The Freedom Trail

 Nisargadatta Maharaj reported that he followed the advice of his guru and stayed with the “I Am” Presence until it had taken over. The results obviously spoke for themselves. Nisargadatta Maharaj was a very impressive sage. I had always been a little circumspect of his approach though as I always felt that reaching out to the “I Am” energy risks projection. In my experience it is more a falling into a higher energy as we inquire into our conditioned existence and let go of it.

I had a very interesting insight the other day though. I realized that “life as is” can be experienced as real, just as banging our toe into a chair is experienced as real. There is a concreteness to the paths that unfold much in contrast to the lightness of all mental “should, could, and would have.” I decided to stay with the red threat that is visible on the path in front of us and just ignore the commentary in the head or the fleeting feelings of smooth riding and exerted effort.

 

Something very interesting unfolded. I experience an energy jolt. It was as if the conflicted energy of this conditioned entity that we experience as “me” made way for the “I Am” energy highway that is always present. We only access it sparely as the “me” perspective insulates us from this direct exposure. In other words, the “choice-less awareness” way of living that J. Krishnamurti talked about is really not difficult to achieve. Just follow the red threat in front of you.

 

The Tea Party took place in Boston, Massachusetts— the mutiny against high British taxes—and is considered the origin of the American independence movement. There is a red line in Boston that links all the historic places which is referred to as Freedom Trail. Choice-less awareness is just like that. It’s not that conditioned self is no longer present. It’s that all energy is withdrawn from it as we follow the freedom trail, and with it, a much more potent energy replaces it.