Randall Friend: Every Second is a Miracle

Whether this experiencing goes on or not, whether sleep transitions to waking or not - what-you-are remains untouched, existent, inseparable.  

Nothing can affect what-you-are.  No experience has ability to change anything.  Each experience is a passing pattern.  It only has relevance within the realm of the experiential - which is merely patterns of patterns of patterns.  What exists remains untouched by it.  Actually what appears, what is experienced, is nothing BUT that which-IS.

There is no need to fret over what appears, what seems to happen, the outcomes of our efforts or from spirituality.  Each moment is merely what that whole existence is doing, how it is expressing, in a million-billion ways.  No matter the sort of chain comes about, gold remains the same.

 

That which-IS - right now is here - it is aware.  It is intelligent.  It takes itself as separate due to the overlaid mental activity - it may discover the inherent falseness of this separation because the falseness cannot stand up to the truth.  You are that wholeness, right now.  It is all there is.  

So as we take a sip of our wine, as the distant violin or piano plays, as that overlooked cool breeze blows on our face - each moment is nothing more and nothing less than the whole itself, expressing, at play, forming and dissolving.  Life is present, right now, aware of itself due to the capacity we call Consciousness, aware of itself due to the play of patterns, the dance of expressions.  

Each second is a miracle of that play, a beautiful concert of the visual, mental, sensory patterning - any judgment of it is only mental yet that mental judgment is also part of the concerto - a parallel solo demanding attention - a voice limited only by the intellect.  Once we discover that it isn't the enemy, it isn't the problem, then it takes it's place as part of the symphony, as part of the transient opera we call "my life" - once it ends the curtain falls and nothing remains but a dark stage.  A memory of highs and lows - beauty and tragedy which only has significance within the play itself.

As Life you remain existent - the means to know that you ARE fade away yet existence itself cannot come and go.  When we realize this, each second is both meaningless and ultimately the only meaning there is.  Each moment is cherished, not held onto but accepted unconditionally, loved without bounds - because it is the present manifestation of all there is.

You.

 

(Reposted from Randall Friend's Nonduality site: http://avastu0.blogspot.com/

Best Nonduality Podcast, Hands Down

 Urban Guru Cafe is a podcast that interviews a great number of neat folks who talk about nonduality.
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James Braha with Sailor Bob Adamson

  

 The following text is reprinted from: Awakening Clarity, a blog dedicated to the nondual

James Braha is our fourth author/teacher in this Guest Teachings Series.  Our selection from his work will come from Living Reality: My Extraordinary Summer with "Sailor" Bob Adamson.  It's a unique work in among the hundreds of Nonduality titles begging for our attention.  It's both a tremendously satisfying story, and a fine, fine teaching.  Here's part of what I said about in my Amazon review of it in November of 2010:

"Braha recorded his very first trans-continental telephone conversation with world-renowned Advaita teacher and master, "Sailor" Bob Adamson. Who would even think of doing that? Then, a few weeks later, Braha, who is not much of a flier, invites "Sailor" Bob and Bob's wife, Barbara, to visit Braha and his wife, Vashti, in Florida. And offers to pick up the tab. Who the hell THINKS of doing this? Who can pull it off? And who then does it? James Braha. And as it turns out, Mr. Braha is not only a bold and clever guy, but a fine and entertaining writer as well." 

That's the history of Living Reality in a nutshell.  So it was with a wonderful combination of seeker's heart and writer's mind that James called Sailor Bob Adamson for counsel.  He persuaded Bob and his wife, Barb, to come to the States for a summer, and it was James who primarily footed the bill.  I think he got his money's worth.  Sailor Bob, who studied directly under Nisargadatta, is easily one of the best known and deeply respected Nondual teachers in the world, a true elder statesman of this teaching.  The experience was priceless, and its wakes are still being felt around the world.  James' photo look like the cat who ate the canary, does he not?  There's a reason for that. I hope some of you will be doing the same by the end of this article.

I enjoyed Living Reality so much that I wrote James to say so, and shared my own story with him at the same time.  We've written back and forth numerous times over the last eighteen months, and he's always been generous with his time, kind with his praise, and encouraging in his spirit.  I mentioned last week that Peter Dziuban was the first Nondual writer to put a bug in my ear about doing some writing of my own in this field.  James was the second.  Without their nudging there would almost certainly be no Awakening Clarity.  Thank you, James.

I'm going to keep my introduction of James to a minimum, because I want to devote the space to our selection, which is going to be longer than usual, but which should be an easy read, because it's the text of the first conversation between James and Sailor Bob.  Let me set it up just a little.  James Braha is a writer's writer.  Reading him is like reading a wonderful novel: the pages seem to fly; you just don't want to put his book down, and you don't want it to end.  Yet Living Reality was far from his first book.  James had been chest deep in spirituality for years prior to the events related in his book.  He's a world renowned authority on Hindu and Vedic astrology.  Amazon shows seven titles to his credit.  So to say that James was fertile ground is an understatement. The ground was fertile, the seed was in the ground, and the area had been watered.  It was only missing one thing when James called Bob.  It was missing Direct Light.  That's just what Bob brought.

And now...

 

Living Reality

by

James Braha 

Our First Conversation

James: I am trying to understand the role of the intellect.  Does one gain realization through the intellect?

Bob: No. The intellect has nothing to do with enlightenment.  It’s that spontaneous presence awareness that is with you right now—and with you all the time.  If you look at the intellect of the mind, all the mind does is translate.

You’re seeing me right now, aren’t you?

James: Yes.

Bob: Well, if you look around the room and try to label what you see, you can only label or distinguish a small number of things.  In fact, you are seeing everything in the room.  You’re seeing much more than what you can label through the mind.  You may label four or five items, yet you’ve seen everything.

James: Right.

Bob: Well, that’s the difference between the pure intelligence, or pure functioning awareness [other terms for presence awareness, or the natural state], and the thinking mind.  The mind translates; that’s all it does.  It says, “I think this,” or “I feel that.”  That’s all it’s doing.

But the seeing and the hearing, the actual functioning, is prior to the labeling.  It’s always happening in its entirety, in the present moment.

James: I’ve been reading lots of Advaita and recently realized that I have been chasing enlightenment like it’s a thing, an attainment.  That’s ridiculous.

Bob: Of course it is.

James: I know, but thoughts keep coming up that “I don’t want to waste my life.  I want to realize whatever is possible to realize…” I know one cannot make enlightenment happen…

Bob: You see, enlightenment, or liberation, and all the rest of it, is something fabricated by the mind.  These are labels, concepts.

James: Exactly, but what do I do now?

Bob: You don’t do anything.  You never have done anything as a separate entity!  But the doing happens.

It’s the same as when the sperm and ovum that created you came together.  Where were you then?

James: I understand that.  But what do I do?

Bob: Just let life unfold, just the same as your life has been lived so far.  You must realize that the mind, which is the “I” that you take yourself to be, has never done a thing.  It hasn’t got any power to do anything.  All it’s doing is translating what is actually going on.

So the going on still happens the same way it did before, but you no longer attribute to it a separate entity, or an individual that gets itself into trouble.  It’s the separate identity, the idea of separation, that causes all the psychological problems.  There is no separation.  Everything is equal.

If you look in nature, you’ll see the equality of everything.  Day follows night, silence follows sound, the tides go in and out, seasons come and go.

We put these labels on everything, this differentiation on everything…  But really, all is one.  All is consciousness.  It’s like a wave on water.  The wave is still only water.  The wave that arise on the ocean is still only ocean.  There is no differentiation, except in the mind, in the labels.  All is one.  All is consciousness.

James: Well, for example, tonight I had the thought, “I’ll call Sailor Bob…”

Bob: Yes, well that thought simply came up at that particular time.  When the actual experience happened, you picked up the phone and dialed.  There is no entity who did that.  The thought to call did not do the calling; that was simply a translation of what might or might not happen.

James: Okay.  Well, I know that chasing liberation like it’s a thing is absurd, but every day thoughts keep coming up that “I want to get rid of this ‘me’ identity.”

Bob: If you look closely, you’ll see that this “me” identity has no power or independent nature.  Could you have that idea of a “me” if you weren’t conscious or aware?

James: So you’re saying it’s fine to have the ‘me’ identity?

Bob: Yes.  It’s going to appear, but now you know the falseness of it.  Look, you go down to the ocean, and you see that the water is blue.  But you and I know that you can’t get a bucket of blue water from the sea.

James: Right.

Bob: You’re not going to stop seeing the blue sea or the blue sky, but you know the truth about it.  And the same with the water in a mirage.  You’re never going to try to drink the water in a mirage.

Knowing the truth about it, you’re not bound by it.  Remember the old scriptural saying, “Know the truth and the truth will set you free”? So in knowing the truth that you are not a separate entity and never have been and never will be, you are no longer bound.

It’s the same with the idea of a “James” as an independent entity.  It’s still going to be there, but you know the truth about it.  You’re not bound by it.  It loses its hold.

James: So it gradually loses its hold.

Bob: Yes.

James: Or it doesn’t.  But it doesn’t really matter, either way.

Bob: That’s right.  It’s equal.  In essence, it’s equal.  It’s got not independent nature.  You couldn’t have that thought of an identity, or that concept of a “me,” if you weren’t conscious and aware.  When the life essence goes out of your body, the body still has eyes and ears and a nose and a heart, but none of it is functioning.  It’s like having all the information in the world on your computer, but if the power isn’t on, it’s worthless to you.

So you are that functioning intelligence energy, that presence awareness, that has never had any beginning and will never have any end.  It always was and always will be.  The energy vibrates into different patterns, into different shapes and forms, just like the ocean appears to be blue, but it never was blue.

So the self identity is still going to be there.  First, you’ve got to look through it and see the falseness of it.  When you take a stance in the concept of being a separate identity, that’s resistance to “what is,” and that’s stopping the flow of energy.  That’s where all our problems arise from.

James:  So the thing to is simply be with “what is”?

Bob:  Yes.  You can’t be anything else, if you examine it closely.  Look you’re aware of presence right now, aren’t you?  You know that you “are”.

James: Yes.

Bob: What do you have to do to cause that to be?

James: Nothing.

Bob: It’s spontaneous; it’s self-shining presence awareness.  It’s functioning by itself.  And on that presence awareness appear all sort of different patterns.

James: The problem is that I get everything you’re saying right now, and tomorrow I’ll probably feel great and peaceful, and I won’t be seeking like an addict.  But in two or three days, I’ll remember some spiritual book where the author talks about his or her fantastic bliss experiences and all the the miracles constantly occurring.  And then I’ll want my individual identity to go away completely, so I can have all that great stuff.  And I’ll start wondering what I can do to make that happen. 

Bob: You see, your individual identity started around the age of two, when you learned language.  That’s when your sense of separation started, and the seeking of wholeness began.  But not, you’ve seen clearly through that false identity.  That’s it. 

But the habit patterns, which have been constantly reinforced, day in and day out for so many years, will come up again.  Now as you immediately recognize an old habit pattern, then no energy goes into it.  Nothing can live without energy.

Now that you’ve seen through it, how can you believe it again?

James: So, what you’re describing is understanding?

Bob: Yes.  By realizing falseness, you can’t believe in it again.  Even though you’re seemingly caught in it, the energy drops out of it immediately, and the “head of it” will fall off.  The self identity, or false reference point, may come up for a while, but the more and more that you catch yourself just going back into a habit pattern, eventually the habit is broken.  Haven’t you had habits that you have broken before?

James: Of course.

Bob: Well, this habit can be broken also.  Just be seeing through it.

James: The times that I feel separate mostly occur when I am dealing with other people. You know, some upset or hurt feelings come up.  Then, later on I realize that what happened previously was absurd because there is no James to get hurt or upset.  James is a false identity, a false reference point.

Bob: That’s right.  Interactions happen.  That’s the functioning of the universe.  Things will happen.  But you know that there are no people.  If you see clearly that there is no self center in you, with any independent nature, then you must know for certain that there is no self center in anyone else, with any independent nature.  That puts you in the box seat, doesn’t it?

So you know where everybody comes from.  Ninety-nine percent of the world don’t see this, or grasp it.  So they’re coming from that false self center, even many who preach enlightenment—which implies some future time, and there is no future time—are coming from a false self center.

So others will have a concept about you.  And you will have a concept about yourself.  Now, which concept is right?

James: Neither one.

Bob: That’s right.  So you can’t believe the concept you have about yourself.  That’s garbage. And you can’t believe someone else’s concept about you.  That’s also garbage.  So there’s no one superior to you and no inferior from that point.  It’s all equal.

So you go along, and you have an argument with someone if necessary, but you don’t take it to heart, because there’s no self center, or reference point, where it can take hold.  They might, but that’s their perception.  That might be the thing that turns them around.  It’s generally suffering that turn people to this teaching, you see?

So it all goes along the way it should.  But the actuality is always this moment.  You can never live this moment again.  If we’re worrying yesterday or anticipating tomorrow, we’re not living fully.  Half our senses are taken up in that past and future, and we’re not totally with the present, where everything is happening.

James:  So, when I live my life …

Bob: You don’t live your life.  Your life is being lived.

James: Okay.  As my life is being lived, it’s just as well if I have no thoughts about gaining enlightenment?

Bob: Well, have a look at this, James: enlightenment implies something that you haven’t already got.  And that’s taking you away from presence, taking you away from omnipresence, which is all there is, into an anticipated and imagined future that doesn’t exist.  So, you’ve put yourself in a trap!

James: That’s a habit pattern developed over the last thirty years.

Bob: Yes, but if you see it as a habit pattern, are you going to believe it anymore?  Now that you see it as a habit pattern and see its falseness, it will drop off on its own.

James: Okay.

Bob: Now, you can’t force it away, because the idea of a “you” trying to stop it gain has got you subtly.  It’s got you into duality, into a false reference point again.

James: It’s really a strong habit.  Often, when I find myself not chasing enlightenment or feeling I’m thinking about it enough, I actually feel guilty. 

Bob: James, you always have been and you always will be.  What you’re seeking, you already are.  Start from that.

You don’t have to try to do anything; you only have to scrape away the rubbish that is stopping you from seeing that.  Recognize the garbage that is stopping you from seeing it.  It’s as simple as that.  It’s so simple that we miss it.

 

James: What about all these teachers who say you must do meditation and yoga and all the techniques?  What’s that all about?  Is it useful?

Bob: For some people, it might help to slow down the mind a bit; it might thin the cloud out a little bit, so they can see the sun shining in its fullness.  For some people, meditation and other techniques just happen.  But if you can see the directness of this teaching, all these things aren’t necessary.  There is no need to go anywhere or do anything.  Presence awareness is what you are.  Just relax into presence awareness.

James: I see.  Well, I appreciate your speaking with me.  It was a bit hard for me to call.  It took some guts.

Bob: Well, if you see that you have no self center, you know that no one else does either.  Then the fear of dealing with other people fades away.  No one is superior and no one is inferior.

James: My friend Kerry is going to see Ramesh Balsekar [a famous Indian teacher who was a disciple of Nisargadatta]; that will be exciting for him.  I often think about going to see awakened teachers, but then I wonder what exactly they will do for me.  They aren’t going to give me enlightenment.  I may feel good for a few days, and then in time I’ll feel the same as before.  The good feeling comes and goes.  It’s just the peak experience.

Bob: That’s the trouble.  Many seekers get stuck in experiences.  All experiences are in the mind; they are mind stuff.  I was with Muktananda in the 1970s when I met Nisargadatta.  I was in Muktananda’s ashram at the time.  Well, some people have been going to Muktananda’s ashram for thirty years, and they are stuck in the experiences.  They don’t move away from that.

James: You mean blissful experience.

Bob: Yes, people have all kinds of experiences, but they are transitory.  People have kundalini experiences [energy rushing up the spine], bliss experiences, all kinds of things.  But thse come and go.  They are not what you’re looking for.  Presence awareness is beyond experience, prior to experience.  I have long periods of silence, and I have periods of mental chatter.  It’s all the same to me.

James: You don’t prefer the silence?

Bob: No, because these things are experiences.  I am beyond experience.  What I am is that in which all experience happens—the experiencing, not the experience or the experience.  Just like seeing, in which the seer and the seen appear, the seer becomes the pseudo-subject, and the seen is the object.  But they’re both contained in seeing.  If there weren’t seeing, there couldn’t be a seer.  If there weren’t seeing, there couldn’t be a seen.

James: So, there really no need to do all those purification techniques, meditation and yoga and all?

Bob: No, no need whatsoever.  Of course, if it happens, there’s nothing wrong with it.  But all they will produce are experiences.  They come and they go.

James: Right.

Bob: You see, since you’ve been talking to me has the presence awareness changed?

James: No.

Bob: Thoughts have come; thoughts have gone.  Feelings have come and gone.  You’ve heard sounds and seen things.  But the presence awareness here is uncontaminated, spontaneously ever present, isn’t it?

James: Yes.

Bob: Well, that is what you are.  To the mind, that’s “no thing”.  That’s where the fear of that, or confusion, comes in because the mind is used to grasping at something.  The mind can’t understand no thing because the mind is a thing itself.

You are That.

James: Your teacher, Nisargadatta, used to say [in dialogues in his book I Am That], “Be with the ‘I am.’”

Bob: Yes. But be careful.  He didn’t mean the thought or the words “I am”; he meant the sense of presence, the knowingness that you are.  You can’t get away from presence awareness.  You can’t get away from presence awareness.

James: Yes, I understand.  But there seems to be some paradox going on in the Advaita teaching because non-dualism implies oneness, literally “not two”. And that means there is nothing to do, nowhere to go, and so on.  But Nisargadatta was teaching that we should focus constantly on the sense of presence, the “I am”.  That sounds like a prescription.

Bob: It’s true.  But remember that Nisargadatta was teaching all kind of people, from all walks of life, from all sorts of different levels, not that there are ultimately any levels.  And some people had no clue what he was trying to convey.  So he spoke differently to different people.  He was unable to teach many of his fellow Indians because they were consumed with their religion.  For them, he performed prayers and chants and sent them on their way.

James: So, it’s just a matter of being, and of being aware.

Bob: Yes, and that’s spontaneously and effortlessly with you now.  When you realize that there is actually no self center, or reference point, in you, then what must be there?

James: Everything?

Bob: Emptiness.  And what’s happening in life is what the ancients call “cognizing emtiness”.  It’s the emptiness that’s cognizing.  Cognizing is the intelligence factor, the knowing—the knowing that you are.  So, “intelligence energy” is not two things.  It’s emptiness cognizing emptiness, which everything appears and disappears on.

Something can’t come from nothing.  Everything is appearing in emptiness, so essentially the appearances must be emptiness also.  In other words, all the manifestation is an appearance only.

 James: Yes, I’ve read about that and I get it.

I don’t mean to beat a dead horse, but I want to make sure I’m hearing properly.  This whole enlightenment, liberation, self-realization business is really about understanding?

Bob: Yes.  As Nisargadatta put it, “Understanding is all.” Understanding is all that is necessary.  Look at what the ancient sage Patanjali spoke about.  He spoke about right understanding; that’s what he emphasized. [Note: Some non-dualists prefer the term “knowingness” because the feel the word “understanding” undwittingly conveys the idea that there is a person to do the understanding.]

Just remember that the mind is not you.  The mind is just a translator.  As an infant, before reasoning, you were functioning effortlessly, from the natural state.  There was no labeling going on.  You were in the natural state.  You were seeing, hearing, and you didn’t know there was an “I” there.  That came along after reasoning started.  From that point on, everything is acquired mind.  Everything is learned from then on.  But the natural state is still functioning, still beating your heart, growing your fingernails, digesting your food, causing your thinking to happen, and so on.

So, the natural state is still functioning, but it’s seemingly clouded over by that acquired stuff.  The acquired stuff is like a cloud.  It seemingly blocks out the natural state.  Our focus goes into that mind stuff, and we keep repeating it and believing it, so that habit patterns form.  And we gon on like this until we pause and question what has happened.

But you must realize that the natural state is still there and always has been
James: Is it us questioning?  The thoughts are just coming into our minds, right?

Bob: That’s right; it’s not us doing anything.  Get that out of your mind.  It’s one without a second.  That’s the simplicity of this.  The ancients have told us all the way through the ages that it’s non-dual, one without a second.  In Dzogchen [pronounced “zog-shen] Buddhism, it’s described as “non-conceptual, ever-fresh, self-shining presence awareness, just this and nothing else.” The Israelis say, “Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.”

James: Well, where are my thoughts coming from?

Bob: They’re coming from that cognizing emptiness.  They’re nothing more than vibrating patterns of energy appearing on the emptiness.

James: And we have nothing to do with this?

Bob: No, the idea of “we” is just another vibrating pattern that is appearing on the emptiness.  In essence, the thought is the same as the emptiness.  It’s still that oneness.

So nothing has ever happened!  To no one!

* * * * *

Copyright 2006, James Braha

James' website: http://www.jamesbraha.com/

To view or buy Living Reality on Amazon: http://tinyurl.com/79gttrn

To order Living Reality directly from James:  http://tinyurl.com/6mswml9

Deny Everything and see what is left, by Gilbert Shultz

You can deny everything except the fact that you exist.
All the rest is concepts.
It is so simple and so obvious everyone ‘appears’ to miss it.
Just be conscious of this consciousness.
Nothing else is required.
Being conscious is not an effort being made by someone.
Being conscious has no past or future and no story of me.
Even the present is only a concept appearing.
Randall Friend adds: ……”And everything else that appears to exist has some basis – it is a pattern OF something that exists. The wave is a pattern of ocean – the ring is a pattern of gold. The essence is all that matters. The pattern IS the essence. Even if you identify with the pattern you must then also admit to being the essence. And the essence of all is Life itself”.

Amen.

by gilbert on May 26th, 2013 in Uncategorized

No Claim, No Blame, No Fame, by Leo Hartong (click here)

The following is an extract from Leo's book 'Awakening to the Dream: The gift of lucid living'.

As I am sitting at my computer writing these words, I become aware of the sensation of thirst. Simultaneously comes the thought, “A cup of tea would be nice.” This all happens spontaneously without me first deciding to be thirsty and then to think of tea.

If you watch your mind, you will see that thoughts arise of their own accord. Please, do not simply accept or reject this. When you honestly observe and investigate, it will become clear that you are not the thinker of your thoughts. What this chapter will try to show is that you are also not the doer of your deeds. This may go against your deepest convictions and beliefs, so I ask you to suspend the judgment that may come up as a reflex and see what is really being offered here.

All apparent decisions and choices are thoughts. To act upon a thought feels like choice and is labeled choice by the language, but choice is really just the expression of whatever thought arises most predominantly. I did not choose my desire for tea, nor did I choose the stronger desire that I should finish the paragraph first, but that is what is spontaneously happening.

This is not to say that I am an apparatus without free will. There is actually no individual here to be deprived of free will. The thought of “I” and the thoughts of tea and typing merely unfold as a manifestation of the animating energy of Pure Awareness.

From this perspective, there is a sense that life is simply living, thinking, and acting through you and as you. The Taoists call this Wu Wei, which loosely translates as non-doing. This does not mean doing nothing in the sense of inertia, but rather that everything—including “your” thoughts and actions—is happening naturally and of its own accord. Lao Tsu describes it in the Tao Te Ching as follows:
Tao, without doing anything,
Leaves nothing undone (37)

And again:
Less and less is done,
Till only non-action remains.
Nothing is done, yet nothing is left undone. (48)
In Buddha’s words:
Suffering exists, but none who suffer,
The deed there is, but no doer thereof.
We all know the feeling of being in the flow of things. At such times, we lose ourselves in our activity. Writers frequently have this experience when the words seem to simply pour onto the page and they have no idea what the next line is going to be until they write it. Most athletes also have moments when suddenly everything clicks and they manage to perform beyond their normal capacity. There are sometimes moments during lovemaking when lovers melt into a union that knows no separate individuality. Or what about narrowly averted accidents on the highway where you later wonder just who was steering the car? I’m sure if you think about it, you have had several such experiences in which you forgot yourself and everything seemed to magically fall into place.
This forgetfulness is very different from forgetting your friend’s birthday or where you put your glasses. Nor is it like the absentmindedness induced by too much booze or too many tranquilizers. It is a forgetfulness that is alert and alive. This losing oneself in the flow is a taste of what is meant by “the action of non-action.”
All works are being done by the Gunas (or the energy and power) of nature, but due to delusion of ego, people assume themselves to be the doer. (The Bhagavad-Gita Copyright 1988 by Dr. Ramanand Prasad V3.27)
Although being in the flow feels wonderful, the idea of our actions happening by themselves instead of through our free will can be upsetting. This is especially true for the western mind, which tends to view free will as either an inherent quality of one’s prized individuality or a gift/test from God to see if one is strong enough to do the right thing. For the atheist, his doing or failing to do the right thing may be a measure of his true character; for the religious person there is a lot more at stake, since for him it determines the quality of his after-life.
From the free-will point of view, the idea that something is living through us can be quite objectionable. It seems to reduce us to mere marionettes, implying a helplessness, which is hard to accept. Furthermore, there arises a fear that if nothing we do is truly our own action, then people have an excuse for undesirable behavior. What is overlooked in such arguments is that all activity is of the one Self, appearing as the multiplicity of characters that apparently do the thinking, acting, and choosing. To excuse our undesirable behavior on these grounds does not work, for there will still be consequences. You may protest that the thought that led you to steal from your employer simply arose, and you are not responsible; but then neither is your employer responsible for the thought that led him to fire you and press charges.
Ultimately, since the ego is an illusion, it cannot be deprived of free will nor can it be the victim of predestination. The ego is neither the doer nor the non-doer; it simply does not have an existence independent of the Self, any more than a character in a novel exists independently of the author who portrays him. He and all other characters in the story arise from the imagination of the writer. When it is realized that we all arise from Pure Awareness in much the same way, it is instantly clear that there is no one from whom free will could have been taken. The moment the ego’s point of view gets dropped, there is the liberating realization of a divine energy spontaneously manifesting as us. There’s then no one left to experience a sense of helplessness, and it is clearly seen that the helplessness is just another thought.
Like St. Paul said:
"I live, yet not I, but Christ - the eternal Logos - liveth in me. " (Gal 2:20).
The paradox in the suggestion that the ego should be dropped is that when one is not the doer, one cannot do the dropping. What happens is more like a falling away, which comes in its own time and which is nothing other than the impersonal recognition of the ego’s illusory nature. Although this realization comes by itself—it is often referred to as grace—it is not something one has to wait for. Waiting is just another way of trying to get it, which only perpetuates the illusion that there really is someone who should get something.
Intellectually accepting the idea that we should not try often results in trying not to try. This is what in psychology is called the double bind or in everyday language, “damned if you do and damned if you don’t.”
This double bind is acutely felt when you try to will yourself to forget something unpleasant. It also features prominently in so-called self-improvement projects and can lead to bizarre thought patterns such as:
I will correct my habit of correcting myself and others;
I will no longer put up with intolerance;
I’ll put a real effort into becoming more relaxed; and
I can hardly wait to become more patient.
I will really try to be more spontaneous;
I will seriously work on my sense of humor; and
In the very near future, I resolve to become more accepting of what is right now.
Okay, this might be a slight exaggeration, but it shows the principle at work through the contradictions that pop up when the ego embarks on a project of becoming better adjusted, more accepting, or more relaxed. As long as we believe that there is an ego to either improve or remove, and as long as we work toward the betterment or elimination of that ego, the more the illusion is perpetuated. It’s like looking in the mirror and seeing your face. Trying to remove your face by cleaning the mirror is useless. If you simply walk away, it’s not there anymore; but you don’t see that. All you know is that every time you look it’s still there, and you may decide that more cleaning is needed. During the course of the day we often “forget” to look and, in such moments, we are totally without a sense of ego. We don’t realize this since during these moments there is no “I” to notice its absence.
The deceptive sense of a personal self is a complex system of thoughts, memories (a special kind of thoughts), emotions and conditioning. This mental structure may even cause certain sensations in the body-mind, through, for example, habitual muscular contractions and nerve firings, further supporting the perception of the illusion as reality. We may argue that when it is felt and perceived it also must exist. It’s fine to take that position, but then realize that the ego illusion is not so much in what we label as the ego, as in our identification with it. In the same way, we could say that a mirage of an oasis in the desert exists when it is observed; or we could say that it does not. It only becomes a problem when it is not recognized for what it truly is and one expects to find water there.
See that you are not limited to this mirage known as the ego. You are that which appears as and—at the same time—is aware of the ego. The ego concept is built into the very syntax we use for thinking and talking. Thinking “I have an ego” is just a thought; but so is thinking “I don’t have an ego.” Both thoughts include “I” along with “ego,” and both appear and disappear again without leaving a trace on the mirror of Pure Awareness. Stop looking, and it’s gone.
When a student asked Shri Atmananda, “When will I get it?” he answered, “When the when stops.” Normally the mind then asks “And when will that be?” The answer can only be “Right here and right now!” This literally means that you do not have to wait for grace to set you free. You already are free. Saying that you do not have to wait for this freedom is not meant to put you again into a double bind, in which you might try to give up trying or find yourself waiting for the waiting to stop. It’s just a reminder that the silent space of Pure Awareness already is. It sees and contains the reading of these words and the arising of thoughts, which then are identified as “your” thoughts. It is in and prior to the energizing of your senses and available as everything that’s presenting itself at this very instant. The acceptance of this reveals what you truly are. Behind the veil of ignorance (ignore-ance), you are the Awakened One, aware of—as well as appearing in and as—this marvelous show of manifestation. You are, at once, Awareness and the totality of its content.
Again, let me stress that, due to the limitations of language, I seem to suggest that there is Awareness on one hand and its content on the other. In truth, there is nothing but Oneness here, preceding and including the duality of duality and non-duality. There is no individual entity to either get it or not get it; there is only this. There is not now, nor was there ever, an ego either to be burdened by guilt or to bask in individual glory. No claim, no blame, no shame, and no fame—it all goes out of the window when thoughts, feelings, decisions, and actions are known as arising spontaneously from the welter of life.
If you cannot believe this and are still convinced that you are a separate individual in charge of your life, try this small experiment. Right now in this moment decide to feel elation and feel it. Then think of your least favorite food and for the next five minutes really crave it. Consider your opinion on capital punishment and change it. Finally, ask yourself what your next thought will be and see if you can know it in advance. While you’re busy doing this or perhaps hosting a thought stream that rejects it as nonsense, the divine play of life magically unfolds by itself.
You will find that when your claim on thoughts, feelings, and actions dissolves, your ability to deal with the day-to-day business of living doesn’t get impaired. On the contrary, it becomes less stressful. When the person you thought you were continues as a dreamed character—as one of the many guises of the universal actor—there is no longer any effort dedicated to keeping up appearances, no need to carry resentment, no point in worrying about an imaginary future.
To sum it up, thinking that you’re no more than your limited role is buying into the illusion; realizing that you’re the one actor playing all the roles is liberation.
In this context, it is interesting to note that the word person comes from the masks that were used in ancient Greek-Roman theatre. Per-sona: Through (per) which the sound (sona) is coming.
Read the review of his book in the Recomended Reading section.

  

See Leo's own website for other excerpts and endorsements.
Article reproduced from http://www.advaita.org.uk/discourses/teachers/freewill_hartong.htm

The Word is Not the Thing, by John Wheeler (click here)

Whatever “it” (reality, true nature) may be called is practically irrelevant. The word is not the thing. Just trying to get the “correct” word is not of much value. Your nature is there. You are. You cannot doubt your own existence. But it is not enough simply to be aware of that fact. You need to really see and appreciate WHAT that is. This requires active looking and inquiry. No one can do this for you. Simply hearing and reading about this is not conclusive. Clearly and confidently recognizing your real nature as it is, there is a definitive resolution of seeking, suffering and doubt. Barring that, the seeking for identity in the concepts goes on, along with the sense of limitations. “Present awareness” (or any other term) is a pointer to get you looking in the right direction. It is the clarification of what you are that is the point, not the word or description. So drop the words and labels and get into SEEING what you are. This is the point of inquiry — actually finding out WHAT you are. Most seekers I meet are NOT doing this. They are instead pursuing fleeting concepts and experiences and making little progress in actual self-knowledge. Appearances will naturally find their harmony, as far as is possible for what is time-bound and destructible! As far as what you really are, that is perfect, whole and complete from the get go. This is what people overlook and where the root of the trouble ultimately lies. From the clear perspective of your real nature, the seeming world is appearance only (appearance of THAT). Even that is a bit much to say, but may be helpful as a provisional pointer. If the world is appearance of THAT, then — finally — it is THAT (in essence, not as appearance). So ultimately there is no duality to speak of. Let the body and mind respond naturally. Don’t emphasize too much such concepts as “awakening”, “liberation”, etc. These are concepts, not realities. The interest and focus you place on such notions may well give them more reality than they warrant. Then you will end up chasing “liberation” instead of seeing what you actually are! I have shown you final, unconditional freedom here and now. What you make of it from here is up to you! http://thenaturalstate.info/		In 2003, John Wheeler heard the good news from “Sailor” Bob Adamson (who in turn heard the good news from Nisargadatta Maharaj in 1976). Bob clarified the key point that “you are already that which you have been seeking.” With this heart-to-heart sharing, the spiritual search resolved itself. John enjoys sharing the pointers with those who are interested in self-knowledge and the resolution of seeking, suffering and doubt. John lives and works in the San Francisco Bay Area.
	15 May 2013.

Why Change is Easy When Your Parents Finally Die, by Wil Guilfoyle

People are reluctant to change, because to do so they would have to challenge previously held notions and beliefs shared by their own parents and perhaps their surrounding communities.

When we decide to drop old beliefs, this means we then become representations of challenges to the beliefs of others. Bible-belting parents look to their children who decide to drop these traditional beliefs as people destined for Hell. In essence, to drop the beliefs you and your parents share is to risk losing their love in some way.

Most are not willing to risk that love.

Thus it is only when people lose both parents that great change becomes possible. When there are no other people's expectations to live up to, transformation and letting go becomes a whole lot easier and happens a whole lot faster.

So the question is: Can you facilitate these circumstances without waiting for everyone around you to die? This is another benefit of meditation. You sit, and you sit with yourself. Over time, you settle into yourself, and become less reliant upon others to complete you in any way.

Then there are silent retreats. You go off on your own and remain to yourself for periods of time. Suddenly it isn't important for you to prove points, or be in agreement over beliefs. You may come to see that you are more happy when you are away from those who always stand firm in some belief or ideology.

It's okay to leave your whole life behind. You won't often hear this. But it is. It's okay to walk away from your family, friends, job, career, school, church, and country. You can leave it all behind if you want to. Many animals do. Many animals never see their parents or siblings ever again, after a certain age. And it's okay.

What isn't okay, is when people tell you that something is not okay, like I just did. So question everything. Question it all. And make Truth your highest concern.

All arguments and beliefs are relative, and therefore not absolute. What we are after is our own deepest Self, which is the absolute. It's so much bigger than the small ideas created by human minds for the last few thousand years with our increasingly more and more complex languages.

Let your parents die now. Dare to be the highest Truth there is. That's the greatest gift you can give to the world. That takes more courage than signing up to go shoot bullets into foreigners abroad and return back to this country scarred for life.

The Truth is more important than our deeply embedded indoctrination.