The four pathways of leaving the self behind

 That inner filter that pretends to be us and that claims we are just one step away from wisdom is “you.” Trying to get your arms around it is as hopeless as trying to hug your shadow. The self cannot get rid of itself!

 

The teachers and teachings con only point toward the Truth. The filter is bound to hijack it for “you”. Truth has to be lived here and now with no psychological entity to speak of being around.

 

I discovered four pathways to lose this filter:

 

S (tillness)   The mind becomes still as we grasp our own agenda

 

E (nergy)     The seven chakras are activated and balanced

 

L (ove)        Heart energy sidelines the mind

 

F (low)        Oneness with life as is

 

 

Quenching the thirst for recognition in a Family Energy Workshop

 It was a rainy morning on Halloween. I was not looking forward to the 7th family energy workshop. The sessions working on my father’s energy left me exhausted. Just about as the session started, I saw a leaf sticking to the windowpane. It seemed relevant to the mood I was in, but what did it mean?

 

The meditation session led by Suzhen Liu was about our craving for love and recognition. She led a self inquiry meditation, “who is seeking love?” “Who is seeking recognition?” she kept asking. I suddenly felt it. The bottomless pit of seeking recognition and love from others when love resides within!

 

I cried and felt that loving heart next to the narrow-minded striving energy, which seemed pale in comparison. A heavy energy was leaving the body, and I understood the sequencing of her sessions. First the wound of my dad’s depression and anxiety had to be felt before her healing hand could be applied.

 

Germany’s folk hero Siegfried was invincible after he bathed in the blood of the dragon he slayed. Alas, a leaf landed on his shoulder exposing him to an Achilles Heel which later was ruthlessly exploited by a traitor who killed him. The symbol of the leaf is to open up to the wound. That’s were the Light comes in!

 

Suzhen Liu’s meditation session concluded that we have been doing this endless external search for love and recognition and never gotten anywhere. The loving heart energy is always present. Lose this connection as the the narrow-minded agenda kicks in or we will be caught in another cycle which ends in suffering.

 

Understanding and Surrender

 What distinguishes some of the spiritual thinkers from the ordinary folks? They no longer believe that there is anything specific on this earth that can bring about happiness. I will be happy when …

 

… I have children, I have my dream partner, I have sex, I have money, I have my dream job, I will be healthy again, I retire on an island, etc., etc.

 

The spiritual seeker who has reached this state may still be after a dangling carrot in front—enlightenment. That’s the twilight zone many of us still wander through. Subconsciously or consciously we still believe that there is a state in the future that can make us better off.

 

“This is it!” Is the insight. This is the moment Consciousness manifests this body, mind and world. The breakthrough is the understanding that all active seeking is meaningless and an opportunity for letting go. It’s a falling back into “Not my will, but Thine” and the quest is over.

 

Every moment is special

 The idea that enlightenment will make us happy is the ego’s fantasy -

a misunderstanding.

It wants awakening to be a spiritual reward.

 

But awakening isn’t an experience.

It’s the death of the one who was seeking.

 

Freedom isn’t about feeling good -

it’s being free from the one who wanted to be free.

 

You don’t wake up to be happy.

You wake up from the one who could ever be happy or unhappy.

 

“Through the door of the heart I entered the truth -

and now I live without distinction”

~ Lalla (Thanks Baerbel Marlena Simon for sharing)

 

How can I be that my memories regarding the children are all happy? I was there. I know that the past is not any different from today. I know that there were good days as well as not so good ones.

 

The problem with our concept of enlightenment is that we picture ourselves just as we are without the suffering. This is not so. It’s a completely different state altogether: engulfed in serenity but without today’s passion.

 

We are Consciousness manifested in a body, mind and world realizing Itself. Every moment is special. Falling in love is beautiful even if the bond breaks eventually. Following a dream is special even if it doesn’t come to fruition.

 

The good comes with the bad. It’s about the moment at hand. No matter what we do, there will always be an occasional boredom, disappointment, restlessness and annoyance sprinkled around the happy moments. It’s what keeps us going.

 

Happiness Is When the Love in Your Heart Appears

 What is happiness?

In summary, it can be said like this: I am loved. I feel a sense of belonging and safety.

 

Perhaps I think happiness means doing what I love with the person I love, or that my child gets into a good school, or that my partner treats me a certain way.

But when we trace it all the way back to the root, it comes down to just two words — being loved.

 

When we want to be loved, our eyes naturally turn outward, searching for it from others.

With that attitude, in relationships, we may experience brief moments of joy, yet rarely do we feel truly loved or happy.

 

Is it because we’ve done something wrong? Or not done enough?

 

No.

 

It’s because we’ve missed one crucial point — happiness is not something outside of us. Happiness is when the love in your heart appears.

 

Inside each of our hearts lies a vast treasure.

Resentment, pain, anger, grievance, sorrow, helplessness — all the wounds we’ve experienced are stored within this treasure.

 

When we begin to understand these feelings of sorrow and pain — no matter what our conclusions may be — through that attitude and process of understanding, happiness will naturally find its way to us.

 

Because in that moment, your heart becomes calm and harmonious — you understand.

 

So happiness is understanding,

It is realization,

It is insight,

It is the awakening of your heart,

not something you achieve by doing.

 

Let us call this state Love.

 

Suzhen Liu

If you like Suzhen Liu’s writings, please check out her latest book, “Discover Love Within—Release Your Suffering” available at Amazon.

https://www.amazon.com/Discover-Love-Within-Release-Suffering-ebook/dp/B0G4L29MVN

“You” do the best, and God does the rest

 We are only free when 

                                      S (tillness) prevails,

the kundalini                  E (nergy) reaches the Crown Chakra,

the heart chakra opens  L (ove) is complete, and when

and we perceive the       F (low) of life.

 

Until then we are just bumped around like marionettes, with moments of actual freedom, moments of illusionary freedom, and moments of bondage. The opening of our energy centers is a subconscious event that can be helped with conscious spiritual work, while the experience and learning opens us up to the flow of life. 

 

When we are free we experience an “I Am” that connects us to the creative life energy that manifests moment by moment that catapults our self out of the “Way.” What can be actively done to break free? Follow that spiritual path that resonates with you and just keep going! “You” do the best and God does the rest!

The Tipping Point in Spirituality

 After Awakening we get a glimpse of what true freedom is all about. A friend described his satori moment while hiking in Texas in the following way—the backpack felt like carrying feathers; everything became effortless; there was a silence of being.

 

Awakening is a first glimpse of what is to come but there is a little work ahead. For some time it feels like we are being bumped around between different states of conditioned mind, “I Am” and our awareness of being conditioned which is an in-between state of sorts. Sure, we can consciously choose to meditate, hang out with a higher vibrating crowd or engage in activities that nourish our life-force, but at the end of the day we still have little say in when and how these “I Am” states manifest themselves. They seemingly appear by the Grace of God.

 

The tipping point is when the entire energy system shifts—mostly—towards the higher prevailing energies. The energy centers of the body are balanced, the mind is still and the heart is wide open, allowing life’s creative energies to flow through us without our self-induced interference. There is no telling when this switch occurs other than quoting Matthew 7:7-8 in the New Testament. “Ask, and it shall be given you, seek, and ye shall find, knock, and it shall be opened unto you.”