The Seer

I’m so glad you were able to find us because Pearl and I truly understand where you’re coming from. Like you, we know how difficult it is to find friends who have really awakened to the truth of who they are and who live from that truth each day of their human experience.

You are so fortunate to have realized the great liberating truth — “all is God,” for not many spiritual seekers see that. This means, of course, that your true nature and mine is the Divine Essence or Supreme Self, or whatever we want to call it. Then this Essence is expressed as ‘Edward’ in your case and as ‘Pete’ in mine. To others, we may look like separate people, but in reality, you and I know that we are both unique manifestations of the One — for there is only God … everything is simply another appearance of ‘Him’.

Now you ask: “How can I serve God?” and the answer is of course, you can’t … because there is no ‘God’ separate to you that you or anyone else can serve. Remember, that in essence, Edward, you ARE the Divine, and the Divine is doing what It wants to do through your body/mind/personality. The only way a glove can serve the hand is to stay ‘on’ the hand … the rest is up to the hand, mind and heart that moves the glove.

God has His own purpose in mind, so to speak, and he is working it out already through your humanhood. All you have to do as a person is just BE what God (your deeper Self) has made you. You don’t have to copy others and wear orange clothes, eat special food, bow to a guru or chant mantras etc. Just be the person God made you to be … fully, authentically and without apology. The more you understand and accept that what you are, the way you are, is an expression of God in this world, the more you can relax and just enjoy being you. That is the will of God for your life.

Now keep in mind, Edward, that nirvikalpa samadhi and kundalini are advanced spiritual experiences. Even though they are exhilarating and even transporting in their own way, they are still experiences and this means by definition that they will come and go … they never last. The Divine Essence that is your true nature does NOT come and go … it always is and always will be … it is eternal. Spiritual experiences are a kind of bonus, but not necessary for true enlightenment. A truly enlightened person will always have some ‘good’ experiences and some ‘bad’ experiences … as long as they are in a human body/mind/personality, but THAT which is aware of these good and bad experiences is the Divine Essence or our true nature … or God.

Always remember, Edward, you do not have awareness, you ARE Awareness or Consciousness ItSelf. Stay with the spacious awareness within you that is aware of all experiences, great and small.

Also, once you recognize yourself as an expression or manifestation of God, you will begin to see all others as expressions or manifestations of the same One that you are. As you say, all is God. This means that as a person you can begin to relate to all other persons, whether they are ’spiritual’ or ‘enlightened’ or not as fellow expressions of God. They may not know it, but you will be able to recognize them as your brothers and sisters, so to speak, because God is our Divine Father.

This is the secret, Edward, not to try and find a select group of highly evolved ‘enlightened’ beings, but to see that all beings, from flowers, birds and trees, to the girl at the checkout desk at the supermarket are all wonderful expressions of the Divine. When you love and serve the humblest of these, you can know in your heart that you are serving God (your true Self) and that ‘He’ is pleased that you have recognized this and are compliant with ‘His’ holy will. Now when you do this, you will find an amazing thing will eventually happen. Instead of you having to find like-minded friends, you will find that God will attract like-minded friends to you — your consciousness and lovingkindness will be like a magnet that attracts those of a higher consciousness to you. It may not happen straight away, but I guarantee it will happen if you abide consistently in the ‘knowing’ of who you really are.

If you feel you’ve been called on to ‘teach’, remember that the most powerful way to teach is by example. Be the change you want to see in others. Your task is not to change the world, but to allow God (your true Self) to bring about the change in you that ‘He’ wants. What is that change? It is to be less engaged with your sad story and conditioning and more open to his love, joy and peace. It is not so much what you can do, but what you can allow to come through you. In other words, Edward, be transparent so that the Light of God (Consiousness) can shine through you to the people you encounter each day of your life.

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First of all, desire the Truth more than anything and don’t be afraid of the apparently bottomless pit of the anguish of frustrated desire. Remember to remember that nothing else is even nearly as important. Everything else leads to more of the same, over and over again. I’d give up everything; family, friends, possessions, future, past, even my life for even a moment of the Truth.

Next; question, examine and doubt everything; every thought, desire, motive, rationalization, reason, feeling, and perception. Look for what’s behind them… and what’s behind that… Don’t take anything for granted. Don’t believe anything I think. Every reaction is a ‘clue’; every judgment, hurt, frustration, resentment, satisfaction, pride, fear, etc.

Look especially at attachments, addictions, habits, compulsions, lies, rationalizations and things I can’t accept and reject. Be honest. Be accepting since I’m less likely to even notice the things I can’t bear to see, especially about myself.

Try anything that seems like it could help; (e.g. meditation, reading, memorization, lectures, groups, retreats, workshops, correspondence, DVDs, exercises, experiments (e.g. headlessness) documentaries, self-analysis, diet, supplements, arts (e.g. calligraphy), exercise, fasting, time alone, etc.

Take note of the behaviors of others, ridiculous or otherwise. Notice what’s behind it, why and look for similar behaviors and motives in yourself.

Work with others struggling as I am. Help each other deal with resistances and barriers. Confront each other about things we might be blind to like hidden assumptions, contradictions, inconsistencies, dead ends, laziness, procrastination, excuses, rationalizations and other subtle lies (and the motivations behind them; e.g. fears, desires and prides).

Cut out unnecessary activities like entertainment and other distractions, to make available the greatest amount of time and energy possible for finding the Truth.

Spend as much time as practical sitting quietly, meditatively watching conscious/awareness itself and noting the patterns and implications of the many thoughts that come along to interrupt conscious awareness.

Practice dying; or at least stepping aside and not doing. Sit quietly, meditatively relaxed and stop trying to control even thoughts or observing. The so-called person trying to control everything is probably a big part of the problem and main barrier to seeing the Truth of things.

Remember the possibility expressed by the quote; “So long as one wants anything with sufficient intensity to generate anxiety about not getting it, this constriction of consciousness will detract from opening to cosmic awareness.”

So, work like crazy, and strain with every fiber, but remember there’s no guarantee. Accept that you may never find anything, but without regret since nothing else matters. Work “without fear of failure or hope of gain”.

And, don’t lose any sleep over this; figuratively, since worrying and whining do no good, or literally; since sleep depravation doesn’t usually help either; making meditation nearly impossible or ineffective and is usually a sign of trying to do too much and falling back into diversionary, distracting activities.

PS; The biggest challenge, after maintaining determination to persist in the face of apparently hopelessly long odds, is to stay conscious enough to remember to continue doing all the things that need to be done (above) instead of drifting along half asleep in old habits, lost in one thought after another about the usual mundane amusements and trials of life.

~ From: Regarding THE Subject at Hand by Augie Monge

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Once, in old Poland, a Jewish spiritual seeker burst into the study of Reb Yerachmiel ben Yisrael. “Rebbe,” he said breathlessly, “what is the way to God?”

The Rebbe looked up from his studies and answered, “There is no way to God, for God is not other than here and now.”

“Then, Rebbe, tell me the essence of God.”

“There is no essence of God, for God is all and nothing.”

“Then, Rebbe, tell me the secret that I might know that God is all.”

“My friend,” Reb Yerachmiel sighed, “there is no way, there is no essence, there is no secret. The truth you seek is not hidden from you. You are hiding from it.”

~ by Rabbi Rami M. Shapiro.

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I was a neurotic for years.
Anxious, depressed, selfish
And everyone kept telling me to change.
And I resented them,
And agreed with them,
And wanted to change
But simply couldn’t, no matter how I tried.
What hurt the most was that, like the others,
my closest friend kept urging me to change,
So I felt powerless and trapped.

One day he said,
“Don’t change. I love you as you are.”
Those words were music to my ears.
“Don’t change. Don’t change. Don’t change.
I love you as you are.”
I relaxed. I came alive. And suddenly I changed!
Now I know that I could n’t really change until I found someone to love me whether I changed or not.

Is that how you love me God?

From: The Song of the Bird, by Fr. Anthony de Mello, SJ.

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The noted US spiritual teacher, social activist, column writer and close friend of Eckhart Tolle, Catherine Ingram, is scheduled to give a special satsang at Gurukula on Tuesday, May 12th, at 7.30pm. She will also be speaking at other meetings in Perth. This will be an evening not to be missed.

Here’s a sample of her advice column for an Oregon body/mind/spirit paper.

Dear Catherine,
In your teaching sessions, I have tasted the freedom that you call “resting in pure presence.”; However, the trauma of a divorce last year has overwhelmed that taste in favor of obsessive thoughts about my marriage and divorce. How can I stop obsessing?
GJ

Dear GJ,
What we call obsessive thoughts are actually thoughts that swirl around a subject that is of interest to us. All thoughts dissolve as soon as they arise but due to our interest in a particular subject, similar thoughts on the subject will arise again and can seem to form a steady stream.

A traumatic event, such as a divorce, will naturally be a subject of interest for some time — and this is normal. But if the obsessive thoughts are going on for what seems an unnaturally long time and well beyond any reasonable insight ensuing from all that rumination, then look more deeply at why this subject is holding your interest.

Sometimes we stay focused on a relationship that has ended as a misguided way of keeping the relationship alive — if not in reality, then at least in our minds. Letting go of the interest in those thoughts can induce a sense of finality to the relationship itself. Yet, holding on to that interest dims one’s life and makes one unavailable for other relationships. You must begin to deconstruct your interest in the subject itself.
Catherine

For more background on Catherine, >Click Here

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True meditation has no direction, goals, or method. All methods aim at achieving a certain state of mind. All states are limited, impermanent and conditioned. Fascination with states leads only to bondage and dependency. True meditation is abidance as primordial consciousness.

True meditation appears in consciousness spontaneously when awareness is not fixated on objects of perception. When you first start to meditate you notice that awareness is always focused on some object: on thoughts, bodily sensations, emotions, memories, sounds, etc. This is because the mind is conditioned to focus and contract upon objects. Then the mind compulsively interprets what it is aware of (the object) in a mechanical and distorted way. It begins to draw conclusions and make assumptions according to past conditioning.

In true meditation all objects are left to their natural functioning. This means that no effort should be made to manipulate or suppress any object of awareness. In true meditation the emphasis is on being awareness; not on being aware of objects, but on resting as primordial awareness itself.

Primordial awareness (consciousness) is the source in which all objects arise and subside. As you gently relax into awareness, into listening, the mind’s compulsive contraction around objects will fade. Silence of being will come more clearly into consciousness as a welcoming to rest and abide. An attitude of open receptivity, free of any goal or anticipation, will facilitate the presence of silence and stillness to be revealed as your natural condition.

Silence and stillness are not states and therefore cannot be produced or created. Silence is the non-state in which all states arise and subside. Silence, stillness and awareness are not states and can never be perceived in their totality as objects.

Silence is itself the eternal witness without form or attributes. As you rest more profoundly as the witness, all objects take on their natural functionality, and awareness becomes free of the mind’s compulsive contractions and identifications, and returns to its natural non-state of Presence.

The simple yet profound question, “Who Am I ?,” can then reveal one’s self not to be the endless tyranny of the ego-personality, but objectless Freedom of Being — Primordial Consciousness in which all states and all objects come and go as manifestations of the Eternal Unborn Self that YOU ARE.

by Adyashanti

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Peter’s Pearls is a free daily email service that has been conducted by Clearsight for nearly ten years now. Each day Pete sends out a selected short quote from one of the great spiritual teachers to encourage, clarify and inspire.

For some people, the reading of these quotes will initiate the awakening process. For others, the function of these quotes is to help them recognize that they have already begun to awaken and to intensify and accelerate the process.

Another function of these quotes is to help people recognize the ego within them whenever it tries to regain control and obscure the arising awareness.

If you’re not on our list already, and would like to try Peter’s Pearls, he simplest way to receive this free service, is to send a blank email to >this address. . Also you can read more about this free service Here.

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Asking for directions in the Australian outback is often a chancy business. There was once a grey nomad (retiree towing a caravan) who asked a farmer for directions to Goombungee.

“Take this road here for about two kilometres and turn left at the hollow log. You keep going for about three more kilometres and you’ll come to Riley’s dam. Turn left again. About four kilometres down the track you’ll come to a big sign advertising sheep-dip. Turn left there and keep going.”

“And that’ll get me to Goombungee, will it?”

“No. It’ll get you back here. If I give you all the directions at once it’ll only confuse you.”

BTW. Have you seen our page on Spiritual Direction?

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In Japan, a priest was in charge of the garden within a famous Zen temple. He had been given the job because he loved the flowers, shrubs, and trees. Next to the temple there was another, smaller temple where there lived a very old Zen master.

One day, when the priest was expecting some special guests, he took extra care in tending to the garden. He pulled the weeds, trimmed the shrubs, combed the moss, and spent a long time meticulously raking up and carefully arranging all the dry autumn leaves.

As he worked, the old master watched him with interest from across the wall that separated the temples. When he had finished, the priest stood back to admire his work. “Isn’t it beautiful,” he called out to the old master.

“Yes,” replied the old man, “but there is something missing. Help me over this wall and I’ll put it right for you.”

After hesitating, the priest lifted the old fellow over and set him down. Slowly, the master walked to the tree near the center of the garden, grabbed it by the trunk, and shook it. Leaves showered down all over the garden.

“There,” said the old man, “you can put me back now.”

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Hi Serena,

Thanks for your sincere inquiry, The most important thing any of us can ‘do’ is surrender to, or accept, without reservation, the truth of What we really are, and then, consciously maintain that surrender until it becomes an ‘unconscious’ and uninterrupted way of life. Simply accept that you ARE eternal and infinite Awareness and not merely the form or forms that come and go in Awareness.

You don’t have to convince yourself of this awesome fact for it is the truth of What you are whether you’re conscious of it or not. Whenever you cease to be absorbed or lost in thought and the world of things, you will be aware of that Awareness that you already are. Always return to the awareness of your essential nature with gladness and a sense of gratitude, like the feeling of coming home — home to your true Self. Never berate yourself for getting lost in the inner or outer worlds of form (things that come and go), never scold or criticize yourself as being ‘unspiritual’, but simply notice that you are back ‘home’ again and enjoy the moment.

Because you are in no way separate from That which is the Source of all, in the macro dimension, you are already ‘doing’ everything everywhere and when this is seen or understood in the micro dimension, you can relax in the knowledge, that whatever happens, it is all unfolding exactly as it should — as your ultimate Self intends. In this sense, you surrender to the Will of God and welcome it however it appears.

Part of the unfolding of this higher purpose in all sentient beings is the feeling we can, and the impulse to, ‘decide’. From the moment we wake up each day, we make a steady stream of decisions, AS IF, the form was making those decisions instead of the Formless. This is (must be) the will or the intention of our formless Self. So, you see, our ‘power of choice’ is a wondrous reflection of the functioning of Source as it decides what happens in every atom of the universe.

The more awake or spiritually conscious we are, the more Consciousness or the divine intelligence will influence our decision-making in the relative world — the more the macro dimension will shine through, illuminate and guide our micro dimensional choices. We will probably find ourselves deciding to spend more time in quiet meditation, instead of filling all our hours with noise and activity. We may decide to hang out with those who are in the process of awakening rather than always with those who unconscious of their formless Self. We may decide to be in touch with awakened teachers or mentors, and read their books or listen to their CDs etc. We may decide to share the insights that have come to us with others who seem ready and eager to look into the truth of What they really are.

Serena, these are all things we can decide to ‘do’, and in the doing of them, we will most likely find that we are grounded more and more in calm two-dimensional living. As long as you identify primarily with the still spacious Awareness and not the content of that Awareness, you will find deepening enjoyment and delight on both these levels. It will seem like you ‘do’ the identifying, but actually it will simply be Awareness being aware of ItSelf (your infinite Self).

Perhaps this is all too much to take in at this time, so just relax and trust that you are being led by Consciousness and that It’s expression as ‘Serena’ is part of a great purpose that will bring unimaginable blessing to you and the rest of the manifest world.