Tagged: realization

Question: How not to be “special”?

“Meditation makes you strong like a mountain, you become awake, strong, and humble too. This strength does not bring any Ego in you, because you become aware that the same witnessing soul exists in everybody, even in animals, birds, plants, rocks.
A rock has its own way of sleeping, tree has its own way of sleeping, and birds still a different way of sleeping, the method of sleeping is different but deep down at the core of every being is the same witnessing, the same God. That makes you humble, Even before a rock, you know that you are nobody special…. “
How in a deeper way one can come to this realization that has been described in the above paragraph, considering yourself as nothing special even in front of a rock?

Thank you for your question.
Have you observed rocks and pebbles? It is Ahnanda’s experience that they have a level of consciousness, but probably you have not experienced that, or you wouldn’t be asking this question.

Do you know how dolphins “sleep”? They sleep and are awake at the same time! Sleeping is a word that we understand from the “normal” human perspective, but in Life, there are so many variations! Remember this: Life offers so many varieties of things  that humans reject or accept according to their own made up “filter.” 

The words in that paragraph about meditation are merely pointers.  “Meditation” is a word with so many meanings. 

You cannot become what has been described in that paragraph. That is someone else’s experience.
Do you want to consider yourself as nothing special?
Why?
Obviously because you thought you ARE special. Perhaps the above paragraph comes from someone that you consider special, authoritative and you want to be that… “special” by being nothing special. 🙂

You cannot BE what you ARE not. But you can fake it. 

All living beings are “unique but not special.”
Do you see the uniqueness of all?
What makes something from unique into special?
Your particular value system. Your needs. Your conditioning. Your attachments.
It is all about that “I” (you.)

To say “I am nobody” is considered by many, an insult. It is viewed as low self-esteem. In our society we are trained to be “Somebody” and to get high self-esteem through that “achievement.”

A “spiritual” person may get offended if insulted, but yet he says: “I am nobody.”  Or to demonstrate how “humble” he is, he may be a floor mat for everyone. That is fake. Paradoxically, through that act of being “humble” he is looking to be someone “special.”  Just like Christ, Buddha or anyone “famous.”

Enjoy the farce, but discover it in yourself. That is where everything starts and finish. That is “my” viewpoint.

I know that you are able to grasp what I am trying to convey without quoting me, without using these words as the “ultimate truth.” They are not. 

Otherwise, here is a more accepted “spiritual” answer with spiritual “practices” and “Spiritual” keywords:

Do this exercise 5 times per day on an empty stomach:
1. Visualize for 2 minutes that you are a pebble in the street.
2. Meditate 15 minutes every day on your own nothingness and then breathe deeply 3 times while pronouncing the “OM” mantra.
3. Do this for a 1 month without failure and you will see improvements. The rock on the street and you will be one. There will not be a difference between both of you.

If you don’t get any results that is because you are not performing the exercises correctly. Do them again for another month.

We cannot become a paragraph. To be “nobody” comes by itself after we have reached the utmost point of being “somebody.”

So who are we, nobody or somebody? Both. That is the full experience. Enjoy the ride from point A to point B. That is all. That is the “effort,” the “purpose of Life.”
When you are “up” in a roller coaster ride, it is sure that you will go “down.” Otherwise, you wouldn’t have the complete experience. So it is in Life. It is a game.

Until December 1st!  🙂

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.

Question: Moving on from a religious path

Friend,
First I would like to thank you for your sharing of your experiences in life and how to live life with more meaning with freedom and connection:)
I have used your blog to experience for myself and the most useful thing has been about really just re-connected with now, being present and being in the flow of life. It has made me appreciate how narrow minded it seemed I had become whilst living what I thought was the ultimate spiritual life!
I guess I have a few questions for you, which you may like to answer?! I don’t wish to depend on any one individual anymore or anyone for that matter, so I ask you whilst aware of dependency traps!
I have been walking the path of life closely with the Brahma Kumaris for the last 10 years. I felt it was the truth, that this was God, that heaven was my birthright and many other things which are taught by the BKs. I feel now that I am questioning all of what I believed in and finding that if feels like I don’t necassarily find all of the BK teaching to be so much ‘the only path’ now….what concerns me though is that to be open to life and to really make the journey of life my own, opens up a lot of joy and possibilities, whilst also opening up loneliness and uncertainty. I really feel in some ways that I have neglected many things in life over the last 10 years, whilst in the pursuit of purity and peace…whilst I have had many beautiful experiences as a BK, I also feel I have rejected a lot of life and suppressed a lot of feelings/emotions…life isn’t always so easy;-/
I guess I have isolated myself from the bigger picture of life in pursuit of a ‘spiritual lifestyle’. By being more open recently I can see that people in the world are much broader than simply ‘shrudras’ and that there is a lot to be gained and experienced through friendships with people who don’t label themselves as BKs!
In going with the flow and as you shared recently about flowing with the wind, I can see when I allow this, it is a beautiful experience. I have a concern though!-0…If (hypothetical question) I am in a relationship and with children who depend on me and if in going with the flow, I find I connect with someone else who I’d like to spend more time with than my partner and children, then is this still going with the flow?! Sometimes, it seems desires can drive us more than our deeper purpose and the ‘damage’ caused could be greater….of course, suppression of lust, desire, needs for companionship wouldn’t be helpful either….
Last comment/question (honest) as otherwise I am going on too much! It feels like the last 10 years has been a lot about battling with lust and suppressing many interests in life, including being close to people, in particular females. I used to have the best (and worst!) time with girlfriends in the past. Somehow, I feel that I have been suppressing my desires, emotions and that nothing has really gone away…now I’m confused. Do I want a pure lifestyle? Would I rather be close to another person again? In being close to another, would I open up to being extreme in lust again?!
Right! That’s it! Muchas gracias mi amigo

Thank you for your honest question. Last year I decided not to answer questions any more… So I am “lying” now, because I plan to fully answer your question.
Is Ananda a liar? Is that bad?
“Avyakt7” is the one who made that statement not Ananda but paradoxically, it is the same guy but not the same. 🙂

Things change. Life changes and our consciousness will change as well. It is the way of life. There is no “I” statically living life, but we are life itself with those changes.

I recall one time that I was speaking with a dear Brahma Kumaris friend of mine. She has been a friend of many lives (even though she does not realize it yet) about the intricacies of “Good and Bad.”
She said to me: “ For me there is a clear line between good and bad.”
I listened to her and didn’t say a word for there was nothing else to say.

A couple of years later, she said to me: “I don’t have a clear line between good and bad now” I said to her: “Good.” She just smiled.

What changed her perception?
It was an experience that she was going through at that time. That experience represented the very thing that she was repressing in her life.

Life experiences will make the changes in our lives, not intellectual understanding.

Repression is not the answer when trying to “conquer a vice.” Don’t separate yourself from what is. Don’t consider that to be “you.” Just observe, accept and transform that energy which we label as “lust” into good wishes from the heart. Feel. Don’t label as “good or bad.” It is important to “learn” to feel again.

A religious practice based on beliefs is able to put layers of things in top of our “vices,” but a dependency on a system is unavoidable. We are not free. We become dependent.

Ananda is very thankful of the experience that he had in the Brahma Kumaris.
Without that experience, he wouldn’t be able to understand (not intellectually) many things that he does now.

Let me share some of those realizations.
We are caught up with this thing, which we call morality, the “good and bad.” That is a belief that we have acquired in this world. Many of us, need to experience that belief to the utmost.

That is the role of the Brahma Kumaris in my view. It is a path of reformation by changing our minds to be conscious of that duality which otherwise, we wouldn’t be aware that even existed practically, not just intellectually.

“God says that broccoli is good. Ice cream is bad. Ice cream and sweets will make you suffer by taking you to the dentist office or even worse, the doctor. You must eat all your broccoli if you want to be good and then, God will be happy with you. “
Then, God will change his words when the kids are becoming “smarter” according to time and he will say something like: “OK. If you eat all your vegetables and broccoli, then at the end of the day, you will have a piece of dessert.”

When the time comes, the kid cannot eat dessert because his stomach is full of vegetables and so he claims that “God has cheated on him.” Then other kids will find out that “God gave ice cream to so and so when he preaches that ice cream is bad.” God is liar, they will say.
What is God’s task? To keep the kids fed with “good” vegetables as much as possible, for when someone’s mentality is fixed in “good or bad,” they do not have the ability to see something else. “Black or White” are not the only colors, but how could that be taught when someone does not want to see other colors?

That kid mentality does not allow someone to look at the bigger picture.

The path of asceticism will take our experience to one extreme. Buddha was an example. He went to that extreme and then he was left alone by his “friends” and disciples when he no longer wanted to do that practice because of a realization. That is how the path of the “middle way “ started. Many followers will say: “I will follow the middle way only. I will not go into extremes. Everything in moderation.”

In life unless you experience things in your own skin, you will not know. Intellectual understanding is completely and utterly useless. (Although “good” at the office world.)
We may need to experience that extreme in us.
The Brahma Kumaris offers that valuable opportunity for those who need that in their life experience. Ananda understands that there are many who still may need to experience that path. They have the right to experience that path themselves without “my” input. My experience is just my experience.

For the serious seeker, to be alone, to feel alone is part of the ride. That is the chance to become one with yourself, but that is not the end of the road, for we live in relationship and that oneness that we have realized, needs to be observed under the mirror of relationships.

Let me add another thing.
Brahma Baba is truly a being of light. However, he is not the only one. Brahma Baba’s path is not the “only one” although his follower may think that to be the case.

Every being has a role, which is not depending in our petty morality or how well it fits it, but in the common good.

Life my friend, is not concerned with our beliefs or moral standards; however, there is a consequence for every action as we know.

Flowing in life is to take away the baggage, the weight of the “I.”

In your hypothetical question, when we learn to feel that who we need to be in that occasion, that is when we are honest with ourselves, we will know that we have acted, as we should. That action does not need for people to applaud us or to say “Good boy, you did good.”

We need to learn to discern our emotions and desires from that calling of life. One thing is to realize something and a different thing is to put that realization in action.

When your feeling is honest, then it is honest also to accept the consequences of that honesty and to move on in life.

Note that Ananda is not giving formulas of “good or bad” for life changes at every moment, every time and to flow with life is to appreciate that change, to ride with the wind while it lasts.
We are eternal. Enjoy the ride of experiences, amigo… 🙂

Realizations

realization1

Typically a “normal” person will go through life without having “realizations” about his own life or life in general.

For most people, it is about using their own experiences based on the location of the consciousness that they currently have. That is their “truth.”

Their life “catalog” is usually tinted with the colors of “bad,” “good” or “neutral” experiences and through them, there will be a reaction towards life.

That reaction becomes their actions and thus, because they come from a certain location of consciousness, the consequences of those actions are “limited.” They are unable to see the overall picture.

In which way are they limited?
My religion is the “true” one.
People who wear several rings in their hands are tacky.
Einstein is the greatest scientist in the world.

All of the above beliefs are limited in their scope because they come from the perception of a limited consciousness.

Generalizing something or segregating are two sides of the same coin originating from the same type of limited consciousness.

Please see that the above is not a religious thought. It is not a “dogma” or an “ism.”
It is just a realization coming from observing life through observing the self without being colored by defending a particular belief system or making life fit my belief system.

That is what I call being “honest.”

A realization typically impulses someone to perceive things in a different way. Those realizations are not intellectual reasons, but a perception, what is called an “Aha! moment“ which is driven by your intuition and supported by your feelings. There may not be a way to put those realizations into words, but it is not necessary unless you want to write those in a blog… 🙂

Depending on the integrity and self-confidence of the individual, then his actions will be according to those realizations. Nevertheless; a realization cannot be set up as the “ultimate truth.” It is evolving as our circumstances and consciousness changes. It has a timing and a purpose like everything in life.

That is what I call “openness.”

The above may not be for everyone. For it entails a life of discovery. There is nothing there to take as a dogmatic truth or as the “way things ought to be.”

It is far easier to accept something coming from someone else. Someone who we may see as “illuminated,” or “awakened.” We could just follow and relinquish our own life of discoveries.

Nevertheless, someone who is already awakened could see that not everyone is in the same conscious level and rather than proselytize to feel good about his own “truth” or ideas, that individual may want to allow for every person to discover according to their particular capacity.

That is what could be called a “spiritual teaching.”

A teacher in spirituality is not someone who necessarily has the gift of gabbing or someone who has lots of information in his brain. It is not about reciting a dogmatic view of the world either.

A teacher merely gives the environment for realizations to occur. A teacher does not give the “truth” but the initial soil for a new seed to grow into a tree.

That tree ultimately will need to feed itself through its own foliage, that is; those things which it left behind through realizations, will be the leaves falling around that tree in time, which paradoxically are the true source of nutrients for that tree to grow strong, beautiful and happy.

Question on Awareness and Thought

“Higher consciousness/awareness – again starts with a thought isn’t it.. awareness is knowing, which comes from knowledge, which again requires you to use your mind/intellect – Your thoughts? Thanks.”

Dear reader,

Thank you for your very good question!
Higher consciousness is not related with a thought. Basically, we use thoughts to communicate and to realize the workings of our own mind. For instance, you read about “positive thinking” somewhere, which makes you think about your own “negative” thoughts. Then, that realization (at the thought level) will bring you some knowledge; however at this point “nothing” has happened. No change in consciousness. Just information, knowledge. It is all theory.

But, when the mind is clear from those thoughts, there is a different awareness. This is the practical aspect of this.
Then the question is : How do I get to experience “clarity from thoughts”?
The answer is by being aware of them. Being conscious of them. You get to this by observation. This is an on-going thing, a “practice” if you would like to call that, but that brings greater awareness.
Observation is a very important “keyword” in Spirituality.

For example. I eat something which brings some sickness in me. Two days later, I eat the same thing. I get sick again. Two weeks down the road, I eat the same thing. Then, I get sick again….
When I realize that a particular food item is the culprit, I call that “being aware.” However, notice that it took me 3 times of experiencing sickness before I became “conscious.”
That is because I used my thoughts. I will be relying in the “process of elimination” until I come up with the food item that made me feel bad. This is probably what you refer to as “consciousness started by thought.”

However, for someone who is fully aware, that person will be conscious of the moment that something did not agree with his body. It is not a thought in itself but immediate “knowing.” That knowing does not need any information.

It is like when you start your car early in the morning. You know already what sounds “good,” without knowing a thing about cars. When you are aware, you could pinpoint a noise, which is “funny.” You know that you need to see a mechanic right away.

Please see that, there was no thought “process” here. No “process of elimination,” or “troubleshooting” involved; just simple observation.

That is why, it is said that knowledge brings greater confusion when it is about “knowing” something. 🙂 For your knowledge gives you a reference to believe in. When you do that; you close all other possibilities as you already have something in mind to believe in. Your knowledge.

Avyakt7 is sharing with you his thoughts. These thoughts are not able to fully explain something, which does not require thinking. If these thoughts were able to give you the experience; then thinking would be all we need. But that is not the case. Thoughts are just ideas, concepts, like the concept about higher awareness being related with thinking.
A different thinking comes out of higher awareness, but higher awareness is not related with thinking differently.

We need clarity, space, lack of noise in our minds, tranquility, serenity to be able to perceive something different. That awareness does not come from thinking. We just become conscious of it when the “inner noise” is over, then our “inner-intelligence” kicks in, that which is clouded by so much thinking. 🙂

Best wishes!

If you change, the world changes

Have you heard those words before?
How is it possible?
Please ask the above question to whoever says those words… you will be surprised at their answer.

“When you change, the world changes,” sounds whimsical, a nice thing to say in religious gatherings to look “good” and to talk the “talk,” nevertheless, in the understanding of those words lies the perception of a greater “reality,” greater understanding which if truly understood, could change our own life.

Would you like an explanation? 🙂
Here it goes. In a basic understanding of the “law of karma,” (action) we can understand that if “I” do something, there will be a repercussion which will be experienced by “me.” That is why in this basic understanding all we care about is… about “me.”

If I do this, will I get any bad karma back? If I open karmic accounts now, would that be bad for “me”? Would “I” go to heaven if my actions are “good”? 🙂

The above only strengthens the personality of “I” which is separated from everything else.
No?
Do you ever feel alone?
Yes? Then, see that separation.

If we observe carefully (as explained in many writings before,) we are interdependent of one another.
How is that?
You exist because your parents existed. You exist because there is oxygen, water, sunshine, food, everything else which in our individualistic mind we see as “separate.” Even though there is a fact of interdependence, our consciousness only perceives separation.

That is why basic understanding of the law of karma only strengthens the “i-ness” and “my-ness” ideas. When that concept of separation is gone, there is oneness. No duality of “you” and “me,” but oneness in that interdependence. “You” exist because “I” exist.

Therefore, there is no “other.” What “I” do, is done to myself.

If we take the reality of interdependence into the law of karma; what “I” do is done to everything else, for “I” am one with everything, as a fact, not as a nice phrase to repeat. “I” am interdependent with everything else. We are oneness.

That is how the world changes when “I” change, for “I” is truly the world. As a matter of fact, once that “I” is over, then there is only the world, without further labeling to separate things.

Let us say that Peter throws garbage in the river. Peter forgot to dispose of the garbage and he thought that by getting rid of it, “now,” his house will smell alright and he could be alright as well. Peter didn’t want to bother his neighbor by dumping his trash into their waste basket. Peter was afraid of being caught or to ask… but the river was nearby. Peter planned to dump his garbage when there was no one around. The river cannot hit back nor lawsuit him for dumping trash. “Nothing to fear,” Peter thought.

That river was a source of sustenance for many species. Fish, plants, even people who used that river in different ways.
That garbage became food for many species in a very unnatural way, bringing disease to some of them which in turn were nourishment for bigger fish. A fisherman caught several fish to be sold in the nearby market. Peter bought a couple of those fish. 🙂

Peter ate his own garbage but at the same time, others ate it. That has additional repercussions. Other species were influenced by Peter’s actions and there were consequences which Peter was completely unaware of.

If Peter changes his consciousness, that change will have some effect in Peter’s environment and closer individuals around him. Peter is not changing “others” but Peter is merely changing his own “self-extension,” that is, those who are part of his life.

That is how we can see that a truly spiritual individual cannot live in isolation. Whatever he does, he says, he thinks… all of that affects everything else, which will be experienced by everyone else… the world.
Then, we can see that any religious separation or any sort of “man made” boundaries such as casts, ethnic origin, gender, language, creed, beliefs, traditions, all of that only strengthen the sense of “I” belonging to a group which is only a part of the whole thing.

A sinner exists because “I” exist. It is “I” the one who labels, the one who judges, the one who separates. If “I” wasn’t there; then a “sinner” wouldn’t exist.
We could put this in another way: A saint exists only because a sinner exists.
The world exists only because “I” exist.
What the world does is because “I” do.

A detached participant of life

ripples

Ananda was sitting by the Ocean. It was a lovely morning right after some rain. The Sun was just rising impregnating the turbulent waters with shades of multicolor beauty which Ananda truly enjoyed.

Ananda was captivated by the ripples of the Ocean: A form appeared as a wave of water, moving in the direction of the wind, then a high point, a crest will appear to gradually collapse into the Ocean once again, just so another wave could be born. Truly, dying means living again.

The above could be translated into Spirituality as a “form being born from the formless, just to be formless again when it dies.”

This means everlasting change. The play of form and the formless.

A human being is never the same at any point of his life. The illusion is to believe that a still picture of him, is him. A mind believing in pictures is a dead mind.

Ananda understood for the first time that he wasn’t the same from a second ago. Not even his consciousness. Through this realization Ananda was able to see something which he was unable to see a second ago. His consciousness has changed.

Ananda smiled in awe. He discovered that there was nothing to call “self” for everything was continually moving just like the ripples of the Ocean. Nothing is ever static…but our thoughts, the picture.

To hold on to a still picture of the Ocean is to be lost in the illusion of the self.
To observe the movie of the Ocean without that center that divides the object and the subject is to “be.”

What can you “be”?
A Detached participant of life.

[youtube:http://youtu.be/OQT6FWOmkOU%5D