Tagged: joy
Know “your” mind
If a seeker has not confronted his mind, all he has left are beliefs and dogma.
If we are all individuals, how is it possible to be One with all at the same time?
That question could stir up our minds. We could try to come up with theories, beliefs, thoughts, opinions, etc.
If someone’s consciousness is stuck in individuality then Oneness could only be a belief for that person.
Throughout all the writings since Ahnanda appeared, one of the focal points was to share that our perception of Life being either “0” or “1” “yes” or “no” “good” or “bad” is just a perception.
Many are so engaged in “defining” who “we are.”
The other day, I heard that “we are souls.” That is the “0.”
Another says:” We are the brain.” That is the “1.”
Please, observe how senseless is to define “ourselves,” when BEING involves many realms, many layers. In the physical layer, we have perceptions of the senses and a mind willing to arrange everything according to our deepest needs. Those perceptions are far from “reality.”
In the non-physical layer, there are many beings which we are connected to, whether we realize it or not. In that world, there are different “senses” to perceive.
“We are” nothing definable, specific, but according to our perception, that will be our “reality.”
The above is very important, for whatever your experience is at this time, it will change.
Caught up in ideas, we could discuss about what is the “truth,” what is “reality.”
When at the end of the day, all of that is completely, utterly meaningless.
This existence is meant to be experienced and if we could learn to enjoy it, then we “made it,” We “got there,” we became “illuminated,” we will be in “paradise,” etc.
The perception is there. It will change. It is guaranteed. Do you want to spend your time denying it, rejecting it, fighting against it?
There are some who actually want that. Nothing wrong with that, for it is part of their process.
If we invest our self-worth in a particular perception, we will be sorely disappointed when Life shows us, a different perspective.
“What is the truth, then?”
Observe change.
“No! That cannot be the truth. The truth cannot change.”
OK. observe that we have different perspectives. Correct?
“Yes, but only one of us is right and the other is wrong…”
That is your belief. Your concept of “truth.” How does that fit into a Life of continuous change?
When we perceive that we could be lost in concepts, perceptions, truths and ideas, automatically there is understanding beyond the mind.
It is by stepping outside the mind through developing/expressing our feelings, how those things of the mind, will get dismissed.
A new perspective is found!
Enjoyment of Life is not of the mind. The mind is lost in the past and the future unable to enjoy what is now.
At the end, it does not matter if the truth changes or not. Enjoyment is not in knowing that answer. What matters is your experience of enjoyment of Life.
Please see that joy is an attitude that comes when we are at peace with every moment that Life may bring, because there is acceptance and trust. We are taken care of, even if it looks otherwise. Some people call that caregiver as “God.” For me, there is no separation whatsoever, for we are ONE with Life.
It is through that realization how we automatically start discarding all mental activities, beliefs, concepts, ideals to allow for that space of feelings to arrive without any mental disturbances of the past or the future. Enjoyment is a feeling.
Life is like a circus.
Clowns will appear, fight, cry, laugh on the stage.
Shall we judge the clowns as “good” and “bad”?
The magician is performing a trick, a rabbit appears out of his hat.
Shall we proselytize that the “truth” is that it is only an illusion?
An acrobat does amazing feats with his body.
Shall we think that his feat only shows his training? Shall we judge that he spends too much time with his body and not his soul?
The circus is there. We will give a meaning to that circus. Nevertheless, whatever your meaning is…enjoy, appreciate the circus. That is all.
Enjoyment is when the mind is not.
Peace is when the mind is not.
Therefore, start with your mind.
“How do I recognize the mind?”
If you are not enjoying Life as it is, there is a mind not allowing for that to happen.
Do you want to wait until things change?
Yes? There is a lesson behind waiting, but when you are enjoying and not waiting, there is no lesson needed.
Being, becoming and non-being
Obtaining the things that we want.
Not obtaining them. Both are Life.
Labeling one side as “good” and the other as “bad” is to delve into duality.
There is no “good” without going through the “bad.”
Thus, “good” and “bad” are the same rope but different ends. The extent of the rope is the journey. We can only go up and down the rope of Life.
Day and Night. We label both occurrences as Day. The Day is made of day and night.
Words get in the way of understanding.
We call day the opposite of night. We talk about their differences, our preferences, likes and dislikes.
If the day is different than night, could they be complements of each other?
A difference complements. Because they are complements, they are One. A Day.
Because they are different, they are opposite at the same time.
Every human being is different than another even though the same human being, thus we complement the Totality.
Logic tells me that 2 things, which are different, cannot be One.
However, opposites complement each other. Thus, they are One.
Male is different than Female, but they long to be One. It is their difference, which complements each other.
We may look for differences and forget about complements, Oneness.
Every issue has 3 sides. The one that you see, the one that you don’t see and the one made up of what you see while it is changing into something that you don’t see. The process, becoming.
The static perception of “yes and no,” and the continuous “live” process of change of “yes into no.”
There is “having” and not-having, but also having while becoming “non-having.”
Every time we think we have the “truth,” we say: “ The truth is this…”
We are forgetting that “this” has also “non-this,” and “this” becoming “non-this.”
Makes sense?
Here, the example:
“God is the truth.” He said.
Who is non-truth?
The opposite of God. The Devil.
Do opposites complement each other?
Yes. They are One. God is one with its opposite.
Your belief will no accept the above. Your belief is made to separate complements.
The process is God becoming the Devil and the Devil, God. One, not many.
Truth becomes non-truth.
How?
What is static cannot change with Life. When Life changes, that which remains static, becomes non-truth.
“Life is truth.” He said.
Life cannot be “truth” for it changes. It is not static.
“Change is truth; then.” He said.
It cannot be, for change is…. Change.
“Truth” is just a meaningless word.
But also, a word with meaning.
And… a meaningless word changing into meaning…and meaning changing into meaningless.
Confused?
No worries. It is “normal.” That is the issue when our consciousness is trapped in duality.
When a human consciousness is caught up with only 2 states such as “day” and “night,” that person is unable to look at the journey, the change.
“The means justifies the end.” It is a well-known phrase denoting “wisdom” that many like to use.
That is how reaching “Paradise” in the future, becomes more important than living the “now.”
That is how killing in the name of “peace” to win a war in the future, becomes more important than all the suffering that individuals are going through to reach the “goal.”
It is that mentality used to reaching goals, stressed out to achieve something, which is so self-centered that it is unable to perceive something besides himself. That mentality is unable to stop, to take the time to smell the roses…
Violence cannot end in Love. It may end in dependency, but not love.
The end is the consequence of the means. It cannot be otherwise. It is continuity.
Enjoy the process of change. It may be slow, it may have many turns but there is no reason to speed it up.
Throw your logic away. Get rid of your reasoning.(But keep it for the “Office world” and the paycheck.) Life is not lived by thinking about Life and by knowing intellectual answers.
Knowledge is not the most important factor to live Life in joy.
Your feelings are. To understand your feelings is to know enough.
Knowing enough, we could enjoy living.
Being in joy, we could know what love is.
To know Love is… Being it.
Being it means… not being… 🙂
It is the process of being into non-being what we call living Life.
The connection of feelings and sexuality
As our feelings are, so will be our intention and thus the outcome of our actions.
The above could be misinterpreted as: “Let me have good feelings before I do that action.”
That is an inner lie.
Our main feelings are always with us. We may be calm, but closed. Enjoying “peace of mind,” but having a controlling nature, speaking sweetly but jealous.
How do we change that state of consciousness into a loving one?
Inner work: Less beliefs means less judgment. Lesser emotional reactions means greater openness to Life.
Feelings will be able to transit from our lowest chakra to the highest without any obstacles. That energy is clear. It flows.
That happens when we are aligned.
This is not just a matter of having the “healer” align our chakras.
This is a matter of “doing” that inner work for the healing to take effect quickly.
Therefore, it is not a matter of saying: “I need to have good feelings.” We cannot make something that we don’t have.
What is the practical, Life related event of the above?
If a person is full of emotions, beliefs, sense of guilt and different hang ups; that person will be suffering, for a wall will be built between him and everything else.
Obviously, that person could be a “good person,” but his feelings are not open, thus; he does not love.
We could make ourselves believe that because we “do” something labeled as “good,” we are “loving.” That is the religious trick.
The majority of individuals at this time, are in continuous suffering. But, rather than listening to the signal that suffering is sending, these individuals rather continue on in their pursuits.
“Suffering is bad. Pleasure is good.”
It is in this state of suffering when a pleasurable sensation such as sex could become an addiction.
Here is their motto: “Life is suffering. Sex is pleasure. I want more pleasure and less suffering.”
Nevertheless, observe the feelings of that individual. That individual is suffering but yet, wants the experience of a pinnacle of enjoyment, love, total emptiness, letting go of self, that a human could consciously engage in.
That is how sex became a problem. A personality full of pain, wants to be rescued from it through the easy fix which will last a couple of hours, but it becomes his reason to exist.
Any expression of sexuality when it is the outcome of feeling joyful, sensual and alive will have a positive outcome in our minds, which in turn will translate into an overall feeling of wellness.
That same sex performed while feeling down, angry, frustrated, fearful, unsatisfied will have tiredness, emptiness and a feeling of being wasted as an outcome.
That is the practical teaching, the “spiritual” teaching of knowing the value of our feelings.
As we are energy; there is an exchange of energy through sex.
That exchange could be nourishing or could be a way to drain our own energy.
A human being energetically aligned will be joyful naturally. A human being who is in connection with Nature and who lives life from his heart, will be connected with the Totality as fish is connected with the depths of the Ocean.
It is that depth which can take a human being to the stability and openness of the one who is one with Life.
Experiences in the “spirit” realm
We are not alone. There is more than the physical plane in “reality.” Nevertheless, for many individuals, their “reality” is only the physical plane, the 5 senses, logic and analysis.
Some individuals with experiences in the other planes of “reality” have labeled those realms as “subtle region,” “astral region,” “spirit world,” “dream world,” etc.
Those regions have their respective “inhabitants” as well.
There is a continuous relationship between the physical world and the subtle/spirit worlds.
The physical world could be labeled as the “doers.” The subtle/Spirit world as the “influencers.”
As we understand this relationship with greater depth, we could realize the limitations of the “I,” “me,” “free-will,” “predestination” concepts.
What about if what we “think” that we are “thinking” is not necessarily “our thought”?
Crazy, huh?
Anyone scared? 🙂
Lack of awareness is compelling. That is why, one of the main things to understand is to learn to observe.
There is no “center” of attention or “opinion” in observation.
From that “exercise,” we could realize many other things.
Whenever someone claims to have a “spiritual experience;” it is just that… an experience from a perspective in Life.
If we want to glorify that experience and call it “divine” or use any other label, that is our own interpretation.
In my own experience, I had some of these “spiritual experiences” and still have them. However, the interpretation that I used to give to those, has changed as my consciousness has changed.
Remember the time when you flew in an airplane for the first time? To talk about that experience was marvelous. So great that perhaps we had lots of enthusiasm… If someone asked: What does it feel to fly? Ahh! That was the opportunity to “teach them” and to advertise our experience. Perhaps we could gain a follower in the “fly now” club!
If this sounds like the way most religious beliefs are, it is just a coincidence. ☺
If those experiences are separated by time, then that is the “carrot” the donkey needs to get out of the mundane, the trivial “same ol’ thing,” and feel “special.”
Those experiences add newness to our lives. Those experiences may be different from the majority; they have a meaning; they may be beautiful but… those experiences are unable to change our consciousness.
That is how, someone who encounters a subtle being, could label him with many names, which are part of his learned tradition: Angel, God, Demon, etc.
What is important to understand is that any experience with subtle beings is meant for a purpose in our life journey. These experiences will appear when necessary. There is no need to look for them. They just happen.
Some have experienced “rock climbing” I have not. Shall I suffer because of that, when there is lots of things to experience in Life?
One more thing. Those experiences are not meant to be “followed by everyone.” These are personal experiences.
When we understand that everyone has a different perspective of Life, all experiences are never equal.
As we become prepared through an openness of our consciousness, we will experience what is necessary to continue on.
That is the guarantee that Life has for everyone of us.
That is how, “spirituality” cannot be separated from Life.
Some religions and philosophies pretend to make that separation, but that is fictitious, artificial and… “unreal.”
Life is a continuous. “Spirituality” is to be in Life, not outside of it in a golden box of regulations and beliefs.
The “spirit world” is there. It is not “better” nor worse than “this” world, just different.
We are “here” but at the same time, we are all in this… together. Paradoxical, huh?
The sinner mentality
Life is One. There are no divisions in it. No parts. No stages.
All of those concepts/ideals are added by human beings in their quest to dominate, control, possess something, which is perceived as different from “them.”
“Morality” is a human invention, which has been consistently used to “teach” others.
For example, if Mike decides to walk completely naked on a congested street; more likely, Mike will be arrested. Why?
He is acting against the law. Some may label him as being “immoral.” Some others as being “offensive, “ etc.
The interesting thing to observe is how such a belief arises. This is not meant to go against the rules of society, but just to observe the “moral” invention behind it.
A “Life walker” will merely observe and perceive if there is any contempt or rejection arising inside. If there is, that becomes “food” for further discoveries about the self and its beliefs.
The sinner mentality is part of that “morality.”
Every action that we perform toward “others,” we do it to ourselves.
Why?
Because there is Oneness. There is no separation.
Some may call that “karma” and create a fictitious web of separations between the “doer” and the “receiver” of an action.
When we are lost in “actions” we oversee the intention.
What was Mike’s intention while walking naked on the street?
That is his “doing” to others and thus, to “himself.”
Because a society cannot control an individual by intentions, then “actions” became the most important item.
A religion is based on the premise of actions. Good actions. Bad actions= Karma = Heaven or Hell.
That is not Life.
That is just a religious belief.
A God watching everyone to punish some or to reward others is not Life.
It is a belief.
That is the starting point of the sinner mentality.
In Oneness there is no such a thing as a “sin.” There are consequences.
Human consciousness changes through the experience of those consequences and not through the adoption of a belief system.
If we are One with Life, Life will teach us when we are ready to assimilate… In the meantime, the experience of suffering will prepare the “student.”
Suffering is not “bad” at all… Neither good nor bad. It just “is.”
A belief system is a human invention. It is a limited perception, an attempt to explain something that cannot be explained without a human point of reference (previous beliefs, traditions, moral values, etc.)
Here is another paradoxical realization: Every belief there is, it is not “bad.” However, it has its timing.
That timing is observed when consciousness changes.
The belief in Santa Claus is not bad at all. But it has timing. If we persist in believing in something well beyond the lapse of that particular consciousness, then inner conflict will arise and inner dishonesty will be felt. Dissonance.
The belief of being a “sinner” has elapsed for many. However, many others are still living in that “reality.” It is a matter of consciousness.
I could write many convincing rational arguments to demonstrate that the sinner mentality is an illusion; however, intellectual arguments or logical premises cannot erase what we feel. To believe that rationality can overcome feelings and emotions means not to understand human nature.
Here another paradoxical realization:
Rationality is great for making a living in our society but… It is deficient for the experience of living Life in joy. Rationally, most will look for the accumulation of wealth to feel happy but… 🙂 there will be disappointment (suffering) when the result is not as expected.
Rationality kills our feelings and without feelings there is no experience of fullness.
Is rationality “bad”?
NO.
It is neither “good” nor “bad” like everything else in Life. It “is,” thus observe it and enjoy it.
The belief of renunciation
Renunciation is used as a “tool” from many belief systems. That tool is supposed to allow the aspirant to gain a “higher state of consciousness.”
In the world of duality, to renounce what is considered to be “mundane” and “pleasurable” has been translated as “evolved,” “high,” “divine.”
It is just a game of words.
I remember a book which introduced the concept of renunciation in my younger perception: “The autobiography of a Yogi” by Yogananda.
That book describes many of the unique experiences that Yogananda had. Those experiences were interpreted according to Yogananda’s beliefs at the time.
In that context to become a “renunciate” is the highest path. From that “concept” many have copied it.
For Yogananda, to practice his path of what he understood as renunciation was natural. It is what he was meant to do.
Therefore, there was no renunciation in his life.
Many”seekers” started following that idea of “renunciation.” They needed a “guru” to follow and some especial practices to become “better.” Thus for these people to “renounce” became a source a repression, for this path was not natural to them. They had to “make effort.”
Ananda would like to share one of his most cherished realizations in life.
There is no established path or religion or philosophy or teaching which when followed by itself, to the dot, 100% is able to return a higher state of consciousness.
Consciousness does not change by following a certain method or by doing a “holy” practice.
Consciousness changes all by itself when we are ready according to our assimilation of the experiences offered in life. In short, greater openness to life, means greater awareness thus, less ego.
Renunciation is duality. To select something as “divine” and another thing as “mundane” is duality, and because there is duality; there cannot be integration with the Totality.
It is that separation between what is “godly” and what is not which brings a person into a state of self-righteousness, which is an illusion.
There is no such a thing as the “true” way when we are dealing with perceptions of what we call “reality.”
We could name anything as “reality” but that is not, for all we could observe is a perception.
Do we want for God or a guru to tell us about the “highest reality” there is, which we are not able to experience?
Yes?
That is a belief, for “what is” cannot be put into words.
The highest, the lowest, the pure, the impure, the rich the poor… are all dualities which are static “realities” in a mind which is incapable of seeing change and continuous transformation of everything.
“Reality” is not a picture but a movie.
We can describe with words a still picture with details, but not a changing movie.
Because everything changes continuously there is no “arrival” or destination.
Therefore, to renounce life as it presents itself, just so we can accommodate ourselves to our belief or dogma, is to deny ourselves to transform, to change, to evolve.
What is that change that we deny to ourselves?
To live Life.
To renounce part of life to the pursue of a “higher” destination is senseless, when we realize that there is never a static point, a destination.
To renounce part of life due to a belief that we will attain something better in the future is to ignore completely that rejection is hidden in renunciation.
When there is rejection there cannot be oneness.
Without oneness, there is no love.
Without love, there is no joy.
Dependencies and the search for perfection
A preference could be small or it could be extremely important. When it is small, that preference is manageable. When that preference has intensity, it becomes a dependency.
A dependency then will show us the extremes of our personality. Thus, for the “life traveler,” to be aware of his own dependencies is “good.”
In the ”black or white” world a dependency is “bad.”
What is the difference between an individual set into the “black or white” ways and a “life traveler” openness?
Consciousness. Awareness.
That is all.
When a “life traveler” is ready to strip down his dependencies, life will offer the experiences for those dependencies to be looked at.
For example, most “normal” individuals despise being “alone.” Definitely our society is not meant for a person to be by himself or herself. There are many pressures, many traditions, many expectations, many beliefs.
To have time to be alone is an important requisite to know that which we call “self.”
No shortcuts on that.
When the dependency of others is strong, self-knowledge is low. It is in that state of dependency when “relationships” happen in a “normal” way. It is called “companionship.”
Until the individual is not whole in himself, there is no relationship as “sharing” but as depending due to the strong preference of not being alone.
What is individual wholeness?
In previous articles it was mentioned that there is an “inner family” in the self. The “inner kid,” the “man,” and the “woman.” They are all together with their own needs and wants. To balance those energies is necessary before integrating into the Totality, whether that is a relationship with someone or not, but Integration is important.
Someone asked at one time “where is this knowledge coming from?”
Obviously is not by reading books and listening to classes given by gurus about “spirituality.”
Obviously is not from following religious groups which could interpret my experiences according to their dogmas. Obviously is not by believing in a “black or white” God.
It is by observing Nature and that which we call the self. It is by listening to Nature and the self.
It comes when we feel at ease with ourselves, when we are ready to strip down our beliefs and emotional hang ups and open our arms to the experiences that life may bring.
To “know” is already in us, all we need to “do” is to let it emerge… and it will emerge when the dependencies lower their intensity.
Is to read spiritual books and to listen to spiritual classes “bad” then? 🙂
Of course not. It is part of the changing experience, BUT…we could develop a dependency on those things as well… and life will change the route.
For those who are ready, here is a little something:
When someone else makes the decision for us to change our ways…for example, “reading books” into “not reading books anymore,” that is to lack respect for the life path of someone.
When we make our own decision not to read books anymore for whatever reason, then we embrace repression, rigidity and a new belief.
When it happens naturally without thought, without inner clash, without drama… then that is natural.
For many “life travelers,” to let things happen becomes the biggest guilt trip of all. Trapped in beliefs, they do not allow themselves to change.
Life is change.
When we perceive that perfection which is not a “static” thing, but continuous movement; how on earth could we say something like: “I strive for perfection”?
Perfection is here, right now… but we are not aware of it and we have an idea of something that we want to “achieve in the future.”
Senseless.
If perfection is right now, ever-changing and moving in all respects, what is there to “do”? 😉
To enjoy it and to appreciate it.
If we learn to do that without reason, without thought, without cultivation and compulsion, naturally… then we may be living life in joy.
That could be labeled as perfection.
Exploring the Depth of Living 