO GROUND to stand on – its foundations are ephemeral notions and NOTHING more than that.
A Zen Master can beat you with a bamboo stick until you are black and blue or until you drop dead and it will achieve NOTHING whatsoever.
Are you NOT awake right NOW?
It cannot be denied.
That wakefulness is what you are seeking and it is ALREADY present.
It is naked and unadorned.
WHO has a problem in trying to REALIZE that wakefulness?
It is a ‘me’ and it can NEVER realize anything at all, let alone realize the natural wakefulness that is ALREADY present.
It is realizing itself just as it is right NOW – it can’t be any different than as it IS.
WHO is it that wants to change it into some pre-conceived notion? Useless – totally useless – but the ‘trying to’ and the recognition of its uselessness can tell you in ONE INSTANT what you need to know. ‘People’ have meditated for 20-30 years and the seeking just gets set into a repeating pattern of SEEKING. The SEEKER is the problem. Don’t you SEE that?
Simple communication is all that is necessary. But the one who truly ‘hears’ is rare and YET, everyone has a RIGHT to hear it.
Gurus and teachers who promote this bloody image of being ‘enlightened’ are a down right PEST for so-called humanity.
There is NO BECOMING. TIME does not exist. It is a concept. Has your ‘immediacy of being’ EVER been outside of this moment? NO.
IMPOSSIBLE.
OPEN you mind and LOOK straight into its MIRROR-like nature.
SEE that EVERYTHING is an appearance in it, including that body and every conceivable appearance in that mind.
You are prior to it ALL.
THIS is absolutely obvious in the clear space of pure cognition. YOU ARE NOT ESTRANGED FROM THIS pure cognition.
Stop trying to be the one who realizes THIS. It is already happening, with or without ‘you’.

Rate it!   0

Sergio says:

Gilbert´s crystal clear expression ………………….. no need to seek anymore.

And, no buts, my friends

Thanks to “him” .

Rate it!   0

John Wheeler says:

Ralph,

One key point worth considering … This was something that Sailor Bob pointed out to me, which helped immensely. The troubling beliefs all tend to revolve around the separate “me” notion. Once the “me” idea is in spin, there are endless other beliefs and concepts that the mind can (and has) attached to that. This gives us a vital clue to the source and root of any and all possible self-referring beliefs — the belief in the separate self itself. If you think of the self-notion as the cause and the other self-referencing concepts as the effects of that cause, this can simplify things quite a bit.

Here’s how it works. Say, I have some beliefs, such as:

- I am not good enough.
- I am not free.
- People don’t like me.

… or whatever the concepts might be.

They all hang on the presumed validity of the “I” concept. All the beliefs are, in fact, only qualifications or descriptions of the “I”. If we verify that the entity is entirely fictional, that renders the other concepts null and void out of the starting gate. There is no one to whom they apply!

What I found eventually was that ALL of the questions, doubts an problems (ALL of them!) eventually reduce to this same formula. In other words, all problems are for and about the “me” notion. None of them are about you, that is your real being. Your natural state of being, awareness, presence, no thingness, or whatever you with to call it, is innately unconditioned and free from the get go. The troubles are all conceptual and based on the “me” concept, not your actual nature.

Bob Adamson had mentioned to me once something to the effect — without the cause, can you have the effects? He had also indicated to me that if the “me” idea was seen (really seen) as entirely fictional, ALL of the problems, questions and doubts would be resolved immediately in that seeing. I did not actually see this at the time, or let us say that I had no evidence that it might be true. It did sound interesting, though. I had done various types of inner work over the years and somehow things never did seemed to be fully resolved. Now I see that the “I” belief was not really exposed.

How do I know this was the case? Because “I” was still seeking enlightenment, working on “my” beliefs, doing “my” inner work, etc. That is just like people talking about “their” awakening or liberation or whatever. It is still a bunch of self-centered concepts. This is why the seeking, suffering, and doubts still go on, however many gurus you follow, events you attend and so-called awakenings you may have.

So, seeing this, I took the suggestion to heart and had a really good look at this stuff to absolutely nail down the reality of the “I” entity. I never did find it (still haven’t!). Then I realized that all my life-long problems were for a character that had never existed. Nothing was really acheived at all, but the belief which was the root of the suffering crumbled away with a bit of looking. Mark my words! A BIT of looking! All my years of struggle, meditation, processing, longing, reading, pondering, etc. were not as effective as a BIT of looking at the real root of the issue. You might say that I had been looking in the wrong direction or at least not seeing the real root of the problem.

Even my seeking for enlightenment, my “practice”, my meditation, etc. was all still in reference to the assumed “I”. Bob’s clear and pointed encouragement exposed the whole production fully. My mind was not able or willing to any longer hold on to the what ifs, buts, maybes and other protests spun up in the concepts. And looking in this way did NOT leave a residue of beliefs and issues to deal with at all. This is very contrary to what “common sense” (i.e., the mind’s assumption) might lead us to believe.

This reminds me of a Nisargadatta statement: All your problems are for the person you take yourself to be, but there is no such person.

So if there is no person (no conceptual reference point falsely taken as “me”), then who is present to have the problem? Who is present to have residual issues, etc.? Even if there were such issues, they wouldn’t be “yours” anyhow. Does the non-dual reality have “issues”. Does the immaculate and unconditioned nature that you ARE have issues? NO! Only the fictitious entity has issues! If the entity is NOT, who has them? Etc.

This is how it worked for me (if there ever was a me!).

Love,
John

Rate it!   0

Robin says:

Wow, can it possibly be any clearer? Thank you Gilbert and John for expressing THIS as purely as seems possible using words…This kind of pointing allows a “space” where looking is “permitted” and there is not one bit of “I have this and you don’t…” It is remarkable!

Rate it!   0

Ste Gunn says:

“Stop trying to be the one who realizes THIS.”

What a clear statement. I see now that that is exactly what I’ve been trying to do, but also there is a fear here that if I stop trying to control myself or if I just be me then I might not like what I could become, not that I’m happy with the way I am now but it seems it’s better the devil you know. I feel I need faith in THIS before I can really stop trying (I know intellectually it’s really pretending) to control myself, I need to know it’ll be ok for me and others. I fear that perhaps I’ll be a total **** and not the partial one I seem to think I am now.

What a crock, I end up writing all this nonsense starting with a problem and then realising it’s all rubbish. I feel as if I know the answers to the ‘problems’ but am not able to do anything about it, like I’ve found the light switch but am unwilling to turn on the lights for fear of what I might find (or not find) lurking in the dark. Perhaps the light is already on and I’m just afraid to open my eyes and see there’s no me.

Rate it!   0

milton says:

Randall: Thanks for the insight into the guru bashing. It is not that I am offended, because I agree that the spirituality game leads nowhere, however, the bashing sometimes seems irrelevant or to take away from Gilbert’s usually crystal clear, focused message, it is like preaching to the choir so to speak.

Ralph: I have those “repressed beliefs” continue to pop up and agree that denying them makes thing worse. Now I don’t deny or wrestle with them but just see them as another appearance not necessarily even mine. And I agree the relative and absolute are certainly one(from a trancendant point of view of course).

UGC rock on!

Rate it!   0

Mike in SF says:

John, thanks for doing the interviews here and also for responding to questions. I’m sure many are benefiting. I’m very much enjoying your answers. And thanks to Ralph and others for participating.

Mike

Rate it!   0

John Wheeler says:

Milton: Any tips on getting beyond an intellectual understanding of the falsehood of “me”? Although I seem to understand what you say, I still act like I believe I am a mind/body, and experience depression and anxiety related to threats to the mind/body. Does reflection or meditation on the nonexistence of the “me” help, or is it just listening to pointers, or just not worry about it? I get backed into a corner with myself; do not seek, do not meditate, just be but do not try to just be, stay in pure naked awareness but don’t try to stay in pure naked awareness, you are already there anyway, there is nothing to do: BUT WHY DO I CONTINUE TO THINK THERE IS SOMETHING TO DO?

John: Let’s tackle some of these points …

M: Any tips on getting beyond an intellectual understanding of the falsehood of “me”?

John: Do not forget, the most important part of the equation is clarifying who and what you are. (In other words, seeing or recognizing your natural state or real being as it is.) The “me” or lack of “me” is a secondary issue, really. Because the real nature of who we are is not seen as it is (i.e., overlooked), we have tended to seek the identity in the concepts. The mind has provided a conceptual image of who and what we are. That is the “me” concept. If we try to wrestle with the “me”, we are bound to come up short. I suggest starting with the positive side of the equation. You cannot doubt your own presence, your very being itself. Start by having a look at that. Go by direct experience and have a straight look at the most important fact of your own experience: yourself. The essential message of all the non-dual traditions is that there is a reality and you are that. Note the clear and direct point: you ARE that. This means that here and now, whatever this ultimate reality is, is what you are. There is no attainment, awakening, shift or event implied or needed. There are no steps and stages. This is where most of the popular presentations go astray. They get you so wrapped up in seeking for something you don’t have that you overlook the point that you already are what you are seeking.

M: Although I seem to understand what you say, I still act like I believe I am a mind/body, and experience depression and anxiety related to threats to the mind/body.

John: I assume we are not dealing with legitimate health issues here. It is natural and intelligent for the body/mind to respond to actual threats. That is intelligence in action! I just want to get that one out of the way!

Barring that, when the sense of who and what we are is not clear, there is a tendency to identify our being or abiding nature with something objective. There is nothing wrong with the body/mind. It is a useful appearance at its own level. But to take this sense of being or innate presence (who we are in the deepest sense) and associate that with, or limit it to, some appearance is bound to give trouble. Again, the best way to tackle this is not to struggle with the identification, because the identification is only a symptom, not the cause. So be clear on what your natural being really is. Then the false identity will stand out naturally and be seen for what it is. This is a natural and effortless corollary to recognizing clearly who and what you are. Anytime there is struggle with this stuff, we are probably looking in the wrong direction.

M: Does reflection or meditation on the nonexistence of the “me” help, or is it just listening to pointers, or just not worry about it?

John: Anything may be of some help, but the final issue is: Do you know who you are? That is the essence of it. If that is not clear, nothing that is done or not done will be conclusive. It may have some benefit, primarily if it encourages us to look at who we are. If we don’t get to that, the approaches and meditations, paths and practices will go on indefinitely, at least that was my experience.

M: I get backed into a corner with myself; do not seek, do not meditate, just be but do not try to just be, stay in pure naked awareness but don’t try to stay in pure naked awareness, you are already there anyway, there is nothing to do.

John: All these pointers and pseudo non-dual quotes are not going to help much! They are all assuming that you are a limited person, separate and apart from what is true and real. So the root concept is in full swing. The core point (that you already are that non-dual source) is lost in the shuffle. So it is best to drop all these concepts and pointers and see what you are. It is not a matter of “staying in pure naked awareness”, even. That quote “sounds” good but is really entirely dualistic! It leaves the assumed entity in the game with some task to perform (to stay or not stay in awareness, etc.). So it is putting all the attention into that erroneous sense of self. So it is better to drop all the notions and see your own undeniable being or nature as it is.

M: BUT WHY DO I CONTINUE TO THINK THERE IS SOMETHING TO DO?

John: Because there is! See for yourself what is true. See what your real nature is. In this seeing, the basis of the belief in the concept of the imagined self is resolved. If you assert “there is nothing to do” as a mere concept without the positive truth of who you are being clear, you will run into the dead end you are describing. Even though the concept is that “there is no here to do anything”, etc., in practical experience, we are still giving belief to that assumed separate person and taking that to be a true definition of our self. Just to assert “there is no one here” over and over is ineffective. Even if I get some intellectual appreciation of that notion, I may still have no clue as to who and what I am.

To sum up:

1) Put the emphasis on the positive side of the equation. As Bob Adamson often has said in his meetings, “Start with the one thing you are absolutely sure of: the fact of your own being”. Look directly into this doubtless presence to see, appreciate and know it as it is. It is very simple, because it is the one constant, ever-present fact of experience which can never be doubted at any time!

2) With some sense of that, based on DIRECT experience, it becomes much easier to look at any concept or definition in the mind about who and what we are to see if it is true. How do we do this? Easy! By comparing it against our own DIRECT experience of what has become clear in #1. This will get it off of the intellectual or conceptual level and into direct experience.

3) Avoid looping in “pop” non-duality quotes and platitudes picked up casually in books and meetings. There is no real assurance that these are true or helpful and, many times, are misleading.

The basics of non-duality are clear and straightforward. Keep with the basic few points and SEE THEM FOR YOURSELF.

Rate it!   0

Stephen M says:

Thanks John.

Amazingly clear and simple.

Rate it!   0

dan says:

This whole message is GREAT news. But not for the one who makes a hobby out of seeking.

But the fact that you can make NO MOVE WHATSOEVER in any direction to bring THIS closer is great news!! What joy!

‘here’ there is an odd sense of being in limbo, so to speak. It has been seen beyond ALL doubt that there is no centre here running the show…. no entity, nothing.

However, the recognition of this eternal Cognizing is still somewhat lacking. or is it?

Perhaps the only thing that keeps this sense of lacking, is the sense of lacking itself?

The other side of the coin (the positive angle that john talks about) is somewhat eluding!

Nisargadatta talks of pushing the cart or pulling the cart…. doesn’t matter which one. However, here there is a definite sense that BOTH are needed (although ultimately of course, nothing is needed). I have to be brutally honest here, stick my neck out and say that simply seeing through the entity idea is just not working. Its not the full story. This might not be the case for everyone, but I do agree with John in that seeing that there is no “i” centre is not necessarily gonna cut it.

All that has been proven here is that it is possible to see the false as false, and yet still not be fully clear on what is being pointed to.

Where does that leave ‘me’ ? Well, definitely not CLEAR! Feels like limbo-land.

There’s just absolutely NOTHING here at all! NOTHING!

In fact, it doesn’t even feel that presence or awareness is here. There is not even that! If there is awareness, then it must be in relation to something (the appearance)….. but it has been seen here that EVERYTHING is appearance, and appearance, in turn, is moot. It is quite simply meaningless and unnecessary. But ‘stuff’ is still happening!!! How can it be stopped??!!! It cannot! So, does not awareness arise alongside the appearance?

Is it not closer to say You are Potential for Awareness. Which really is NOTHING. And, of course, in this light, you are potential for everything. So, you are pure potentiality. It just feels like there isn’t anything here at all.

Bob has talked about how, for a while, it takes ‘time’ for this to sink in, or for old habit patterns to subside. I’m wondering if this limbo sensation is something that John and Gilbert et al have experienced, in the appearance of things. Of course, as you have mentioned Gilbert, there is no TIME for this to happen….. but, as far as the story goes isn’t there usually a ‘pretending’ to untie the ropes?

I’m not looking for anything to hang on to, not attempting to pander to the ego (this has been seen through) or to try and find some other ‘fancy’ to engage in to avoid Seeing. So, i’m not asking for a ruthless smackdown! I’m curious as to whether John or Gilbert have any suggestions here? There has been some heavy enquiry going on for the last year here, but this is dying out. Is it best to simply ‘sit with this’?

regards – dan

Rate it!   0

Susana says:

Randall,
Good to hear that you blitzed Gilbert with e mails on an almost daily basis.
Absolved of guilt (for want of a better concept) I am.

Rate it!   0

gilbert says:

SEEING that the ‘Me’ is only a concept is IT. As was pointed quite clearly in the previous program, there is no one that sees that there is no me. Everything appears in the SEEING. There is ONLY ONE seeing happening. The ME can’t see at all. It is just an idea, a thought. How can a thought SEE?
The problem is a repeating one. The ‘you’ that is believed in keeps asserting itself as being the ‘knower’ or the ‘seer’ etc.
If it is truly Seen or recognized, without a concept of being a seer, that the ‘me’ is an appearance, then that cuts through it all. (Cheese of no cheese)
This CANNOT be contrived by the mind - and the mind cannot SEE. The Body cannot see. A dead body has no ability to see or hear, taste or touch.
What is it that animates the BODY? LIFE. That life essence is what you are.
But tha habit of going with what the mind translate and then projects out onto ‘the world’ (inner or outer world) is the sense of separation. It is ALL in the mind.
Awareness contains the mind. Mind is a concept attributed to awareness. There is NO MIND apart from the appearances of thoughts, concepts, memories and states or moods.
Where is the confusion? It is nothing but conflict between thoughts and held onto ideas etc. The one who claims these is a fiction. SEE that in the immediacy of its arising and don’t buy into it. The confusion will dissipate naturally. The pointers are NEVER addressed to a ‘person’. It is the natural intelligence that sees, hears, tastes etc.
What the mind translates from these impressions is ONLY images, appearance. They have NO substance and their ground is emptiness. See that.
It is only the mind that starts adding conditions and a story again – that is where the confusion re-enters. SEE it for what it is.
You can’t see through someone else’s eyes and you can’t just accept ‘beautiful pointers’.
If ‘you’ are dazzled by the beauty of some ‘pointer’ then the pointer has been missed – it has been taken up by the mind.
A ‘pointer’ cuts through the mind stuff and renders that mind stuff passive.
There is an unbound OPEN SPACIOUS ‘quality’ about ‘the mind’ or awareness when a pointer actually works. It is NOT a THINKING about anything.
It is quite amazing how much wriggling that goes on – re-grouping of the minds ‘members’, like a ‘council of elders’, attempting to re-assert the ‘power of the mind’ to fortify against what is true.
If you sit down and read all of your own justifications, with an open mind, then that which keeps you bound in seeking will reveal itself in your own writings. BUT, there has to be openness there. Read it as if it is someone else’s words. The HOOKS are always obvious.
The ‘tension’ of beliefs hanging heavily from those hooks is an unease in the body.
The energy is in conflict with itself.
It is extremely simple in the open looking into it….with an open mind.
An open mind is NOT laden down with OLD IDEAS.
The BIAS of the mind is called ‘ME’.
Find it and SEE it for what it is.
In that space of clear cognition there is NO negative or positive.
If you stay with the positive then the negative will arise lawfully – in the dance of the elements. WHO is taking side?
As the ancient texts says “If you want to SEE the truth, then hold to no opinion for or against anything.”
P.S. Gilbert was Blitzed long before Randall came along. And Randall was a hard nut to crack, so it seemed. But I never gave up because I knew he was genuine.

Rate it!   0

Eduardo Piereck says:

Hi!

Presence has really taken a grip on me. No matter how hard is mind and thoughts, the attention has always been on space awareness.

Fear comes asking if this is a stable comprehension.

But asking this is is seen as going back to attention to the mind. So there’s a alowance of this given confusion.

Is there anything else to know?

It’s shocking to see that maybe I don’t need to seek anymore, I am so used to that!

I don’t know how stable this is…should it be stable? Awareness IS.

Rate it!   0

John Wheeler says:

It has been fun doing the UGC dance with you all once again. Hopefully, the points we shared together have driven home what is “clear and obvious”. There is a lot of clear seeing and sharing breaking forth in the comments, and I trust that will continue in various ways and means as this message gets around and touches the hearts of those interested to hear it.

We may point to this directly as it is or deconstruct the erroneous concepts that assume there has ever been anything other than this. All the pointers are concepts to remove other concepts. The very concepts are only appearances in and of the radiant source itself. But they may be useful for a time, as long as we overlook the simple point of all this. Such is the meaning and value of the podcasts and various discussions that follow, in my view. At the end of the day, nothing has happened, nothing has been said, nothing understood and nothing attained! It was just a friendly tap on the shoulder and a few words of encouragement, “What you are searching for is what you already are!”

To recap … This is about being, your natural being, as it is. That is not inert, but wonderfully awake and aware. That is the empty/full radiant space of pure presence. The phenomenal appearances of body, mind and world are waves playing on the surface of this undeniable ocean of ever-present being and knowing. Have there ever been waves standing distinct and separate from the ocean on which they appear and of which they are made? Clearly not. There has never been a duality or separation at any time.

The luminous, awake true nature shines with its own warmth and clarity that some point to with the words peace, fullness or love. Pick the word or pointer you like or use none at all. Words or no words, your own being cannot be denied and does not depend on the descriptions of it. Under no circumstances can you deny the fact of your being, your own presence in the equation. And this is what is being pointed to all along — just this and nothing else.

Love,
John

Rate it!   +1

gilbert says:

The stats on this website show clearly that there are a lot of visitors to these comments pages. Only a very few actually post any comments. The ‘Riff Raff’ are deleted and the unnecessary ramblings of nut cases are also deleted. This is for the benefit of everyone.
Who wants to scan through a pile of rubbish. It seems to be working well. Genuine questions are always welcome. To have people like John willing to offer some advice is a bonus. Take advantage of this if you wish. – Warm regards – Gilbert

Rate it!   0

Ralph says:

Hey Gilbert, perhaps more visitors would comment on these pages if you meet them where they are in their search of their true nature. This ‘direct pointing’ is great and wonderful for seekers who have been on the search for many, many years but instead will just cause ‘confusion’ to the seekers who are still in the midst of it all. This is why teachers like Eckhart Tolle are very helpful. They see that ‘direct pointing’ will not get most so-called seekers do a ‘full stop’ but I’m sure he agrees with you that eventually one will do a ‘full stop’ after complete exhaustion of many years of seeking. The short answer is ‘direct pointing, full stop’ but how many can do this ? For example, you and John Wheeler took many many years for you both to see that ‘seeking’ is what stood in the way of true seeing but you had to go through it to see that ‘direct pointing’ will lead to a ‘full stop’ and not before. In a way, ‘direct pointing’ and ‘many years of seeking’ complement each other.

As Nisargadatta quoted : “You seem to want instant insight, forgetting that the instant is always preceded by a long preparation. The fruit falls suddenly, but the ripening takes time.”

P.S. I used Eckhart Tolle as an example, so please don’t go trashing him. There are many like him who are helpful to those who are not yet ready to hear the message of ‘Full Stop’ instantly.

So please visitors, come on board and express yourself . As Gilbert said, all genuine questions are valid.

Rate it!   0

Eduardo says:

Gilbert,

You wrote:
‘But whatever happens, the SEEING remains. SEEING is KNOWING.
Everything is contained in the SEEING’

I ask:
Sometimes my mind goes into a tilt, and gets obscured about all these concepts. The understanding on me is that there is nothing to be done about that. As you said, SEEING remains, no matter whatever happens. This for me is a definition of peace.

I can handle being at peace within any emotion, such as happiness or sadness, but when it comes to confusion and obscurity I punish myself. There’s still an idea that I cannot be mindly confused. Can we be at peace even when confusion comes up in the mind?

Rate it!   0

Michael S says:

I would just like to say something about drugs, firstly – don’t do them. It may sound paradoxical but for the universe this is how it happened… LSD is what introduced me to reality, which then the ego came back in, then I stumbled on this whole enlightenment thing. So it is true that you can have the greatest insight, even to who you are, and lose it! The drugs didn’t trick me, but the glimpse really got me in seeking mode, it was like a domino effect so I do not regret it, or I probably wouldn’t be into ending any search. I was laying down on acid, or it might have been the morning after, and I was staring into the black space with eyes closed, next thing I knew I was up and saw reality exactly for what it was! I never even used the term before but I knew I was pure consciousness, and that this would be a paradox to the language or mind. Synchroniztically some Jesus saves show was on, and it was hilarious, when the man said to the priest figure, I am a sinner I did drugs etc then he would let jesus into his life or to be saved in that moment and I realized the whole thing was a game, and that Jesus was the self we all are, just another word for it. Anyway I could go on for hours about what happened, other realizations were that everything was one, whatever I was is eternal, the ego is the cause of separation, nothing is wrong, etc… 2 years later now I am 20 years old but I say this was just my case, don’t use drugs.

Rate it!   0