To transform oneself into pure awareness requires intention. The mind must be focused on a higher energy and force extending up and out of the body to infinity. Concentration on this action of energy must be with great intensity. It is very easy to lose either concentration or intensity or even both at the same time.
The quality of the energy is clean and clear, pure, like a mountain stream. It flows through the body, upward and out the top of the head. The body opens up and becomes one with the Divine. If either concentration or intensity is lost, connection to the Divine is lost. To maintian the connection requires intention on the grandest scale.
With practice the connection between the "I" and the Divine can be maintained without effort. In pure awareness thre are no expectations, no desires, no beliefs, no judgments or fear. It is a state of just being. It is total consciousness of Presence, the surroundings and the Divine. All three of these entities are actually one and the same, there is no separation, only unity.
Sunday, August 14, 2011
Friday, August 12, 2011
Single "I" to Unified "I"
As long as you are asleep life will be a continuous cycle of mechanical actions, going here and there and doing this and that with no understanding of why. Just doing for the sake of doing. To become awake requires an awakening to the consciousness in oneself. It requires a broadening of the mind and the ability to discern mechanical functioning from consiousness.
It is easy to say that all you have to do is just be aware. It is easy to say awareness is our natural state of being and there is really no need to do anything. You are already aware, so why try to do anything? If this were true, then we would all be aware and no one would be in the automatic machine. We would all be kinder to one another and there would be no robberies, no rapes, no killings, no wars. But this doesn't seem to be the case. We are not aware; we are asleep, running on automatic for the most part.
There are different levels of consciousness and you must have the ability to recognize these different levels if you are ever going to become fully conscious and aware. The ability takes understanding and understanding requires effort. You must be able to experience the levels in yourself. It is a personal experience of letting go of the mind/body machine, aware of the very moment, and become conscious of the machine in action. It cannot occur overnight. It must occur bit by bit, one step at a time. To become awake and purely aware you must learn how to let go of the mind/body machine allowing consciousness to shine through.
As practice in pure awareness continues, a transformation will take place. The mechanical "I" will slowly dissolve and a unified "I," totally conscious and purely aware appears, immune to outside influences. In this state of consciousness a new experience of unity embraces everything.
It is easy to say that all you have to do is just be aware. It is easy to say awareness is our natural state of being and there is really no need to do anything. You are already aware, so why try to do anything? If this were true, then we would all be aware and no one would be in the automatic machine. We would all be kinder to one another and there would be no robberies, no rapes, no killings, no wars. But this doesn't seem to be the case. We are not aware; we are asleep, running on automatic for the most part.
There are different levels of consciousness and you must have the ability to recognize these different levels if you are ever going to become fully conscious and aware. The ability takes understanding and understanding requires effort. You must be able to experience the levels in yourself. It is a personal experience of letting go of the mind/body machine, aware of the very moment, and become conscious of the machine in action. It cannot occur overnight. It must occur bit by bit, one step at a time. To become awake and purely aware you must learn how to let go of the mind/body machine allowing consciousness to shine through.
As practice in pure awareness continues, a transformation will take place. The mechanical "I" will slowly dissolve and a unified "I," totally conscious and purely aware appears, immune to outside influences. In this state of consciousness a new experience of unity embraces everything.
Thursday, August 11, 2011
Staying in Pure Awareaness
It is possible to be in pure awareness most of the time. Once pure awareness is experienced it is like a phenomenon in that cosmic consciousness will open like a veil being lifted off your head. It's as though everything is being realized for the first time in your life. Things that you haven't seen before will become visible and things you haven't been able to do before will become possible.
The ultimate test for pure awreness is the ability 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 have passed the test. It is because you realize that you are not the body or the mind - you are one with everything - one with the Divine.
When you are in pure awareness you have transcended the ego and the ego is not in control. This is how life is when you are in pure awareness; the ego no longer has a grip on you. You become free from things like self-conscousness, negative emotions and all the other afflictions the illusory ego can heap upon you to keep you from what you truly are - a Being of ultimate freedom.
The ultimate test for pure awreness is the ability 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 have passed the test. It is because you realize that you are not the body or the mind - you are one with everything - one with the Divine.
When you are in pure awareness you have transcended the ego and the ego is not in control. This is how life is when you are in pure awareness; the ego no longer has a grip on you. You become free from things like self-conscousness, negative emotions and all the other afflictions the illusory ego can heap upon you to keep you from what you truly are - a Being of ultimate freedom.
Monday, August 8, 2011
Staying in Pure Awareness cont'd
In order to find out where you are in your mind at any given time during the day, you have to be reminded periodically to wake up and check where you were right before the wake-up call. That's where the wake-up call comes in. For example, you are doing something like making the bed in the morning and a bell rings to remind you to check where your mind was. You immediately realize that you were thinking about what your spouse said to you earlier that morning - you were not in pure awareness; you were in waking sleep. This is not only testing but it is also practice - practice of being more and more in pure awareness.
The more you practice being in pure awareness the easier it is to stay there. However, if your practice begins to be an annoyance it may be because you are beginning to get "gun shy" and are anticipating the wake-up call rather than just letting it be. You do not want the anticipation of the wake-up call to turn into anxiety. In other words, don't let your good intentions, become too intense. If this happens, take a few weeks or even months off and come back to the wake-up call when you feel more comfortable with it. When you come back to the practice of using a wake-up call you may find that you have gained ground because of the time off. The main thing is, have fun with the process of becoming more and more aware. If you let it become a burden you may not gain ground.
In our group we tried various things as wake-up calls. After trying all kinds of things we finally ended up using a clock called the Zen Timepiece. We set the clock to go off every 20 minutes while we discussed varous topics such as meditation and being in the Now. We discovered that no one had any idea when the 20 minutes was up or when the clock was going to chime. While we were in discussion, sense of time was lost and the wake-up call was a total surprise.
Later on we came across medical wrist watches that work great as wake-up calls. They are relative inexpensive and can be set them to "beeb," flash or vibrate at any interval during the day. We wore the watches during the day and recorded our results on a graph. As time went on we found that our efforts were paying off. We all were staying in pure awareness longer and longer. 50% is considered very good.
The more you practice being in pure awareness the easier it is to stay there. However, if your practice begins to be an annoyance it may be because you are beginning to get "gun shy" and are anticipating the wake-up call rather than just letting it be. You do not want the anticipation of the wake-up call to turn into anxiety. In other words, don't let your good intentions, become too intense. If this happens, take a few weeks or even months off and come back to the wake-up call when you feel more comfortable with it. When you come back to the practice of using a wake-up call you may find that you have gained ground because of the time off. The main thing is, have fun with the process of becoming more and more aware. If you let it become a burden you may not gain ground.
In our group we tried various things as wake-up calls. After trying all kinds of things we finally ended up using a clock called the Zen Timepiece. We set the clock to go off every 20 minutes while we discussed varous topics such as meditation and being in the Now. We discovered that no one had any idea when the 20 minutes was up or when the clock was going to chime. While we were in discussion, sense of time was lost and the wake-up call was a total surprise.
Later on we came across medical wrist watches that work great as wake-up calls. They are relative inexpensive and can be set them to "beeb," flash or vibrate at any interval during the day. We wore the watches during the day and recorded our results on a graph. As time went on we found that our efforts were paying off. We all were staying in pure awareness longer and longer. 50% is considered very good.
Saturday, August 6, 2011
Staying in Pure Awareness
Once you know what it's like to be in pure awareaness, you may feel it's the place you want to stay forever. To stay in pure awareness longer takes practice. The good thing is, the more you experience pure awareness the easier it becomes to maintain the state of oneness.
In order to experience pure awareness for longer periods of time it is helpful to check what state of consciousness your mind is in throughout the day. By using some type of stimulus to remind you to reflect back to your mind's experience you can begin to see a positibve pattern emerge.
The stimulus can be practically anything that will being you back into the moment such as a sound, a smell, a vibration, a touch, etc. The stimulus brings you back to the moment so you can reflect on what experience (waking sleep, absorption, attention, awareness, pure awareness) you were having immediately before the stimulus occured.
When you are in pure awareness, you will know it. In contrast, when you are out of pure awareness you won't know it. This might sound strange but look at it this way: when you are actively involved in doing something like threading a needle you are usually so absorbed in the process of getting the thread through the eye that everything else is secondary.
What if a bell were to chime as a wake-up call so you could check what state of consciousness you were in right before it chimed? Notice, were, as in past tense, not are. The moment the bell chimes you are immediately brought back into pure awareness; but the question is, were you in pure awareness before the bell chimed? Think about it. If you think back to your experience right before the bell chimed you will know if you were in pure awareaness or one of the other four experiences.
In order to experience pure awareness for longer periods of time it is helpful to check what state of consciousness your mind is in throughout the day. By using some type of stimulus to remind you to reflect back to your mind's experience you can begin to see a positibve pattern emerge.
The stimulus can be practically anything that will being you back into the moment such as a sound, a smell, a vibration, a touch, etc. The stimulus brings you back to the moment so you can reflect on what experience (waking sleep, absorption, attention, awareness, pure awareness) you were having immediately before the stimulus occured.
When you are in pure awareness, you will know it. In contrast, when you are out of pure awareness you won't know it. This might sound strange but look at it this way: when you are actively involved in doing something like threading a needle you are usually so absorbed in the process of getting the thread through the eye that everything else is secondary.
What if a bell were to chime as a wake-up call so you could check what state of consciousness you were in right before it chimed? Notice, were, as in past tense, not are. The moment the bell chimes you are immediately brought back into pure awareness; but the question is, were you in pure awareness before the bell chimed? Think about it. If you think back to your experience right before the bell chimed you will know if you were in pure awareaness or one of the other four experiences.
Tuesday, August 2, 2011
Lost Consciousness cont'd
Manuel wrote, "All this talk about self and suffering, why do you people bother? If you think you can cure suffereing through enlightenment, identifying yourself with a Higher Self, becoming the universe and what not, come over here and I'll bang your head against the wall 10 times! After bleeding for a few minutes, let's see if you still think you're not the body."
I like his message, it's evocative and to-the-point. What is the purpose of saying I am not the body or the mind when I actually am. All I have to do is feel pain and bleed to find out that, yes this is me. This body and mind are truly me. My body is hurting and bleeding, I feel pain. I can't escape the fact that this is who I am.
Is it a fact that I am this body and this thinking mind? It's difficult not to think so. All I have to do is experience pain, look in the mirror, see my body getting older, remember all of the things I have done in my life. All I have to do is think about what I want for the future; where I want to go, how much money I'll need, what I'll do when I'm too old to take care of myself and what the future holds for my family and friends. Is this definite proof that I am this thing - this body and these thoughts?
But maybe it's a fact I am not this body and this mind. Maybe the body and mind I call me is not me but mine, like my house and my car. I live in my house and drive my car just like I live in my body and listen to my mind. I take care of my house and car but I don't think they are who or what I am, so why do I think I am my body and my mind? If I 'think' I am my body/mind I probably am. If I know I am not, I am not.
If I consider myself my name, my body, my mind, my past, my desires, my values, feelings and emotions I become identified with self. I have this and I have that. I have "my" house, "my" car, "my" mind, "my" spouse. If something goes "wrong" and I can't keep things as I want them, I suffer.
But If I consider myself beyond the body/mind mechanism I am not indentified with the self. The self is an illusion with all its desires and possessions. My consciousness is the Higher Self. I still feel pain, have desires and thoughts but I am not identified with them. When consciousness is the Higher Self it realizes that all things are the same, all things are energy within a universe of energy like water droplets in an ocean.
For those who are stuck in the small self, it is impossible to understand the Higher Self. They must experience it to understand it. They can read about it, but until they experience the higher consciousness, they will continue to deny that it even exists. Such is the way of the closed mind. There is nothing anyone can do for them. They have to discover it for themselves.
I like his message, it's evocative and to-the-point. What is the purpose of saying I am not the body or the mind when I actually am. All I have to do is feel pain and bleed to find out that, yes this is me. This body and mind are truly me. My body is hurting and bleeding, I feel pain. I can't escape the fact that this is who I am.
Is it a fact that I am this body and this thinking mind? It's difficult not to think so. All I have to do is experience pain, look in the mirror, see my body getting older, remember all of the things I have done in my life. All I have to do is think about what I want for the future; where I want to go, how much money I'll need, what I'll do when I'm too old to take care of myself and what the future holds for my family and friends. Is this definite proof that I am this thing - this body and these thoughts?
But maybe it's a fact I am not this body and this mind. Maybe the body and mind I call me is not me but mine, like my house and my car. I live in my house and drive my car just like I live in my body and listen to my mind. I take care of my house and car but I don't think they are who or what I am, so why do I think I am my body and my mind? If I 'think' I am my body/mind I probably am. If I know I am not, I am not.
If I consider myself my name, my body, my mind, my past, my desires, my values, feelings and emotions I become identified with self. I have this and I have that. I have "my" house, "my" car, "my" mind, "my" spouse. If something goes "wrong" and I can't keep things as I want them, I suffer.
But If I consider myself beyond the body/mind mechanism I am not indentified with the self. The self is an illusion with all its desires and possessions. My consciousness is the Higher Self. I still feel pain, have desires and thoughts but I am not identified with them. When consciousness is the Higher Self it realizes that all things are the same, all things are energy within a universe of energy like water droplets in an ocean.
For those who are stuck in the small self, it is impossible to understand the Higher Self. They must experience it to understand it. They can read about it, but until they experience the higher consciousness, they will continue to deny that it even exists. Such is the way of the closed mind. There is nothing anyone can do for them. They have to discover it for themselves.
Monday, August 1, 2011
Lost Consciousness cont'd
To not go into waking sleep is hard to do. It takes staying in the moment and not letting the mind wander. Staying in the moment requires me to stay focused on the task at hand whatever it may be. If I'm driving, I have to concentrate on what I am doing and what other things are doing around me.
I feel my hands on the wheel, foot on the pedal, cars ahead, cars in the rearview mirror, the speedometer, clouds, my thoughts. Yes, my thoughts. If my thoughts begin going into the future, I notice them and bring my focus back to the moment. If my thoughts go into the past, I bring them back to the present. Who is noticing the thoughts?
By practicing mindful meditation I have learned to observe thoughts coming and going. As I focus on my breathing, thoughts appear and 'I' notice them. The 'I' is not thinking. The 'I' is simply observing and watching for the next thought to appear. The 'I' is not the body or the mind. It is not the breath. I cannot explain nor describe what the 'I' is. It is impossible for me to say who it is or what it is. It is just an entity that exists when I am in the moment and aware. It may be another part of the brain; I really don't know. But I know it is there.
I feel my hands on the wheel, foot on the pedal, cars ahead, cars in the rearview mirror, the speedometer, clouds, my thoughts. Yes, my thoughts. If my thoughts begin going into the future, I notice them and bring my focus back to the moment. If my thoughts go into the past, I bring them back to the present. Who is noticing the thoughts?
By practicing mindful meditation I have learned to observe thoughts coming and going. As I focus on my breathing, thoughts appear and 'I' notice them. The 'I' is not thinking. The 'I' is simply observing and watching for the next thought to appear. The 'I' is not the body or the mind. It is not the breath. I cannot explain nor describe what the 'I' is. It is impossible for me to say who it is or what it is. It is just an entity that exists when I am in the moment and aware. It may be another part of the brain; I really don't know. But I know it is there.
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