The Seer

The good man may not be aware that somewhere on Earth, while he slept, other men were seeking the true Light and meditating upon it. And this Light that I speak of is the Light behind the light — the same that kindled the Sun and Moon and stars in the beginning. And this Light — the Light of the world — is what every man born is seeking all the days of his earthly life, whether he knows it or not.

I will mention the feeblest of all lights — the candle that burns all night in a cold cell of this monastery. The monks here are all frail creatures like the men of the ploughshare and the net and given to error, but now and then, here and there, in cell and sanctuary, all over the world, a great company of minds and hearts is set on a quest for the ultimate meaning of things — for that goodness and truth and beauty that are at the heart of life.

The world is wrapped in night and sleep: a solitary sits at his candle and his spirit is abroad on the ocean of God’s love. Presently, the night-watcher is aware that the flame of his candle is so thin as to be invisible. The Sun, new risen, is flooding through his window. It is not the Sun of all vanity, but the Sun of holy wisdom, and under it, wonderful things are done day after day to the end of time.

These truths are not given only to a solitary here and there in the long watches of the night, they aught to be part of every man, woman and child. If we are true to that Light, we shall know when our last day on Earth, if not before, that life is a thing of beauty beyond price. The peace of the Light that we tend and trim in our hearts will outlast the darkness and the dust of death. And so, dear children of the Light, go out in peace to your fields and your fishing boats.

~ From the novel: Vinland by George MacKay Brown, Ch. 5.
(the conclusion of a short sermon given many centuries ago by Abbot Peter in a monastery chapel in the Orkney Isles)

You could say that intuition is a kind of knowing, but you don’t know how you got there. You know something, but you don’t know by what path you’ve arrived at what you know. It’s a sudden arising of knowledge or knowing something, but “I don’t know how I know this.”

What is at work here is non-conceptual intelligence, when intuition arises.Intuition is not arrived at by thinking, not by logic. It’s arrived at in a way that we cannot explain. It is closely related to creativity and inspiration. Inspiration also comes from that place.

Intuition is given to you. [It is given to] all great artists, musicians, writers, and even great scientists who made deep discoveries that were revolutionary — like Einstein. Einstein had a ’sense’ of his theory of relativity. Before he could fully prove it, he already knew it was true.

It was intuition that came to him. Of course, he had done a lot of thinking before that happened.

Sometimes you have to do a lot of thinking, and then suddenly, thinking doesn’t get you anywhere anymore, and you stop thinking, and you go out and take a few deep breaths. Or you go out into nature and sit under a tree. And suddenly, intuition is there. Something you couldn’t have arrived at through thinking.

It’s vital for every human being to contact that place within, where intuition arises, because otherwise you are confined to the limitations of your conceptual mind … your life is just repetitive, and no new ideas can come. If it’s a fresh and new idea, it comes from a place where all creativity arises — which ultimately, is the stillness within. That’s where intuition arises.

If you can be still even for a moment, then there’s a possibility that some intuitive thing arises as a thought or as a spontaneous thing that you say, and you’ve surprised yourself. Maybe somebody needs your help or advice, and rather than thinking “I should be helping that person. What can I say next to help them?”, rather than that, you just become still, listen, look. And suddenly you may find yourself saying something. It’s intuitive. Suddenly a deeper intelligence comes and uses your mind. That’s what we call intuition.

Realize that this is at the basis of all creative activities, all truly creative activities. Perception is something that comes from the outside, and intuition comes from the inner. It comes from you. It is essentially one with who you are, intelligence itself.

The easiest way to develop intuition is to develop the ability to be still at times. Rather than ‘trying’ to develop intuition, go to the place where all intuition arises. You don’t need to worry about becoming more intuitive if you focus more on being still. Not necessarily for long periods of time, but have moments of stillness in your life, so that every day is interspersed with moments of stillness.

You could just close your eyes and take one or two deep breaths. Or you don’t even have to close your eyes, but while you’re listening or looking at somebody, feel yourself breathing. Feel the inner aliveness within your body. If you are looking at your computer screen, look away for a moment, or close your eyes for a moment, and take one or two conscious breaths. It brings you to stillness.

Wherever you are, there are always opportunities for a moment of stillness. And that is vital, because otherwise your life is unbalanced. If you don’t find stillness, all you have is activity — one thing after another. And this covers up your potential intuitive faculty, continuously.

Seek out moments of stillness. Even the busiest person can do it. If you’re driving home, or driving to work, every traffic light is an invitation to stillness. [There are] so many opportunities for stillness. Stillness is where intuition arises.

~ by Eckhart Tolle (who was born on this day in 1948 — Happy Birthday Eckhart: )

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.

“The outer (spiritual) Teacher gives the instructions, the inner Teacher sends the strength — the alert application is the student’s. Without will, intelligence and energy on the part of the student (of truth), the outer Teacher is helpless. The inner Teacher bides Its time. Obtuseness and wrong pursuits bring about a crisis and the student wakes up to his or her own plight. Wise is the student who does not wait for a shock, which can sometimes be quite severe.”

~ by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj (I Am That)

The magic is in the doing
Not the thinking, reading
Talking or listening about
But in the get down hands dirty
Shirt off doing.

~ by Heather Saunders

We can choose to reside in the middle, the center of the Wheel of Life — to be simultaneously connected to and detached from the whirling world. This is how we can be in this world but not of it. We can choose to move our attention away from residing on the rim of the wheel of life, running continuously through changing terrains, to its center where we experience stability and calm.

We intuitively know that in challenging times we need to “get centered”, to gather ourselves back from the superficial borders of life and connect again to our ’soul’ — the essence of our Being.

The Wheel of Life is always in motion, going through different fields — gravel and grass, cowpats and daisies. If we identify solely with the edges of the wheel, always interfacing variously with happiness or sadness, always anxiously reaching and racing towards the next thing, how can we be at peace? At the surface of the wheel, ups and downs with accompanying insecurities are experienced, but at the center we find stability.

So let us choose to reside at the center of the Wheel of Life, watching life’s events spin around us, embracing it all — supporting, loving, accepting, connected yet detached from the “drama”, creative yet not controlling. It is in the center of our being that we meet the One Self. It is here we see we are not different, not separate from each other. It takes all of us: it takes the One Self to form the center. The center is where we, as infinite “spokes” of the One Consciousness, find community.

~ From: Living As God by P. Raymond Stewart

At the beginning of another year, we have paused to reflect on our purpose in sharing with you in this way.

Clearsight is an educational and personal support emterprise devoted to promoting insight, compassion, and empathy in individuals, families, and institutions. With a emphasis on spiritual awakening, mindful awareness and well-being, we focus on the growth of healthy, self-realized people who can nurture a more compassionate society.

Our mission through education and counselling is to foster conscious or lucid living by pointing to the one timeless Truth or Reality discovered by all the great spiritual teachers of the world.

Our website introduces us to you and offers various opportunities for learning and self-discovery. We look forward to providing you with engaging and enriching experiences and insights.

There is only one thing that truly matters — are you expressing love right now? Love legitimizes all. When you love, you are declaring your true nature.

The fabric of your very existence, the substance of your soul, the stuff of atoms and of the entire cosmos is love. Yes, love helps you on your human journey. Yes, love brings harmony to your relationships. But most importantly, it is when you are loving that you most beautifully express your God essence. When you love, you live as God – you live God into our world.

You don’t need to nor can you ever get love. You only need to express it. And it is not love when you give in order that you receive something you desire in return or to accumulate good karma. The reason you need to express love is that when you love, the finer energy vibration that is released is the expression of your true self. By extending love, you come to know your true self – beyond the limitation of form and more encompassing than anything you can think or imagine you are.

Love moves us. Only steps taken in love move us forward. All else is but a stationary dance. We get many opportunities, perhaps even many lifetimes to learn to love unconditionally – to express the Self that we are. We are here to learn how to love every experience, every thing, every person and every moment fully.

We cannot truly love without experiencing our Oneness. And to help us learn how to truly love, we can start by being intimate with All That Is, meaning acting on our Oneness with whatever is present – living that unity by loving whatever is, and opening our heart to its gifts.

Our Oneness is our reality. But we need to act on this reality in order to experience it. This is how we break through the illusion of separation.

Let our prayer be for Immediate Intimacy. May we be able to feel our Oneness and the reality of our love essence in every moment, with every person, every thing, every experience.

Immediate Intimacy involves embracing every person, situation, experience without the weight of our conditioned past, our personal baggage. It means setting judgments aside and relating to others without fear, without the need to be stronger or better than others or to control the encounter. It means meeting another and whatever the present moment brings without needs or limitations of any kind.

Let us be open, vulnerable, and unconditionally accepting of every part of the One Self. Let us greet everyone and everything with a willingness to love in whatever way feels highest. That is how we express our God Self on earth. It is our reason for human existence.

If we cannot greet another with authentic openness, we limit the love that can be expressed. If we cannot be intimate with the many forms of our One Self, we cannot know our many faces. Let us be open to loving the stranger with the same would have when meeting our long-lost brother, for he is our long-lost brother. Lost because we thought he was a stranger, found because we now remember our connectedness.

~ by P. Raymond Stewart (aka, Rob Paul McRae) — author of Living As God: Healing The Separation

“We have done so much, with so little, for so long … now, we can do anything … with nothing at all!”

~ moto of the Urban Gure Cafe.

One of the ways you begin to negate is to understand your circular patterns. Here is a technique that you can try:

Try and understand your own circle first. It might be something along the following lines.

Discomfort > Movement > Relaxing > Boredom > Discomfort > Movement > Relaxing > Boredom etc.

So then break it up. Pull it apart. When you are in a state of discomfort which could be anywhere between very mild frustration, to full blown rage, what do you do next?

Do you meditate harder? Do you ask a question? Do you distract yourself, e.g. listen to music or read a spiritual text to try and find the ‘answer’ etc? What ever you are doing, try and define it as best as you can, really try and narrow it down. Make a journal for a few days and just note exactly what you do when discomfort appears in your life.

Assuming you have the pattern down conceptually, then at least you have something to work with.

Start getting a feel for discomfort. What I mean by that is really become familiar with your discomfort. Write about it, just let the words flow without thought or editing, what does discomfort feel like in actuality? Keep going back to the experiential state of discomfort and keep noting what occurs, until you start being able to hold the discomfort longer and longer.

Now the circle is getting smaller so that you’re spiralling inwards.

Discomfort > Movement > Discomfort > Movement > Discomfort > Movement and so on.

What is happening here psychologically and spiritually is the circle is collapsing on itself, much like a Black Hole. You are using the energy of discomfort to destroy discomfort rather than looking for something external to alleviate the discomfort.

You can do a lot of preliminary work before doing this, eg read up on the malleability of pain, or go the quantum physics route etc that helps to break up concepts, but eventually there has to come a time, where the works needs to be performed at an intrapersonal level.

~ by Edward Traversa, Melbourne, Aus. Visit Eddie’s blog at Truth Realization.