Tagged: illumination
Question: What should be done to decondition?
“As you said, deconditioning needs to be done to live more sensibly and have a fulfilled life which can be done by spending lots of time in nature. Can you suggest some of the ways to incorporate that in daily life ? Taking a walk daily in nature, is that enough ? Or something more needs to be done ? May be taking a weekend off to some place ? What should we allow in ourselves in our daily life to be deconditioned ? To leave the society for long periods of time sometimes, is not possible.”
Thank you for your question. It is appreciated.
Your question allows me to clarify somethings about deconditioning.
Observe that in “spirituality” we want to “accomplish” things. Some want illumination, God, etc. and the expectation is that there are certain methods or techniques to get there. It is not like that, but that is the conditioning based on our goal oriented society. “I want that too” is the motto.
Life does not have “goals.” Consciousness keeps changing without human interaction, without the “I” DOING things.
Deconditioning is not to be done. It happens. Nature is not a method for deconditioning, but deconditioning happens through Nature as well as through other means.
Probably the last phrase does not make any sense. 🙂 I will try to explain.
I could easily say:” Sure, a walk in the park in the early hours is best for deconditioning. At least 3 times a week on an empty stomach.” But that is not so. This is not an exercise meant to fit our busy schedule, so we can accomplish deconditioning along with other things that we want in Life.
Ahnanda only shares his experiences. Ahnanda is not sharing methods or techniques.
In my experience, Nature is important to create the space for deconditioning. I did not “choose to be in Nature,” I did not go to Nature for the goal of deconditioning.
I love Nature. It is Natural for me to seek it without any purpose other than sheer enjoyment of it.
Then, deconditioning happens as my love for Nature took me away from the pursues and busy-ness of the “Office World.”
Nature is a very important part of my Life but, I incorporate the “Office world,” 5 times a week up to 40 hours per week.
If you join a religious group (the most distant from current ways of society, the better) out of a feeling rather than a thought of mental gain, deconditioning will happen as well, but you will be conditioned in a new way. Most followers are not aware of that.
Thus, in your last question: “What should we allow in ourselves in our daily life to be deconditioned?” Be open to Love. Love will do.
Love to Nature, Love to God, Love to Life, Love to someone else…
Love implies acceptance, openness for another, that will necessarily take you away from your comfort zone. That is the needed space to see things from a different perspective. Everything else after that is awareness. Most think that they love already, but they are conditioned, how come? Discover if your “love” is the one that will make you forget about yourself rather than reinforce it. Reinforcing yourself means to reinforce conditioning, and that is not the kind of love that I am talking about.
Deconditioning is not rejection of our previous conditioning. Deconditioning will give us the ability to see our old being, just like when we remember our days as little kids.
There are many ways to see the world. This vision is not about finding what is “right” and reject what is “wrong,” which is the prevalent conditioning.
Observe that every way to see the world will have its chance to manifest. It will appear and then disappear; thus there is nothing to hang onto, nothing to bring as the “truth” for change itself is not the “truth” but just another way to see the world, another vision.
Deconditioning will not give you “truth,” but openness. It is that openness what will bring fulfillment in Life… and that certainly, could be your unspoken “truth.” 🙂
Enjoyment of the carousel of life
The last 7 posts had some depth. This one could be the last one in that series. This post will attempt to put everything together.
In Oneness there is no rejection.
The dog cannot reject its tail nor its legs. All of that make up a dog. The world is “I.” What “I” do to “others,” “I” do it to myself.
Duality is a perception. When we apply our “morality” and reject one side of that perceived duality, to only accept the “good” side in our view, we will reject life just like a dog is rejecting its legs.
Life is like a carousel bringing different experiences to the observer. Religions, philosophies and so on, thrive in duality. We have learned to pick the “white horse” because … (fill in the blank) when the carousel of life will move by itself and then a black horse will be in front of us just to show us its own particular beauty; but there are other horses as well: A pinto horse, a brown horse, etc.
The “white horse” will appear all by itself again in its right time, just like the phases of the moon.
Choosing to live our lives in rejection of what life brings in this moment is to close our consciousness to the experience of enjoyment.
Anything worthwhile happens right now. To live life to the fullest is about “now.” It is not about the “afterlife” and all the great things that “we will get if we do so and so…” As mentioned before, it is not about “doing.” Ego is “doing things” continually, despite the fact that the carousel of life moves all by itself. Thus, being open in our consciousness is of paramount importance. That is how enjoyment of life appears.
Could God or any enlightened being want anything else from us but to enjoy life? 🙂
Enjoyment of the pinto horse who is right in front of us. Now.
If “I” compare “what is” with some idea about the future “white horse” because I had a dream or a vision about it… I am just living life in my head, not with my whole being. Life is now.
It is great to know about “illuminated ones” or God himself is contacting us in one way or another with teachings; but for God’s sake… 🙂 Your life is not about “them.” It is not about worshiping “them” and counting their “virtues.”
It is about “you”… and getting to know “you,” as you are now, with all the illusions and different personalities, the emotional ups and downs… with all hopes , beliefs and expectations which are not allowing “you” to enjoy life to the fullest.
There is no enlightened being who could be the “founder” of a religion or philosophy.
Why?
Because that brings separation, duality.
My group vs. the rest of the world.
It is the followers, who have created a religion and separated from “others” by doing so. It is “they” who have interpreted teachings… It is “us.”
Our language is full of duality. If an enlightened being was to communicate with us, that enlightened being will have a hard time trying to find the words which do not express duality in a teaching.
What is left then for the grasp of the majority, is the well-known: “This is good. That is bad.”
That works well for the ones who just want to follow someone but who are unable to take a deep and honest look at themselves to find the beauty and depth already within them.
Nevertheless, all is good as it is. Different consciousness. Different understanding and none is “better than another,” but every one has their own path, their own journey.
To integrate all of that variety is the challenge for us. When it is no longer a challenge, then we have understood.
If we could grasp these words, we could never laugh at someone who is lost in devotion, for that devotion brings those feelings that are needed to transform the self.
Life will bring the exact experiences that we need to open up in this diversity… We just need to open up our consciousness, like a wide open door. Flow with life. Empty yourself.
All there is left then, is to observe and appreciate the uniqueness of everyone and every moment… Just to enjoy life to the fullest. Enjoy the ride! 🙂
The truth and beliefs: Questions by BK followers
Below some questions by Brahma Kumaris followers.
Avyakt7 currently, does not wish to be engaged in any belief system, although avyakt7 respects someone else’s beliefs.
Avyakt7 will not emit judgment whereas your belief about a belief system is wrong or right, or the explanation that you received is “right” or “wrong.” Avyakt7 has no opinion on those issues.
Dear BK readers,
Let us go into the main lessons of your belief system:
The first lesson is that “I am soul.” The second lesson is “God is a soul.”
My question is: Can you know God unless you know yourself?
God and “you” have the same eternal nature. Unless the experience of that which you believe in, is experienced in yourself, there is no possibility of knowing what you believe God is.
Do you know Avyakt7? Because you read these writings here, do you think that you know avyakt7? Because you have spoken with Avyakt7, do you think that you know him? Because you have seen his picture or a video, do you think that you know him? How can you know avyakt7?
By being him, of course. Who is him?
Isn’t “he” a soul? 🙂
Isn’t God a soul?
Aren’t you a soul?
In spirituality, knowing is being it. In the “normal” world, to know means to have the head full of information about something. We cannot know what swimming is by just reading about it. We cannot talk about Spirituality without observing and knowing ourselves, because in that we could know everyone else.
We share the same nature.
When we understand deeply the above, we can abandon the idea of being a “devotee” of God and turn our journey into the honest quest of knowing yourself.
That is called with many names by many spiritual teachers: Soul consciousness, dying alive, detached observer, self transformation, self realization, emptiness, nothingness, detached participant, self- awareness, consciousness, Buddha and of course, illumination…
Now let us go back in to the “soul.”
The word “Soul” is just information, a label to denote something which can only be experienced. When that something is experienced, then we can put different labels to that something: Some may call that spirit, others, emptiness, others light, self, bindi, atma, purusha, etc, etc.
The third lesson in your belief system is about the cycle of time.
Let me ask you, is the “soul” bound to time? No, because it is eternal. Then, how is it possible to experience time?
It is a contradiction… That is why, we cannot explore these things with intellectual understanding, with “0” or “1” answers.
We are both, we experience time and we are time-less. It just depends in our consciousness.
That “contradiction” that we found is the “door” to further realizations.
We cannot talk about the timeless with words bound in time. We cannot understand the timeless, when our consciousness is bound in time.
Last question: In which moment of the cycle of time do we truly know God? 🙂
If you say “now,” Please read this response again from the beginning. Note that in the Golden age, God is not there and that is the moment of highest consciousness, when those beings know themselves. When they are “equal to the Father.” 🙂
Throughout Avyakt7’s life, the search for the truth was the main point and driving force in my life. First, it was understood as a label, as something intellectual to understand, to write down and tell everyone. To know God was part of that intellectual understanding; but that wasn’t enough.
Then, Avyakt7 went through different changes and found the truth in knowing myself, going through the journey of observing the only thing that Avyakt7 can change in the whole world.
The queen who lost her necklace was looking for it everywhere until she realized/ became aware/ conscious that she was wearing that necklace all along.
We could believe in anything, doubt in anything… but finding the necklace is where fulfillment is no longer an idea to believe in.
Best wishes from the heart!
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1. “In a class I heard that there are souls who reside in the soul world when they do not have a role to play in the drama. So, this means those souls are with Baba for a longer time than the souls who start the drama from Golden age. Isn’t that what we all want in the end- to spend more time with Baba? Why would we want to start from Golden age?”
2. “Dear Avayakt7, Bapdada’s role specifically in terms of service: three types of service Bodily, Wealth and through the mind. Is the topic of maximum number of souls served the basis of your position in the beginning of the cycle? If that is correct then Brahma Baba being number one is a little flawed inspite of his avayakt role. There is a feeling that Dadi Prakashmani had more to do with expansion. I understand that this is specific to the BK Belief system but wanted your view on the whole aspect of service connected to the position you would get.. or is this is a story of the carrot being waved? Would love your response.”
3. “Does God ever become “imperfect”? In BK gyan, they say that God has come in the body of Brahma and give knowledge to human being in order for them to make effort and become deity. We all know that the “perfect” stage is only in the soul world which means “zero”. When souls come down on earth to play their parts, the mind then be created and their stages gradually decline into 1 ,2 ,3… till 15 and body consciousness grasps in. So when God Himself comes into the field of action, does He become 1 rather than still in “zero” stage? Because you know when souls start to use physical organs, information start to flow in, create fluctuation which is the mind.”
Searching for God or illumination?
In the world of religions there are many faiths, beliefs and behaviors.
Typically 2 different paths have been embraced by the world. The first one is the monotheistic belief. That is, there is an all-powerful God to believe in. The second path is represented by Dharmic religions. Mainly Buddhism. For them, the question is not about knowing God, but on being illuminated, reaching self-realization.
Two different paths, we think.
In reality, it is the same thing just understood in two different ways.
Monotheistic religions have emphasized God as the ultimate goal. We cannot possess God. We can only become “like Him.”
Becoming “like Him” is the ultimate. Here is where plenty of interpretations have occurred in our perceptions: From asking God to help us, to worshipping God, to fighting for God, to praying to God for miracles, to loving God alone, to fearing God alone, to living for God alone, etc.
Very few have gotten to “being like Him.”
The question is:
What actually “being like Him” entails? 🙂
Simple. To be illuminated, self realized.
Two different paths leading to the same thing.
The Taoist verse below explains this paradox with greater elucidation:
“Do you wish to free yourself of mental and emotional knots and become one with the Tao? If so, there are two paths available to you. The first is the path of acceptance. Affirm everyone and everything. Freely extend your goodwill and virtue in every direction, regardless of circumstances. Embrace all things as part of the Harmonious Oneness, and then you will begin to perceive it. The second path is that of denial. Recognize that everything you see and think is a falsehood, an illusion, a veil over the truth. Peel all the veils away, and you will arrive at the Oneness. Though these paths are entirely different, they will deliver you to the same place: spontaneous awareness of the Great Oneness. Once you arrive there, remember: it isn’t necessary to struggle to maintain unity with it. All you have to do is participate in it. “
Hua Hu Ching CH 48
Exploring the Depth of Living 