Upanishads

I love reading the Upanishads. They are some of the oldest texts known to man and contain, in my opinion, many wise sayings from which we all could learn much. 

Here is one of my favorite sayings from Isha Upanishad:

                              He who realizes all 
                              beings are of himself will
                              have no fear or suffering
                              and will understand that
                              we are all one. We are
                              all one with the same 
                              Light.

This was written centuries before Jesus came upon the scene.

 

Walk with Grace

Walking with grace is the practice of being the observer of all things that happen to come into your field of vision, field of hearing and even field of smelling while strolling along. It is a practice of walking in silence and simply noticing and observing, without judging or giving names and labels to things.

Walking outside is preferable to walking indoors because of he vast array of different objects, scents and sounds you can come across. While you are walking, be alert and open to everything possible: smells, sounds, and sights. If you smell newly mown grass, for example, don't say to yourself, "Mmm, the smell of new mown grass." You want to be able to let labeling disappear and just be in the moment of enjoying the smell of what is. If you hear a bird chirping, just let the name "bird" pass through you and learn to enjoy the sound. The makes of automobiles , the structures of houses, people (male, female, thin, fat, muscular), the names of plants (oak, elm, sapling), the names of animals (dog, cat, squirrel), are non-existent while walking with grace.

As you walk, walk as though you are seeing the world for the firs time in your life. Everything is bright and new with no names. Just observe and enjoy your walk. When someone walks toward you, let the person be a signal to continue walking with grace. Make an effort to notice when your consciousness wanes away from walking with grace. Be like a child again, awake, alert and full of curiosity. See the world in a new light, full of wonderment and appreciation for everything that it is.

Practice Walking with Grace as often as possible. Your mind will thank you and your body will thank you.

Descend

Descend into the darkness that envelopes your soul.
Fear not, for where it takes you is of no real concern.
Let yourself sink into the thoughts and the feelings
boiling up like molten lava from a cauldron of hot coal.  

Descend deeper not knowing where it's taking you.
Let it slide over your body - over your mind.
Descend and realize there is no need to fear
because you have a magnificent spirit within you.

And because you are a heavenly spirit and a godly saint
there is no need to worry and no need to dread.
The unknown is only an earthly notion
that makes mortal humans tremble and faint.

You are more, much more, than your untidy thoughts.
The ideas, notions, fears, and concerns that pervade
the essence of your being are nothing more than tiny
specks of dust - flecks of fracas that can tie you in knots.

The further you descend the more you will see
the truth behind the charade that appears to be real.
So go ahead and sink into the depths of the unknown.
The turmoil that surrounds you will soon flicker and flee.

Thoughts and loathsome concerns
are gone forever and will never return.
You are free now to forever live, love
and taste the delicious . . . sauternes.  






 



 

Conditions and Pure Awareness

A good way to know that you are in pure awareness is when you are able to remain calm under adverse conditions. When someone or something "presses your buttons" that would normally make you angry, anxious, afraid, frustrated or worried and it doesn't bother you - you are in pure awareness. You can see the negative event and even feel it begin to seep into your body but it then simply passes through like water through a sieve.

When you are in pure awareness you have transcended the ego and the ego is no longer in control of your thoughts and emotions. This is how life is when you are in pure awareness; the ego no longer has a grip on you. You are free from things like self-consciousness, negative emotions, and all the other stuff the illusory ego can heap upon you keeping you from what you truly are - a being of ultimate freedom.

The ego is nothing more than thinking. People who are not familiar with pure awareness can get caught up in their thoughts and become swept away with all kinds of negative feelings, emotions, and actions.The ego is very powerful and can take control of your mind before you know it. However, the practice of being in pure awareness can keep you calm, cool, and collected. Pure awareness allows you to maintain the tilt toward the side of positive energy at all times and under all conditions.

Pure Awareness is Freedom

To some people I have talked to, pure awareness is a portal to the Divine. They experience a sense of complete peace and freedom - free from suffering caused by negative feelings, fears, and worries.  They say that it is impossible to be with the Divine and be hateful, greedy or sad. It seems when they are with the Divine, positive energy is always flooding into their very being.

When you are in pure awareness you know it. In contrast, when you are out of pure awareness you don't know it. That might sound strange but look at it this way: when you are involved in an activity like threading a needle you are so absorbed in the process of getting the thread through the eye of the needle everything else is blocked out. You are not in pure awareness and you don't know it because you are in absorption. But when you are in pure awareness you are fully aware of the fact. 

As you continue your practice you will gradually get better and better at staying in pure awareness longer. You will begin to notice your attitude changing for the better. You will feel more free, happier, more relaxed and more alive then ever before. And you should begin to see a noticeable increase in your energy levels. Other people, as well, will notice your attitude changing for the better. 

It is not impossible to be in pure awareness most of the time, it simply takes practice and a little patience. Once pure awareness is experienced it is like a phenomenon; cosmic consciousness opens like a veil lifting off of your head. It is as though everything is bright and new for the first time in your life. 

To be continued on next post.

Are There Degrees of Pure Awareness?

There is only one pure awareness but the length of time one stays in it can vary.  One second, one hour, or one year. It all depends on how long and how dedicated you are at practicing pure awareness. 

The longer you stay in pure awareness the more you will see impartiality increasing. Pure Awareness and impartiality are directly correlated. Another way of saying this is, the longer you are able to maintain pure awareness, the more you will transcend the ego, the "I," and discrimination. This will become quite  apparent as practice continues because people will become friendlier, happier, more compassionate, and loving. This is not because they are that way but because you are. People will reflect what you become. 

If you are friendlier, happier, more compassionate and loving, other people will be the same way. Probably one of the most enlightened people in the world, Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj, had this to say about pure awareness:

To be a living being is not the ultimate state; there is something beyond, much more wonderful, which is neither being nor non-being, neither living nor not-living. It is a state of pure awareness, beyond the limitations of space and time.

Continued on next posting

More on Pure Awareness

Are you able to describe your experience of pure awareness?  Can you put a label on it?  These two questions are important because they convey to us the unmistakable problem we have with trying to describe and label something that is highly subjective as well as immutable, in our own personal way at least. 

Existing in the state of pure awareness is not in the mind nor in the body; pure awareness is experiencing everything as one. It is unchanging, constant and readily available to everyone and anyone at any time. You might say that pure awareness is always present. You just have to know how to access it.

Pure awareness is different than awareness. Usually when people speak of being aware they are referring to the act of paying attention to what's going on around them. Being acute to what is happening here and now. In awareness you know what your mind and body are doing while at the same time being cognizant of what is going on around you. 

Pure awareness is much wider and deeper than awareness.  Pure awareness is a knowing without thinking. It is more like a sense of everything without mental content. It is when object and subject merge into universal awareness; excluding nothing, so that there is no separation between anything. To put it succinctly it could be said that pure awareness is a state of non-duality. 

To be continued - - - - -

Pure Awareness continued

There are various experiences possible in this knowing that you are one with everything. One is that you are in the space of awareness that contains everything. Some people might say this is the intimate feeling of being in the presence of a higher power while others might believe themselves to be part of an impartial and indifferent space we call the universe or cosmos. In another experience, you may "melt" into and become this vast space of awareness. In any case, the experience is one with all that is.

We may have a variety of possible labels for pure awareness but our concepts and interpretations do not really matter. These are simply conceptualizations that do not belong in the direct experience. Of course we are limited by our senses and experiences but we can have a profound love and appreciation for what extends beyond whatever we want to call it - the Almighty, the Creator, the Divine, God, the Great Mystery, or whatever. 

How would you describe your experience of pure awareness?  Do you have a label for the experience? 

Pure Awareness

Being in pure awareness brings you into a totally different realm of existence than what you might be use to. In pure awareness you automatically turn to the inner world and the outer world by taking less thought and more insight to the Source. You become attuned to the silence deep within the core of your very being - the transforming life force - the True Self. You realize that you are more than your body and your mind - you are one with everything that is and everything that isn't.  You are one with the All - the Absolute.

Pure awareness is difficult to describe or explain to someone who has never experienced it, but I will try. The inner world is the innermost depths of your body; all the way to the cells, the molecules, atoms and further. The inner world is everything in the body to infinity. When you are in this realm of being you are no longer the body. The inner world is an experience - it is not thinking or imagining. 

The outer world is everything outside of your body; the trees, sky, stars and beyond. The outer world is everything outside the body to infinity. The outer world is also an experience.

You may have experienced pure awareness at certain times. It may have been when you gazed at a beautiful sunset in awe. For that brief, tender moment you were not your body and you were definitely not in your mind. You were immersed in the beauty and wonderment of the experience, right there, that very moment. In that instance you were one with all that is.

In pure awareness there is no "I" or "me."  Even though there may be chaos all around, all is quiet inwardly and outwardly with silence permeating your experience. A friend of mine was taking a walk along a lake one sunny afternoon when he suddenly realized he was on a spinning planet in infinite space. He relayed is experience to me this way; "Wow! Everything is so vivid. Everything is just happening - going on - movements and colors are very clear and crisp. Every thing is continuous with everything else like a mosaic. No separations. All is contained in an infinite space that stretches out without boundaries. Movement is effortless and there is a feeling of timelessness - a feeling of space without a self or a location - never ending."

To be continued.