The Seer

Kirk: “what kind of chips do you recommend?” (See above)

Pete: I recommend your favorite kind … and as you enjoy them, be very present with what is happening. This is not as easy to do as it sounds. Usually, when we are eating etc. we are not fully savoring the chips but thinking of something else … like somebody’s ideas about enlightenment, or what was said or done in the past, or, what might or might not happen in the future.

If you can be deeply present with the chip-eating experience (or any other experience for that matter) it can be a portal into your conscious oneness with the alive awareness that is your essential, infinite and eternal nature/beingness (sorry, words are inadequate here.)

First, you focus on (notice, be aware of etc.) the taste and texture of the chips, the movement of your hand etc. between bag and mouth etc. and even the thoughts that come into your head at this time and any feelings they inspire.

Then, turn your attention back to what is aware of all these sensations, thoughts and feelings. Notice that this silent witness to your interior and exterior world is not a ‘thing’, that it has no form, no age, no limitations etc. This still silent ‘field’ or ‘background’ is the real You … the eternally awake and aware You … it has always been so. To actually see this, as all the sages attest, is ‘enlightenment’.

This aware Self is pure and wholly innocent no matter what you have done as a form nor what has been done to your form by other forms.

Once this is seen, it is realized that it is not the finite, temporary ‘Kirk’ person who sees ’something’ but rather it is the alive awareness that recognizes ItSelf, as though it had been asleep and was waking from a (bad) dream.

Then One is aware that you are just playing the role of a person sitting in a chair eating chips, or not doing so, and you can go on playing the game and not get taken in by it as before. You also realize that everyone else is also an expression of the One, as you are, and that they are part of the game too.

So, become aware of the self-shining awareness within, Kirk, and if you stay with it, it will become a Light that reveals many rare treasures.

Question: Does the feeling and expression of gratitude help to raise consciousness?

Eckhart Tolle: We are talking about a deeper gratitude. There are more superficial forms of gratitude, and that is not what we are talking about. By that I mean, to be grateful that someone else is worse off than you are … sometimes that is a source of gratitude. People say, “Oh I really should be grateful, because look at this person – they are worse off than I am, so I should be grateful.” That’s not the true gratitude, that’s the gratitude that is arrived at through thinking, where you compare yourself to others.

The deeper gratitude is not arrived at through some conceptual process, where you explain to yourself why you should be grateful. That’s a superficial form of gratitude, that’s not really what it is, that’s ultimately to do with ego. More fundamental than the true form of gratitude is the deep sense of appreciation. It’s not to do with what you are telling yourself in your head, it’s something that you sense in the present moment, it’s an appreciation of the ‘is-ness’ of this moment.

We are using words as pointers. When I say ‘appreciation’, some people might ask, “What do you mean by appreciation?” It’s to feel that the world around you is alive, and you share in the aliveness of the world that surrounds you. There’s the outer aliveness, in other human beings, even in your surroundings – whether it’s nature, or even in a room, you sense the aliveness of what’s around you at this moment, through your own aliveness.

And with that comes the feeling, “it’s good to be alive.” You appreciate the many forms of life that are arising at this moment. You don’t impose judgment on the form that life takes at this moment, because the form that life takes changes continuously around you – one moment you’re here, the next moment you’re somewhere else. It’s a deep sense of Being-ness, or aliveness, and through that you appreciate what is, in your life.

And by saying ‘in your life’, it always means in the present moment, because apart from the present moment, there is no such thing as ‘your life’. If there’s something else there that’s not the present moment that you call ‘your life’, it’s a mental construct. You have formed an image of “me” and “my life”, it’s a story, and you mistake that for your life.

Fundamentally your life is whatever form this moment takes. Your life is always what is now. That’s your life. Not some story you’re telling yourself in your head. Through that appreciation, you are sensing a sense of Oneness with what’s outside and what’s inside. There is no longer a separation that is created by excessive conceptual thinking between other people and the self, the separation is created by judgment. There is a sense of allowing the present moment to be as it is.

All these are fundamental aspects of gratitude. It’s that openness to the ‘is-ness’ of this moment. With that openness, comes an appreciation for the ‘is-ness’ of this moment. There is no longer a denial or a rejection of what is, because you have some story in your mind that clashes with what is around you at this moment. And that’s how many people live, so they go through life continuously, there’s a clash between their ideas of what should be now, and what is ‘now’.

The greatest form of suffering and frustration and non-fulfillment is the clash between the mental story of what ’should’ be and what is. That’s really the root of the madness. There cannot be gratitude when that operates in your life. When something seemingly negative happens, people may find it very hard to say, “Okay, I should be grateful, even for this.”

I’m not saying you should do that, because even that is an idea in your head. It’s better to forget about trying to be grateful when something seemingly negative happens, and simply let go of the mental judgment of it, and say, “This is what is, this is what happened, and this is the situation now.”

If you can be free of mental judgment and denial or projection, complaining, and so on … just allow what is, and then something deeper emerges, even in a seemingly negative situation. By coming into this place of acceptance, of the inevitable ‘is-ness’ of now, your inner state is no longer ultimately dependant on what is happening or not happening outside. That is a vital transformation of consciousness, where the external world no longer determines your state of consciousness.

So when something seemingly bad happens, say, “this is.” Whether it is a small thing or a large thing, be open to that. If you’re open to the ‘is-ness’ of what is, something within you which we could call ‘peace’ arises. Sometimes it’s very subtle, and you can’t notice it at first. You’re not grateful for the seemingly bad thing, but you’re grateful that you can still be at peace, even in this situation.

Internally you feel that by accepting, peace arises. Even in seemingly bad circumstances. And what is that peace? It’s an inner sense of aliveness, being-ness, presence. It’s the source of all gratitude. There can be gratitude even when something bad happens. Not for the bad, but for the fact that even in the face of something seemingly negative, there is still peace in the background. But you won’t find that until you first accept what is.

Gratitude is very important. It transforms your whole life, if you can remember the importance of being grateful for life. As you go through your day, every day, you can even have little reminders — of the importance of being appreciative of life. Every person has to verify for themselves, what can I be grateful for at this moment? Sense the being that you are — not just the physical, but the sense of your own presence. That’s a great source of joy, to feel your own presence, it cannot really be defined. That’s the ultimate gratitude.

“In the instant of simply opening, you experience that whatever you were struggling with is no longer there. True openness reveals that the struggle — the problem, the bogeyman, the wound — is actually nonexistent. The story is not transformed by openness; it is revealed to be actually nonexistent. The only thing that holds the story in place is the resistance to opening. What remains, when what was feared or fought with disappears, is the openness of existence itself — the truth in the center of your own heart.”

~ by Gangaji.

When you simply keep your attention on the truth of yourself, on this “unchanging,” (rather than on those things that change all the time) then all the habits to think a certain way will reveal themselves and show themselves to be mirages that give the appearance of suffering. You will find that daily life has always taken care of itself and will always take care.

As funny as that sounds, there is nothing you have to do, because you cannot control anything. There is not a you to do it! If you earnestly look for the you that is supposed to be doing everything, you will find there is nobody. This becomes your own experience that is absolutely unshakeable. Who is it that you think you are? Really check this out. You will make a fantastic discovery.

Somehow there has to be a ripeness to hear. If you have beliefs and are attached to them, then you cannot know this. When you are really willing to look for yourself, or if it happens by grace, then you realize! Once you know and you notice that different thoughts come up by themselves, you either keep returning to This that is unchanging, your own Self which is always present, or you investigate the thought/feeling and see if it is true and what you get for believing it.

You will find that something interesting starts to happen. We have a stream of thoughts which gives the feeling there is something wrong and that you need to get or do something to be happy. For example, that you have to meditate and search, work on yourself, or some strategy to try to become happy.

The moment you keep quiet with who you are, what is needed? You bathe in the ocean of love. This is too simple for most people.

From: It Happens By Itself, by Isaac Shapiro.

NB: Isaac is scheduled to be our next guest-teacher at Gurukula on Mon. Oct. 26, 7.00pm. For more info: >>>Click Here. In the meantime, you can listen to selected audio clips of Isaac.

A state of suffering or happiness, I maintain, is not caused by one’s past, but by how one is relating to the future by fulfilling (or not fulfilling) one’s true nature / potential NOW.

We all have two selves: one is the conditioned self driven by survival mechanisms and beliefs that have been developed through evolution and biography. We call this part EGO. The other Self is the source of who we really are: the potential of our unique strengths and virtues, our life purpose. We call this part BEING.

EGO and BEING are like two different software operating programs: In EGO we are alone and separated, while in BEING we are inter-connected. EGO is driven by fear, while BEING is driven by love. EGO makes us defend and control, while BEING makes us flow with the NOW and connect openly to people and nature.

We are inherently loving by nature. It is neither our biography nor our biology that stops us from expressing authentically who we really are, but our EGO, identity based on beliefs from the past . EGO stops us from returning to our true nature, our BEING .

Our EGO desires security and therefore shapes us by rules, labels, social roles, comfort zone, the known. The EGO will resist exploring possibilities of self-fulfillment and a happier life if such possibilities are unknown or out of our comfort zone. Stereotypes are part of EGO while archetypes are part of BEING .

Therefore, opening the way to BEING is a two stage journey: You first free yourself from EGO (the “EXODUS”) and then cultivate the potentials of BEING , your seeds of happiness (the “PROMISED LAND”).

~ by Hagai Avisar

NB: Hagai is a Melbourne based spiritual teacher, counsellor and psychologist with an international reputation. He will be coming to Perth to offer a Return to BEING workshop at Gurukula in November. The workshop integrates wisdom from several sources – Positive Psychology (the study of happy and meaningful life), Acceptance and Commitment Therapy (ACT) and Ekhart Tolle’s inspiring works (‘The Power of Now’ & ‘A New Earth’). For more info: >>>Click Here

Question: “I’m an architect and I deal with processes and tasks. How can I be present at work?”

Leonard: If you are sufficiently grounded in Presence, then you can go to work as an architect and your mind becomes your partner. It is an instrument of expression, but it serves you most effectively when it is a clear instrument of expression. If it is full of all your repressed emotions and limiting beliefs from the past, then it is not very effective. If you are concerned with outcome so that your ego is involved, it is not very effective. But if you are able to relax and become present in a way that leads to a silent mind, then the mind will be a very effective instrument of expression.

At times, your work will be mostly mental. Every now and then, drop out of it. Become present. Allow your mind to be still. Allow expression to flow from the source, which exists at the very heart of silence within you. This is where all true creativity arises from.

History is full of such examples. Even Einstein reported that his revolutionary equation of E=mc2 arose from a dimension which was transcendent of the mind. Many great artists and musicians have spoken of similar experiences. There is no reason why this level of true creativity cannot flow into your work as an architect.

Of course, not everyone can clear the mind in the way I am suggesting. This raises additional questions. How can we free ourselves from a painful and limited past so that we can become more present? And how can we avoid being caught in future outcome which then involves the ego and closes the door to the creative source that I have been speaking of?

~ From Leonard Jacobson’s new blog page.

Pete, (My problem) … is always the same pattern, regardless the situation:

My daughter throws a tantrum: she’s been wanting to play soccer for weeks. I find a club that will take girls her age and we go there. Once there she refuses to try it. In that very moment, right there and then, I am aware of these thoughts and emotions: “she’s afraid” (disappointment) “she’d rather go home watch a movie” (anger), “she’s going to make a scene” (annoyance), “she isn’t even willing to try” (defeat). And not only I watch these things build up, but I feel disappointed, become angry because I’m annoyed at her behaviour and feel very discouraged. And my behaviour (verbal and non) ends up reflecting this. Then there’s guilt.

Interestingly, I am aware of what’s going on, but it’s only “later” (and it may be just a minute, but as they say “the deed is done” and my daughter is in shambles due to my reaction) that I realize how “wrong I handled the situation” (and here “” because I’m well aware that to a large degree, there’s not much I can do except be aware of it). So I’m left with the only option to try to talk to her and soothe her etc etc. Now, I know (and this is thanks in part to Adyashanti’s recommendation to write about these thoughts and feelings) where they come from, how they reinforce themselves, and what not. (I won’t bore you with the story of Janet).

My question, and it really is one at this point, as all situations follow the same pattern (according to what I’m aware of at least), is how can this powerlessness be overcome or transcended. It’s like watching a film for the 100th time, knowing what’s going to happen and feeling totally powerless to do anything about it (not to react), with the exception that there’s a pang of guilt at the end. In this powerlessness to react in a different manner, I am taken aback by what this Janet character can come up with, by her cruel temper, by her “demons”.

Dear Janet,

Thanks for the helpful description of the situation ‘you and your daughter’ often find yourselves in. You need not despair as this is not uncommon even for spiritual seekers and there is a way of resolving these issues if you are prepared to go all the way with your understanding and practice of the Truth. If, however, you allow your egoic self (the little ‘Janet’ me) to resist the Truth, you will not only continue to have this conflict with it’s associated suffering, but it will probably get worse!

I’ve now had a look over your on line ‘journalizing’ and feel that you have a reasonable grasp in your mind of the Truth of Who you really are … but it seems to me that it is ONLY in your mind at this stage. To be effective … to be liberating … to be empowering, the Truth must be in your heart, or as the old masters would say, in your very bones!

When the Truth is simply in your mind as so many ideas and concepts, they an be easily shoved aside and overridden by the egoic self, energized as it is by all your conditioned thinking patterns. Hence, instead of being present and responding to situatIons as they arise with a sense of choice, you find yourself reacting, almost automatically, with no sense of choice whatever.

When you surrender totally to the Truth and accept on every level of your being Who or What you really are, regardless of your thoughts or feelings, then you begin to see things in a whole new way and it is that ’seeing’ that brings about the transformation of every situation.

So Janet, the question that must be answered is, are you ready to go all the way and make a complete, and unreserved, surrender to the Truth, and not go back on that surrender?

If the answer is ‘No’ or ‘Not yet’, then not much can change in your relationships; and the ideas and concepts you have about non-duel Truth will become more and more sterile and eventually will be discarded altogether. You will close the door that grace has opened for you and will have no alternative but to live on in your mind-made story with all its consequent suffering, as the vast majority of people do.

If, on the other hand, the answer to this all-important question is ‘YES’, then you will find true freedom and a resolution to every problem, but to realize this (make it real in your life-experience), you will need to commit to some serious spiritual practice.

What practice, you now ask, do I mean?

First, I suggest you take time each day to sit quietly and recognize the Truth — that Consciousness (Spirit, God, the true Self, or whatever) is all there is … there is nothing else … despite all appearances to the contrary. Or, in other words, accept that there is only the One, or if you like, that there is only You … everywhere … always.

Allow the Truth sink from your mind, into your heart, and into every cell of your body, that in Reality, there are no ‘others’ … that it is all You. This ‘You’ is not personal, it does not belong to you, but rather your mind/body/personality is a manifestation of It! The person writing to you now is also a manifestation of that same consciousness, and so is your daughter.

All the problems you are having with your daughter, and with yourself because of the associated frustrations etc., is because you still regard her essentially as an ‘other’, someone completely separate and apart from yourself — so perceived differences and conflict inevitably arise.

It won’t be until you can see your daughter as essentially one with YourSelf (and the entire universe) that this will begin to change.

Because, as I see it, your understanding of the Truth has not yet gone beyond your mind, you (consciously or unconsciously) think that you are separate from ‘God’ and everyone else and are therefore responsible for your actions. Consequently you blame yourself when you feel you’ve failed and perhaps, very rarely, praise yourself when you succeed.

Because you still identify with your egoic self (with its ‘poor me’ story), this little illusionary self continues to be quite judgmental, so you categorize your daughters moods and behaviors as being ‘good’ or ‘bad’, ‘right’ or ‘wrong’ etc. and praise and blame her accordingly. This is perfectly normal and what most people do most of the time, but it is NOT the way of one who has awakened deeply to the Truth.

The Truth is that ‘Janet’ and ‘Janet’s daughter’ are ultimately not two separate beings, but two unique expressions or manifestations of the One Beingness. At the deepest level, neither of you are responsible for your behaviors … it is the One that is doing everything … we are all being ‘lived’ according to the way the One wants it to be.

This is almost impossible for the finite human mind to understand, so don’t try to work it out rationally: just surrender to this awesome Truth. In practical terms, it means that none of us can take pride in our supposed successes nor need feel guilt for our supposed short-comings or failures. It means that there can be no condemning judgment of ourselves or of others. The awakened one knows that there is, in reality, no ‘other’ to be the offender nor someone separate to forgive a supposed offence. Why? Because there is only the ONE.

This great Truth can only be recognized in Awareness … the Awareness that is the context for all the content that arises in Awareness (or Consciousness). It is this Awareness that is your essential nature, Janet, and the same essential nature of your daughter, and myself, and everyone else in your world.

When you can know this and accept this without thinking about it, your life-experience will begin to be transformed. You must come to know this as you know your own name and the fact that you exist — without thinking about it. Once grace has brought that recognition about deeply within you, then you will begin to see things in a totally different light … the Light of Consciousness.

One of the first things you will see in that new Light is your deep connectedness with all creatures. You will see, for instance, that your daughter’s moods and behaviors are essentially ‘Your’ moods and behaviors … does that shock or affront you? Of course, I don’t mean, ‘Janet’s moods and behaviors’ but the essential ‘You’ … the One Self.

So if you are at last identified with that infinite One Self, rather than the finite and illusionary little ‘me’, you will find that a great causeless Love will arise from Consciousness and flow into and through your form. This Love has nothing to do with the normal feelings of a mother for a child etc. but is what we may call unconditional love. It is felt and expressed by Self-realized people as compassion … compassion for all forms.

So, in the case of your daughter, when you are in presence with your true Self, instead of being judgmental and in conflict with her, you will feel, without any effort on your part, empathy and compassion for the suffering etc. she is inflicting on herself and those around her.

The ego-motivated need for you to make yourself ‘right’ and the other person ‘wrong’, will no longer be there. Without your saying or doing much at all, the other person will begin to recognize the unconditional Love that is coming through your and that will begin to open up their consciousness (or dissolve their unconsciousness) in due course.

Oddly enough, when we stop trying to change others, when we accept and allow them to be what Consciousness has made them at any given moment, then people begin to change in response the Love and acceptance that they sense is coming from (actually through) us.

Once you have identified deeply with Who or What you really are, and you can see Who or What your daughter really is beneath the outward appearance of her personal self, you will find, I think, that your role as a mother will be renewed. You will be able to offer your daughter support, guidance and training as a fellow manifestation of the One rather than trying to impose it on her as a separate and opposite object.

All real truth is paradoxical. Once we see deeply that nobody is responsible for their actions because we are all being lived by the One … our true Self, then we begin to recognize that the One has placed in us all the capacity and the propensity to make decisions and learn from the consequences of those decisions. The One also places within each of us as we mature a certain sense of responsibility for our own actions and in the awakened person, this can be accepted because we know that we live (or are being lived) in two dimensions at the same time — the formless dimension of Spirit and the human dimension of form.

Those who are still unconscious tend to live only in one dimension — the finite human dimension of form. If your daughter is still at this stage, don’t be anxious about her … Consciousness knows what it is doing in her case. The important thing now is for you to focus on being FULLY in presence as often as you can. This will come naturally after you have once and for all identified deeply with your true Self, not just in your head, nor even in your heart, but in every part of your body/mind/complexity.

It is only then that a book like, “The End of Your World” (by Adyashanti), will have any value for you whatever. Otherwise, it will all be mere words. ideas and concepts.

Now Janet, as you can see, I’ve written at some length here, so I want you to consider all this carefully. Read and reread what I’ve said till you get the full gist of it. Soon, if you persist, you will feel the echo of it within … deep calling to deep in the very depths of your being. When you hear this call, say ‘Yes’ to YourSelf, to Life, to the One that is the Source of all enduring Love and your true nature.

Hello Himanth,

I had a look at your Web site and found it quite interesting. You are obviously an earnest spiritual seeker and I have the impression that you have begun to awaken to your true identity.

It seems to me, that at this stage, however, that the truth you have begun to glimpse remains as thoughts or concepts in your mind. To make further progress toward spiritual maturity and fulfillment, you need to move beyond the activity of your mind into the internal realm of awareness.

The truth is, of course, that you and I are essentially That which is aware of our thoughts, our doubts, our fears, our frustrations, our emotions, and our sensory perceptions.

It’s not just that you HAVE awareness, the awesome fact is that you ARE Awareness or Consciousness ItSelf.

This Awareness that we are is not a ‘thing’ or an ‘object’ that the mind can imagine, or picture, or define, or compare with something else, or even think about … it is the formless or spacious dimension that is capacity for everything that we are aware of.

Most people are unaware or unconscious of this ’spiritual’ dimension within and are constantly caught up in their thoughts and feelings which get translated into the actions of their life. As you ‘awaken’ to the truth, you will become aware of your thoughts and feelings without necessarily becoming involved in them. In quiet contemplation you will find YourSelf the calm observer or witness of your mental activity … this is the first step toward full awakening.

The second step comes when you can turn your attention (effortlessly) away from the objects of your awareness to Awareness ItSelf. You become aware of your constant, unchanging, ageless Awareness. You become conscious of that Consciousness that contains the whole of your world.

When you abide, even if it’s only for a minute or two, in this Awareness and simply be the witness of whatever Awareness is aware of, then you are present, you are consciously present with your true Self or Essential Nature.

When you are present, you will notice that everything that appears in your awareness comes and goes, it is constantly in a state of flux, it is alway in a process of change … but you will also notice that the Awareness does NOT come and go, that it is constant, without limits, without definable qualities,that it is infinite (and eternal).

You will also notice, that while your humanness as ‘Himanth’ is very personal, unique and temporal, the Awareness that sees or observes this humanness is impersonal, universal, and beyond space and time. Your essential Beingness is the same as ‘my’ Beingness, and is the Beingness of every form in the universe. We are all an expression or manifestation of that One Life or Beingness.

So, Himanth, to surrender simply meant to accept, without reservation (by the mind) what you find youself, your true Self, to be … Awareness.

The egoic mind, because of its conditioning since infancy, will try to get you to cling to the idea that you are ’something’ … even a ’spiritual something’, but the truth is that we are much, much more than that. The eternal Awareness that we are is not a ‘thing’ … you can call it Spirit, God, Brahman, the true Self or the no-self … it doesn’t matter, but when you accept wholeheartedly that this is What you are … then suddenly, you will see that you, the real You, are Everything.

Once this is seen or understood from the heart (or in your bones, so to speak), you will be able to enter fully into being ‘Himanth’ and play out the role that Consciousness (your Essential Self) has planned for you. You will then discover what it means to be truly free in every area of your life-experience … because at last you know, that you are none other than Life ItSelf.

Hello Mukesh, you asked:
“Do you mean you are self-realized?”
Yes, this happened by pure Grace in 2002 — after much seeking, there was a sudden shift of consciousness and there was the full recognition that there is only the One … there is nothing else. The illusion (Maya) of separateness dissolved and it was seen (Jnana), without there being a ’seer’ nor anything to be ’seen’, the awesome truth of our essential nature (Beingness).

You also asked:
“have you achieved enlightenment?”
No , for that would be impossible, for ‘enlightenment’ can never be achieved (or attained, or earned etc. ) Enlightenment comes only to the prepared ‘heart’ through ’seeing’ or as a recognition of the truth.

You must know the famous illustration of the person who goes to the river at twilight and steps on a wet rope. Suddenly he is seized with fear thinking he has stepped on a poisonous snake and leaps back in horror. Then, on closer examination, he sees it is only some discarded rope and his whole being is flooded with relief and gladness. What brought about such a great change in his feelings? Was it some ‘achievement’? No. It was the sudden clear perception of the truth … the supposed snake is merely some old rope. This is how it is with ‘enlightenment’.

To become enlightened means, among other things, to have the crushing load of guilt, fear and anxiety lifted from your mind … your load is lightened … you are made free from every (imaginary, mind-conditioned) shackle.

But most importantly, to become enlightened means to see that you, your real Self, is the Light of Consciousness (or Awareness) by which everything is seen or experienced. It’s not that you, as a person (Mukesh) have awareness, the truth is that you, your real Self, ARE Awareness.

Awareness (or consciousness) is the one thing that has been constant and unchanging in your life … it is ageless … and always is. Things constantly come and go in your awareness, but the Awareness you are does not come and go.

Awareness (Spirit, Brahman, God etc.) is actually not a ‘thing’ .. it is not an ‘object’ that can be understood by the mind or defined by words … it can only be experience as Awareness becomes aware of ItSelf, or as Consciousness becomes conscious.

One sees that we are That which the egoic self has been seeking. We see that What we have been looking for is what is doing the looking … right now, at this moment!

When enlightenment happens, it does not happen to a ’somebody’ ( a Pete or a Mukesh) … it is Brahman that awakens from ‘His’ Self-imposed sleep or illusion. The human form (body/mind/personality) is suddenly seen as a temporary expression of the Formless, a unique manifestation of the One.

The One (Brahman) has manifested in or as your humanness so ‘He’ can have an experience of limitation … why ‘He’ delights to do this is a great mystery but we must accept that it is so. The enlightened person (sage) is not only aware of their humanness (thoughts, feelings, sensory perceptions etc.) but of the spiritual dimension within them. This spiritual dimension is also referred to as the Light of Consciousness, or Awareness, or the Void, or the great Emptiness, or Spaciousness etc. No words can adequately describe your essential nature or Beingness.

I cannot emphasize enough that this ’spiritual dimension’ is not something you get, or attain, or achieve … it is there within us already … waiting to be noticed or acknowledged. Your essential nature is already pure, innocent, untouched, sinless, perfect, infinite and eternal. It is beyond space and time and all opposites. Your manifest form, however, is finite, limited and subject to all the opposites like , pleasure/pain, health/illness, success/failure, wealth/poverty, happy/sad etc. etc.

Enlightenment does not mean a life-experience free of worry or pain etc. No doubt, some of these things will be avoided by spiritual awakening, but while we are in the body, we will always experience some degree of the opposites occurring … this is intrinsic to the human experience. However, underlying all this, is the abiding in the blissful knowledge of What we really are. Despite life’s ups and downs, there is a causeless peace, joy and compassion that arises from the Source (Brahman, the true Self). Both Sri Ramana Maharshi and Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj experienced forms of cancer that lead eventually to the death of their bodies, but while there was pain, there was no suffering, no fear of death, no anxiety whatever.

Enlightenment is not an escape from life, but an embracing of it. It means you can say, Yes, to whatever comes along and know that this is but the unfolding of God’s Will for your life-experience.

I was sorry to hear that you’ve been in so much distress with the flu and hope that by now, you’re feeling more like your normal healthy self.

Regarding your inquiry: I’m so glad that you were able to be in Presence, however briefly, while in the throes of your illness, as this indicates a certain growth of ‘consciousness’ within you. Anyone can be in Presence with a minimum of intention when not in bodily or mental distress and in pleasant surrounds, but it takes more spiritual ‘maturity’ to be in Presence in adverse conditions and/or circumstances.

First of all, be wary of buying into the ‘it chose me’ concept — this is pure dualism — ie, the ‘it’ and the ‘me.’ In actual fact, there is only the One … and that is what we are. Ultimately, there is never anything outside our true Self doing something to us … it’s all happening within the Self that we are. Or, in other words, whatever happens, it’s the One playing games of limitation with ItSelf … experiencing the opposites of human experience, which sometimes includes health or illness, ability and disability, pleasure and pain etc.

We can never understand this with our finite mind, so don’t try to understand it rationally, it’s just part of the ‘dance’ of Consciousness. Nobody is ever doing anything to anybody else … despite all appearances to the contrary.

As long as you’re being expressed as a human form, you will experience loss (of health) and limitation. This should not surprise us as … all forms are unstable … no ‘thing’ or form lasts forever.

Illness matters, but it does not matter absolutely … only knowing Who or What we truly are, and resting in this sublime recognition, matters absolutely.

Whether enjoying good health or enduring painful illness, we can say to ourselves, ‘this too will pass’, as indeed will the form itself eventually. Nothing in phenomenality lasts.

By now you realise, I trust, that you are in essence Awareness or Consciousness or Spirit etc. etc. You do not have awareness … you ARE the eternal Awareness beyond all time and space.

As Awareness, you can be aware in two directions. You can be aware of the ‘content’ of your awareness such as thoughts, feelings, bodily sensations such as pain or pleasure, and then your sensory perceptions such as sight, sound, taste etc. In this direction, you were accutely aware of the terrible pain and discomfort of your flu symptoms.

The other direction is for Awareness to be aware of ItSelf, ie, not the content of awareness but of the ‘capacity’ that Awareness is. Some other teachers refer to it as the ’spaciousness’ in which all things exist and are comprehended. In fact, without the capacity or spaciousness of Awareness, nothing could be known at all.

When you focused on your breathing for a short time, you went beyond your thoughts (I am a very sick man with the flu) and into Presence, which is beyond the mind into the realm of pure Awareness. Your identification for those few moments was away from the form and with the Formless which is not, and never can be, touched by pain and fever. Your Formless eternal Self, can never suffer loss or injury of any kind … it is always pure, unchanging and inviolable. In other words, As Awareness, you were momentarily aware only of your true Self, rather than your manifest self, as RIchard, who obviously was still sufering from the flu.

Normally, the spiritually mature (or, Self-realised) person is aware of both directions at the same time — the ‘capacity’ and the ‘content’ — not just one or the other.

In reality, there is no difference whatever between Awareness, and what Awareness is aware of … they are all One. The unconscious person (the average person in the world) is only aware of one dimension — his or her humanness, and the world of opposites that goes with it. The conscious (or awakened) person, however, is always aware of two dimensions — that of impersonal eternal Beingness and one’s personal finite humanness. Thus, they are a fully realised ‘human-being.’

As we identify more and more with the Awareness we are, we will still be aware of pleasure an pain — even the pain of a severe flu when it occurs, but when it’s observed or witnessed from the standpoint of Awareness, there will be pain without suffering, there will be a causeless peace underneath the turmoil and distress of ill-health and an inner smile that knows that no matter what happens, nothing truly important can be lost or injured.

As we abide in Present awareness, new energies are released and our immune system is able to function uninhibited by the conditioned mind and renewal and healing are more likely to take place.