The desire to be without it is still a desire

 Silence, which is devoid of the assertive ego, alone is liberation.

Ramana Maharshi

 

The desire to be without a desire is still a desire.

 

The desire to write about the desire-less state is born out of desire, so what are we doing here?

 

We can learn that this philosopher, chooser, improver, minder of thoughts, feelings and what’s happening in our environment is flawed.

 

Fact is the philosopher, chooser, improver and minder will always be flawed but we can awake to the energy that is behind everyone and everything.

 

We can realize that the inner world and the outer experienced world are one, not separated as we have been brought up to believe.

 

Connected with the Way, choice-less awareness reigns. That’s a frequency we can be part of. Along the Way, the traveler is not.

 

How can we be part of the Way when we don’t see it? Well, God only knows, but let’s meanwhile zoom into the self-induced interference.

 

Conditioned or not—bring it on!

 Don’t worry if God works through your nature or above your nature because both are God’s, nature and Grace.

Meister Eckhart, 13th century monk

 

So what if we are not fully enlightened. When we are conditioned, we still express “being, consciousness, bliss”. While we unfortunately miss out on the bliss part, we can still enjoy the learning opportunity and see conditioning in action, so that we learn to step out of it.

 

A friend once said, “It’s true that before enlightenment we chop wood and carry water, and after enlightenment we chop wood and carry water. It’s just that afterwards we do our chores happily!” Learning becomes bliss and being in the “I am” state is bliss. Either way, bring it on!

Let God do the finding!

 When we find the inner silence, the energy of the moment powers us. In contrast, when we seek and when we work towards the self-less state, the friction between the seeker and the sought, the meditator and the silence, the minder and the thoughts, feelings and happenings, depletes our psychic energy.

 

What can be done about it? Very little unless we have direct access to the inner silence as some of us have. Recognizing that depletion of psychic energy even if we are good spiritual citizens is important and not beating ourselves up when the human in us wants a little break from all that divine goodwill hunting.

 

That’s the reason why spending time with nature, with animals, with the people we love, or embarking on missions that are meaningful to us are necessary to keep us on track. They provide us with the energy to try again the next morning. It’s not about seeking that what is beyond “me”; it’s about finding—let God do the finding.

 

#silence #spirituality #nature #energy #mission

 

If “you” cannot be still, watch the noise!

 When the vessel is empty,

God fills up the cup!

 

In “not-a-thing”

every “thing” appears.

 

How can we be “not-a-thing”?

Stay with the silence within!

 

If “you” cannot connect with stillness,

then watch the self-generated noise.

The story of the ten foolish men

 Ramana Maharshi shared this story, ten men crossed a river and afterwards wanted to make sure that they had all safely arrived. So, one started counting but forgot to count himself. Someone else double-checked but made the same mistake. They all started to cry since obviously one comrade must have drowned while crossing. A passerby saw what was going on and tapped everyone on the shoulder. He counted ten and they all realized the mistake they made and rejoiced over the comrade they never lost.

 

With awakening comes the “I am that I am” state. We all experienced it, if only in slightly different form. How can it be that we cannot see it when the daily interferences kick in? Isn’t the desire to be rid of these interferences the interference itself? What can separate us from the ordinary folks who have yet to embark on the “quest without a distance” is that we can have the peace of mind that “I am that I am” is but a step away; not even. Just like a scientist knows the outcome but hasn’t yet found the proof.

Oneness communicated by a butterfly

 The other day I had a dream in which a friend appeared with a message. At the time of writing a yellow butterfly that I hadn’t seen before appeared, circled around me and landed on a branch and refused to leave until the note was completed. Naturally, I wove the magical encounter into the storyline and didn’t think much more of it.

 

Later that day I noticed that the friend who had appeared in the dream had read the post, so I reached out to her and told her that she had given me that message in the dream. She mentioned that this season she had seen an unusually large number of yellow butterflies, and she lives a continent apart from me!

 

Our mind and assumed personality make us believe that we are separate when in fact we are part of Oneness, as shown to us in daily synchronicities and serendipity. Awakening is the moment when we can discover our true identity two ways, by observing the inner interferences and inconsistencies our mind has, and by seeing on the outside that the world is one.

“I am” consciousness

 Have you been on road trips when you got lost in the bypassing landscape so that the daily travails disappear from the horizon? Switching into the “I am” mode is exactly like that. It’s a flipping of a consciousness channel. As nothing follows the “I am” declaration, nothing comes to mind. When triggered into to “I am this or that”, “I need to …” we can literally feel the change in energy.

 

Naturally, we cannot use the “I am” switch when something is really bothering or exciting us. Likewise, when something is weighing heavy on our mind, even driving through a beautiful landscape will not bring any change. The switch of consciousness into the “I am” mode is more of a surfing from one energy state into the next. It cannot be used as an escape if we have homework to do in the 3D world.

 

Try the switch today into the “I am” mode. Your energy and perspective will just be like taking a drive in a beautiful national park.

 

#consciousness # Iam #nationalparks