Tagged: good
Beyond the Journey of “Good” and “Bad.”
“Oh my God… he said. By saying that, unwillingly he was calling the Devil.”
How do I know if Life will take “me” through a “bad” experience?
In Life there is no “good” or “bad” but just something is necessary as it is.
Nothing “personal.”
It is “your” perception of what is happening what makes something “good” or “bad” based on what we believe to be “good” for us.
“ Yeah…but if I degrade “myself” …..”
That is the opportunity to go up, to elevate yourself.
A “Bad” experience will turn into “Good.” A “good” one into “bad.” That is the world in the perception of duality.
“So what is the point, if “I” am trapped in duality?”
To free yourself through the experience of non-duality just to experience duality again. To go beyond “good” and “bad” and be like the “gods” just to be a mere “mortal” again. Different experiences.
To label an action as “good” or “bad” is to fail to recognize that opposites complement each other.
God cannot exist without the Devil. They are inseparable. They are One, not two.
If you recognize something as “devilish,” then in your consciousness, God must exist as well.
Some call the “devil” as “maya” (illusion.) Thus, the duality of illusion and reality (God) has been created.
Reality exists because there is illusion. The illusion of some, is the reality of others. Those who are in “illusion” will move into “reality.” Those who are in “reality” into “illusion.”
“What about those who think to live in reality and righteousness and try to hold on to it?”
That is to be in delusion.
Why deny, reject one side of duality if the trip is to get there?
Why label something as “bad” by rejecting it, if that will be part of our experience sooner or later?
“Ehem… There is no proof that I will experience that which I reject…”
If there is an “I” there is something which “you” reject. If there is rejection, there is suffering. The proof is in your own experience.
“Wait a minute. Are you saying that to do something “wrong” to someone is “good”?
No. I am saying that it is neither “good” nor “bad” but there are consequences; which are neither “good” nor “bad” but those consequences will create further changes in the one who had the experience. In Oneness, what you do to others, you do it to yourself. If we don’t see the relationship now, we will see it later.
Life is about change of consciousness and not about human moral standards based on a particular consciousness.
Someone may misinterpret the above and believe his actions to be beyond “good and evil.”
Someone may misinterpret the above and believe to be living beyond “good and evil” by escaping from the consequences, by not getting caught.
Nevertheless, that misinterpretation will be “good” for them, for they will have the experience of the consequences in their own flesh and through that, these individuals will stop interpreting someone else’s words.
“That is a costly lesson indeed.”
For who? For you or for the one who interpreted?
In “spirituality” the interpretation of someone’s words is dishonest. The honest thing is to recognize the words of others in your own experience if you have gone through it. If you haven’t, just drop those words and find something that you could perceive as your own experience. Acknowledge the level of your consciousness, your limit at that time.
In “spirituality” what you read or the information that you get is not meant to teach you something. It cannot teach you anything. It is only meant for you to recognize what you already know through Life experiences.
To go beyond “good and evil” means to have experienced what is “good” and what is “evil.” It is through that experience how we could understand what is beyond. Those experiences may take many life times. It is the eternal journey. Everyone is in a different point in that journey, therefore; respect everyone’s path, for sooner or later, it will change.
What we have learned in the “Office world” or through human laws and beliefs does not necessarily apply to Life. An aware individual does not reject our society to embrace Life, but he is aware that society is part of Life.
An aware individual will integrate experiences rather than separate them through the limited powers of thought, analysis and logic.
The pursue of inner-change
“Change yourself” for you can be “better”…A saint, an angel… 🙂
In religious “spirituality” we learned that there are “good” actions and “bad” actions.
A “black or white” vision of the world appeared. There is a clear “line” separating “good from bad.” A person needs only to do “good actions” to be “good.” Change your “bad actions into good.”
In the discovery that actions by itself cannot be conveniently categorized in “good or bad” without looking at the intention behind them, some guru discovered that a thought is the driven factor of that intention. “New age” Spirituality came up with the mantra: “ Change your thoughts to change your Life.”
A change of thought is a change of “reality” as long as you “believe it.”
“I am bad…” excuse that thought… “I am good.”
“I cannot do it..” What??? “You can!”
“What an ugly day!” I mean… “What a beautiful day!”
That inner lying kept its momentum until the realization that changing thoughts is not “good” unless our feelings are also changed.
If I feel worthless, the thought will be “I am worthless” then, to think: “I am worthy” is a straight lie.
Do we see the pattern of pretending to change ourselves?
We went from “help thy neighbor” (“good” action)
Even though we may despise our neighbor (“bad” intention) therefore, change your thought.
Think: “I love my neighbor” many times and believe it.
However, we cannot pretend to change what we feel.
The new bestseller guru said:
Change your feelings, then!!!
At that point “Spirituality” transformed into a way to sell methods to change our feelings, to be “in tune with reality.”
Raymond was calmly observing Nature. A bee appeared. A thought came: “Get out, don’t sting me.” The feeling was fear.
Why did fear appear in Raymond?
Because there is an “I” to protect.
The key of understanding feelings is to understand the “I.”
As the “I” is understood experientially, change will happen. To understand it, observe it. Don’t read about it. Observe it.
Life is change and we are Life. If we flow in Life, change is guaranteed, for that is Life.
The “I” cannot change itself, for all it has is a preconceived notion (taught by moral standards set by societies) of what to “become.” It is an ideal, a thought.
The “I” cannot change itself for it is already separated from Life, from “what is.”
The “I” cannot change itself because it has beliefs which are delineating and supporting its very existence.
Observation of our feelings without any particular aim or objective, will allow us to be aware of how any external changes brought about by our environment and circumstances will influence the way we feel.
It is in that awareness of “what is” without a rejection or an intention to “change it” to make it “better,” to “fix it,” how our acknowledgement will present the position for consciousness to change.
It is not by “doing” something how “self transformation” or “change“ happens, but by letting it happen.
The Good “I” and the Bad “I”: The battle of the century
Imagine that you find out that “consciousness changes all by itself.”
So what?
For most individuals even though “we” have experienced this in our lives, we are not aware of it, much less of the consequences of this finding.
Have you played with dolls? Have you ever believed in Santa Claus? But then one day… the behavior and the belief were gone all by itself.
Nothing to cry about. No drama.
But here we go into the “adult” world when we better be certain of our beliefs and behaviors for otherwise, we will lose our “prestige” or worse than that, go to hell forever… in the “afterlife.”
A dogmatic, rigid life begins and consciousness is unable to change because ego, the “I” will get a hold of something to believe or cling for self-preservation.
“I have the truth.” “This is the way it is, listen to me. You will be safe if you follow me.”
Can we pinpoint the difference between the un-attached way of a child’s mentality and the clingy, rigid ways of adulthood?
Different consciousness.
For god’s sake, what “method” did we use for that change? 🙂
How was it possible for our thoughts to change from “I wonder if my Gold fish knows who I am? into, Life is suffering and then you die….?”
What method did we use for that?
But yet, we “think” that we can “change our thoughts to change our behavior.”
Caught up in that thought, we have decided to divide our thoughts into “good,” positive thoughts and “bad” negative thoughts…
Wait a minute, I was thinking about eating an avocado.. Is that “good” or a “bad” thought?
That is how “neutral thoughts” were added into the mix.
Here a colorful “spiritual” example:
Are you thinking about sex?
That is bad.
Are you thinking about helping someone?
That is good.
Do no think about sex and think about helping others.
That is the method to be virtuous.
Interestingly enough, If we try not to think about sex, what will happen?
We will think about it.
To deny a particular thought means to preserve it. By denial, we accept it.
Isn’t that paradoxical?
You bet.
That is why self-awareness, to observe, to be a witness, a detached observer, were labels used to express a particular state of consciousness which was located beyond the duality of acceptance through negation.
Many took those labels as the “method” to follow.
It is a not a method. It is a state of consciousness, which cannot be “obtained” by following a human activity, a method; but something that we will stumble upon, something that will happen when the moment is ripe for us.
Consciousness changes all by itself, we could embrace that change or we could deny it to cling to the past, the safe, the old.
We are never the same, but yet all of us are One.
How is that possible?
Because consciousness changes all by itself.
We “are” because we are conscious.
“- But… that is sad that I cannot control my consciousness!”
Who is that “I”?
How is Oneness possible when there is that “I”?
“-But… “I” have free will…”
Did you choose your parents? Your language? The settings of your childhood which determined lots of your experiences later in Life? Did you choose your DNA?
“- So… you are saying that “I” am predestined then…how sad!!
No. I am not saying either way. Just observe at that “I” which is always caught up in duality. That “I” is the victim of destiny, the one who wants to achieve, become “better,” accumulate things and be remembered when death arrives…. Or even better, to believe in a God that will preserve that “I” into a “better” place… Paradise.
The point is not to debate whether Paradise exists or not. That is a pointless belief.
What is important is to observe all the games that the “I” uses to preserve itself.
The “I” who wants to control its thoughts. The “I” who wants to control people. The “I” who wants to control destiny. The “I” who wants to control consciousness.
The “I” who divides itself into the “good I” and the “bad I.” The “I” who wants to conquer the “bad I” by rejecting those things considered “bad” and by supporting those things considered “good.”
Do we see the craziness?
“Spirituality” has offered many methods for centuries to conquer the “bad I.”
“Spirituality” has made the ”do not lead us into temptation” into a way of living, a way of inflicting self-pain for the sake of “obtaining good.”
Beliefs and more beliefs which cannot stand up in front of a experienced human being who is in balance with Life.
Body, mind, spirit, soul are One not many.
Living beings are One not many.
The Universe is One not many. It is the Uni-verse in the poetry of Life.
For some funny reason the “I” keeps separating, dividing, analyzing, finding many… Controlling, pursuing, becoming, fighting, getting, labeling, etc.
Is the problem within thoughts? Is the issue in our actions?
It is in being aware of that “I.” That is all.
Oneness: The “new” consciousness
Every individual will have different experiences in Life.
Experiences are not meant to be “interpreted” they are meant to be “experienced.” Out of the internal assimilation of those experiences, a new consciousness will emerge. Not through understanding of words.
For example; we hear that “judgments” are “bad” or “good.”
The word “judgment” is interpreted in many ways according to the person’s experience.
“To judge is good, because it is to discern. By judging a person I can discern if the person is good or bad according to standard human moral values. Because I have judgment, I am liable for my actions.”
“To judge a person is “bad” because with that label we are defining his destiny in our minds.”
“You know, that Carl is a bad person…” That judgment does not give the opportunity for Carl to change in our minds.
“God is the ultimate judge. We shouldn’t judge anyone. We are brothers and sisters of the same Father.”
Every single “reason” above is merely an interpretation of the word “Judgment.” Lost in thinking we could be open for many useless intellectual debates. Why useless? Because we are only lost in words and meanings of those words. We are lost in thinking …and thinking means automatic separation.
Is separation “bad”?
NO. It will just give us a state of consciousness.
Thinking is not “bad.” It has its place. If we want to enjoy Life and the different scenes, we may not want to use our “thinking” for that. We need to feel. Become intuitive.
When we live in the moment for instance, I may not feel right being close to a dog nearby. I may go away. End of report. The issue is when I “think”: “That dog is bad. I better go away.”
That judgment is through thinking. That thinking conveys labeling and separation. Once a label is placed, it is a very sticky one 🙂
Let me put this in another way.
When we are lost in the consciousness of “I,” then the separation is already there. “I am different than anyone else.”
If already my consciousness perceives that separation as a “fact,” how is it possible to live together as One or to love each other as religions try to teach?
In the consciousness of “I,” a higher moral figure is needed. A God.
“God is the father and we are brothers and sisters.”
This set up works marvelously in the consciousness of “I.”
“I” am still an individual but at the same time, “I” can relate to the idea of brotherhood, because for most individuals that is part of their Life experience. “I” can interpret that experience in a Godly setting.
God being the “father” means to obey him. The world is a family. “We are the world, we are the children.” How can I judge my brother? How can I judge my sister? God is the only one who can do that accurately.
Nice talk.
From that point on, every experience will be interpreted under that paradigm.
In another consciousness, we could perceive that thinking has brought that separation. We could perceive that a single individual is a partial fact for that individual exists in relationship with everything else, just as a tree exists because there is sun and water and sky and air, etc. The thinking mind however, has made that separation of individuality.
If we continue on with our inquiry, we may perceive that this “I” is part of everything there is, just like a drop of water is in the Ocean. The perception and awareness of being just the drop brings further separation from everything else.
Perhaps at one point, we could perceive Oneness.
Then, all the other concepts and words that separate items could be perceived as an illusion of language for that “new” consciousness, but yet understood as a “reality” for those still dwelling in thoughts and separation. The “I” consciousness.
In Oneness, there is no need to add the word God, to make the “I” separated from “him.” It is not a matter of a concept or a belief. In oneness we perceive oneness.
The “movie of life” is one movie. We cannot separate from it.
It is in that consciousness how the word “judgment” is meaningless.
Am I judging myself in Oneness? Isn’t that schizophrenic?
ONE.
Therefore “moral values” such as “to judge is bad or good” are unnecessary.
Change through fear is unnecessary: “God will punish you if you judge your little brother.”
Comparisons are illusions of the “I.”
“I” am better. “We” are better.
– Everyone is as they are.
“We should be better.”
– Change is already built is this movie of Life.
“but we could change to become “worse”…”
– Suffering is a great teacher. You may learn not to reject it. It is a sure way to change consciousness without using the “training wheels” of beliefs.
“but this is the only time that we have to be better…”
– This is the only time we have to enjoy “what is.”
The thing is not to “become better” (that is to compare) but through enjoyment of “what is,” through appreciation of “what is,” through being thankful of “what is” …. what could happen?
Being “better?” 🙂
May you be “better” without looking to be “better.”
Until March 16th. Enjoy, appreciate and be thankful! That is to be ONE with the common good.
Duality: Self and No-self
We interpret life. We typically do not observe.
It is a wonderful sight to observe how daylight appears from nighttime. The label we use is “dawn.”
That perception of pristine light may be called “paradise,” and darkness “hell” or we can change labels in duality and call them “good” and “bad,” “right” or “wrong,” etc.
Nevertheless, when there is a preference for an experience, a rejection is born out of that preference. The night is not cherished as much as daylight.
“Hell” is despised despite its continuous occurrence and need to be there, for “paradise” to happen.
The above is the belief system and moral standard of many at this time. It is called duality.
Our culture has taught us to “choose” one side considered “good” and reject the other.
Embrace the day and reject the night.
That vision is the cause of inner and outer conflicts.
That vision takes a person into mental and psychological issues.
There is absolutely nothing that “we” have to “do” for nighttime to become daylight again. It will happen by itself, without “our” help.
Do we see that?
What it needs to change is our vision, our attitude in life.
Nighttime offers an experience and so daylight.
When we embrace both without judgment as life experiences, then we don’t reject; but we integrate.
We have been taught that “angels” reject the darkness of the light. They fight for light and conquer evil.
A being of light or an “angel” does not reject any part of duality. A being of light does not reject “hell” and chooses heaven. A being of light integrates both perceptions and experiences so his life remains in joy, in appreciation and in balance according to the movement of time.
Embracing the Totality is what we call harmony. A being of light is harmonious in life.
Life is harmony… if “I am” the Totality, why I am not harmonious?
That is the question. The answer may be the sense of self. There is no flowing in life when we are not life itself.
The symbol of “yin and yang” expresses that beautifully, although that symbol is open to interpretation according to the consciousness of the viewer.
Some will say: “ It is the concept of duality forming a whole.”
That concept is worthless, intellectual stuff.
The symbol of “ying yang” represents life itself, the Totality. That symbol is meant to be in movement just like life.
“Tai-chi “ is that slow movement which represents life. To consciously balance the different energies in the self.
When we truly understand harmony then we can start seeing something different. There is no fight needed. Nothing to conquer.
A life without harmony does not experience joy. That joy “NOW” is the most important item in life from my view.
As long as there is a rejection of a part of life, we will have an internal issue, an emotion that will need to be healed.
Typically we say that “acceptance” of life is needed, but there is no such a thing as “acceptance” when there is “no-self” to be life itself.
Thus, to bring that harmony, there are many elements that life offers in our experience. To use those according to time and circumstances is the art.
Whatever we choose to do or to be matters, as long as there is harmonious joy, balance in living.
That is the bottom line.
The above observation was expressed in a different way by another culture with the word “yoga.”
It is union. It is not the “union” of the “self” with something else, such as “life,” “God,” the “divine,”etc.
It is the union that happens when there is “no-self.”
Is self “bad”?
That question is called “misinterpretation.”
No.
It is just a different experience.
We are so in-tune with “self.” We understand the world in “self.” We follow religious beliefs in “self.”
Through these writings, the invitation is to explore “no-self” and to embrace both,self and no-self; to integrate both experiences, to be harmonious just like the yin-yang symbol.
Want a teacher, a guru for that?
Observe Nature, the plants and the animal kingdom. Learn from their “ignorance” and open your heart to appreciate with thankfulness the marvelous opportunity to feel life by being aware, conscious of it.
Want to be “good”?
If the article shared yesterday made sense, we could see that to be caught up in the duality of “being good and being bad” is illusory.
Let me put it succinctly. There is nothing “bad” in life for every experience; every single one of those experiences have benefit for the “life walker.” The issue comes when the “I” has desires, projects and expectations to achieve in this lifetime and life does not go according to his “master” plan. That we call suffering; we call it “bad.” Nothing wrong with making projects or having desires, but to know that when the “I” separates itself from the sea of life, duality will be experienced.
Thus, if there is nothing “bad,” what do we call “good”?
That realization is the beginning of acceptance of life as it is without judgment, without opinions, without “mind-full-ness” and thought to analyze things and to dissect it as to invite duality again.
Therefore, there is no need to work on “being good.” All we need to “do” is to get the “baggage”(beliefs, hang ups, taboos, emotional issues) healed and for that we may need to observe the “self.”
Every child has a different personality, but there is no one who could be labeled as “bad.”
A selfish personality is not “bad.” It is acting according to his perception of life, which in turn will bring consequences, which will be felt by that “selfish” being.
That suffering being experienced is not “bad” but the teaching, which is known as “settling karma,” which came about because that person was living according to his nature and not according to an intellectual teaching on “how to be good” in life.
When we live according to our nature, every lesson in life brings a transformation in consciousness.
When we live life according to what a book or a commandment taught us, there is no change in consciousness but just change in activity.
A religion may teach: “You shall not get angry.” If the nature of an individual is to get angry; then the teaching will merely suppress the expression of anger. Although, from the outside it may look as if the person has changed, in reality he has not. Anger is still in him. His consciousness hasn’t changed because his nature is the same.
Life experiences will teach that individual through suffering. Every being goes through that path.
To be honest is to realize that game that we are playing with ourselves.
Is duality “bad”? No. it is just a perception coming from a particular consciousness which is not aware of how “life works.”
When the “I” separates itself from everything else, that “I” is unable to perceive the unity, the wholeness. It is in this consciousness when a personal God is needed with commandments and rules on how to be “pure” or “good” as to change the outside behavior when the inside remains the same.
A being of light projects non-duality without using that label. Non-duality is something to discover. It cannot be taught. It basically means acceptance of life by belonging to it without a particular label.
If “I” consider myself to be a Christian, I will act and think in duality for an automatic rejection of everything else which is not Christian, will follow. If “I” consider myself some other label, rejection will happen to that which is not the label. That is how we could understand how an “angel” belongs to the Totality and not to a particular belief system.
To understand this intellectually will not make a change in our consciousness, it needs to come naturally as if we have a “new life” of unlearning previous concepts. That means a new consciousness.
When the great Tao is forgotten,
goodness and piety appear.
When the body’s intelligence declines,
cleverness and knowledge step forth.
When there is no peace in the family,
filial piety begins.
When the country falls into chaos,
patriotism is born.
Tao Te Ching Ch 18
Trapped in “good and bad.”
A reader asked about why this thing which we call “bad” exists, if everything in life is beneficial?
Trapped in the perception of duality, our consciousness only knows about “good and bad” when morality appears to pretend to correct that which seems damaged.
When that consciousness resides in the belief of the individual separated from everything else, then a fight will begin with “others” but especially within the “self.” That is known as a fragmented personality.
“This is right, that is wrong. This is good, that is bad. God is good. The devil is bad. Life is good, death is bad”
if the above is not enough, let us add some other labels to keep dividing things: “ Democrats are good, liberals are bad. Christians are this and Hindus are that… etc.
One commercial mentioned: “ …And remember the most important item in this relationship is YOU.”
When many customers appear, there will be many YOU’s who will fight among each other for supremacy.
Any philosophy or religion, which supports the idea of the “I” without considering the “reality” of Inter-beingness, is just a beginner path.
That is how “I think therefore I am” came up. When we perceive that consciousness changes all by itself and thought is not something which happens willingly but something which is experienced as the consciousness of individuality becomes stronger by being more fragmented, then ego is born and then that same ego-conscious mind ironically, wants to solve the state of alienation, separation which brings loneliness, depression and such states of being.
It is that kind of mentality which looks for salvation, for a better life in the afterlife, and for a God that could hear all about his miseries of being a separated entity in the Universe.
As long as that consciousness perceives separation, it cannot bring unity with all to its awareness.
That same mentality will search for “scape goats” for something to blame out of ignorance. In the duality of pleasure and pain, our society has selected pleasure as “bad.”
“Pleasure is the culprit, the cause of not being ‘pure’.” Sex is bad. “Humans have organs to reproduce but that is a temptation from the devil…”
The issue is not sex nor pleasure but the consciousness of the individuals involved.
An individualistic, ego centered consciousness cannot find that the issue is its own separation from the Totality and rather than become one with it by feeling life and being honest with his intentions, that individual rather rationalize things, think about “pros and cons” to trigger duality, separation… that personality wants to dominate, to control everything to support beliefs about its own existence now and the afterlife.
When that ego centered consciousness wants to “become good” then rejection is born towards that which is considered “bad” then that rejected thing will appear strongly…then the fight, the inner battle will be there.
A belief to “stick with the battle” against our true sentiments is proof of our dishonesty in life.
Why?
Because there is no battle. Nothing to fight for when we become open to life. It is that “I” who does not allow for change to happen.
Openness to life, acceptance, spontaneity, appreciation, gratefulness and joy are the “keywords” to live by in a different consciousness. No beliefs or religions in this. It is experiential, fulfilling right now… and not in the afterlife.
Good, bad, right , wrong, etc. were just tools for the “little kid” to start his “growing up” process in awareness.
Some may stay there all their lives… however, everything in life is beneficial. 🙂
Exploring the Depth of Living 