1Death2Many

Death is simply the opposite polarity to birth.

One is simply the beginning of physical existence and the other is the end of that phase,

you can see this for yourself,

yes?

The question I have to ask is:

'Have you ever known a time when you were not?'

The only answer you can come up with is:

'No!'

The fact is, you have no such memory;

why?

You have no such memory because memory is a function of the physical form that is born and dies.

So, you'll never be able to recollect not being . . but if you enter the state of being

right here, right NOW,

then you'll 'realize' that being is before and after death.

Being is what 'I', the individual wo/man, am.

It is the state 'I Am'.

Do you see this, because entering this state is the purpose of human life on earth?

Only the body and the mistaken identity, our conditioned personality, can die.

There is no death for Being, for Being . . .
'IS'

Which is why
'I Am'.

:-)

1yogi2many

Thought . . . and the Voice in Your Head

Everyone thinks, that's a fact, and there is nothing wrong with thought. But the paradox here is that there is nothing right about thought either; let us look at thought and the voice in your head together.

Thought is an activity within the mind, and my task is to wake you up to the fact that there is a voice in your head, which you think is who you are. In other words you presently think that you are your thoughts, that you are that internal voice in your head, and I come along and say:

"Hold on a moment, are you absolutely certain that the voice in your head constitutes
who you are?
***

In other words, are the thoughts in your head
the real you?"

The startling fact is that most people don't know that there is a voice in the head because they think they are the voice in the head. Did you get that point? Let me repeat it here:

'Most people don't know that there is a voice in the head

because

they think they are the voice in the head.'

What am I saying? I'm saying that the great majority of us are totally unaware of our thought processes, we pay little or no attention to the thoughts, attitudes, beliefs and opinions that run a continues loop of discursive thinking through our minds; and we never stop to ask how those thoughts got there either; perhaps we should? Let's find out about . . .

The Voice of Your Internal Dialogue.

         Why is it that most of us do not pay attention to what is going on within our own thinking principle;

the mind?

It is because we are so close to the internal noise of thought, the internal dialogue of inner conversations, circling thoughts, fears, doubts and the worries of the thinking mind . . . that we simply think that the whole sorry package constitutes who we are. As a result we don't stop to question it, and why would we, that internal voice has been with us for our entire life . . . and so it appears to be who we are.

What is the voice in your head?

1. It is the voice of the sub-conscious mind, which is a layer of mind created within your total mind in the time you have been alive. 
2. In other words it is the voice of your conditioning; something that has been added to you in the time you've been in existence; since birth.
3. It is also the voice of your personality; the person you have become over time.
4. Or you could say it is simply the voice of all your accumulated past, since birth, nothing more and nothing less.

The truth is, the voice in your head is all of the above, and they are one and the same phenomenon. Look at it this way:

• The  sub-conscious level of the mind has been created by all your past experiences of life and living, which have been imprinted on the psyche one impression at a time, to form your conditioned personality. 
• Meaning that the person you think you are is simply an accumulation of past experiences; experiences that have been imprinted within, or added to, your mind.
• This layer of past experiences has gathered within you to create your sub-conscious mind, which is the personality . . or the person you think you are. 
• This personality, the person you think you are, has a voice, a voice that chatters on within your mind and can be observed talking or chattering on incessantly. 
• You think that this voice in your head, this stream of incessant thoughts, is who you are on mental and emotional levels. But in truth it is simply what you have become, it is not what you are . . . or what you were at the point of birth; it is what you have become since birth . . . it is your conditioned self.
  

Now I need your participation here to enable us to carry out a little experiment together. It is an experiment or exercise in self- observation, which simply means that you will be watching your mind to see what is happening within it.

This experiment is an exercise in self-awareness. The more often you put this exercise in self-observation into practice, the more your self-awareness will expand, and the sooner you'll have a breakthrough; meaning you'll have a deeper realization of just who and what you really are, as opposed to what you think you are! But, hey, if you're perfectly happy where you are in life right now, then don't bother with the exercise; if that is the case you won't anyway because it'll seem like too much hard work to anyone who is not ready to grow and expand in self-awareness . . . basically, such people can't be arsed, and they'll always find a convenient excuse for not making the required effort ;-)

In my last couple of posts I introduced you to my basic exercise in awareness expansion and the state of presence. This exercise begins in the same way:

• Switch off the radio and TV etc.
• Sit on a chair or sofa with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor.
• Breathe regularly with slow deep breaths. 
• Hear your breathing. Be as still as you can.
• Now close your eyes and look into the blackness or graininess of the mind; look into the darkness behind your eyelids.
  
• Observe any thoughts that arise within the mind, but don't get lost in them, see them clearly. 
• Watch those thoughts as if you are a scientist within a laboratory doing an experiment. 
• Your mind is the laboratory, you are the observer, and the experiment is for you to observe the behaviour of thought within your mind.
• Observe thoughts coming and going; do they jump from one topic to another?
  
• Become aware of the momentum of thought; do they link together like a chain of continues thoughts?
  
• After five to ten minutes return your attention to the darkness and graininess behind your eyelids.
• Can you keep your attention on that darkness and graininess or does your attention get pulled back into thinking again?
  
• Slowly open your eyes.
• Sit for a while and reflect on your experience.

Are you now aware of the voice in your head?

   Were you able to remain detached from the thoughts that were active within your mind, or did your attention get sucked into, and therefore lost within, the thought line? Either way, you should now be aware of the voice in your head, your next task is to watch it as often as you can so that you can come to a deeper understanding of its nature. I am here to help you with that, don't be afraid to ask questions, all questions are acceptable (keep them to this subject). My answers will always point you towards the solution.

Remember to always treat this exercise in self-observation as an experiment. One which allows you to be like a scientist who is simply the observer of all the activity in the mind. A scientist is detached from the outcome of the experiment, and runs the experiment to find out what is going on, and they observe; you must do exactly the same. Remain detached from what you are observing. You are the observer. Thought is the observed.

Your mind will be full of positive and negative thoughts, likes and dislikes, imagined rights and wrongs, fears, doubts and worries etc. No matter, simply remain the detached observer of the thinking mind . . .

Put this exercise in self-observation into practice every morning and night 

and as often as possible in between.    

Congratulations, you have just taken the first step in what is known as The Self-Realization Process; you have become an observer of the thinking principle.

Something very special happens to those of us who persist with this activity of watching the activity of thought, or the voice in the head. It is the next step in the process, but I must not tell you what it is, that would spoil the surprise . . . when you discover it for yourself . . . will you let me know what you experienced? :-)

1yogi2many

PS. If you have any questions on this topic please leave a comment, many thanks. 

Present Moment Awareness

 

Originality

'With greater Stillness,

the mind becomes Clear.

Now, the quieter the mind becomes,

the more you will hear . . .

. . . the more you will see,

and then simply be,

pure;

Originality!'

1yogi2many

Remember my last post on this blog, it was an exercise in 'Presence', yes? Well presence is a state of being, in fact it is the original state, and it does not move; it is perfectly still or one could say it is quiet and at peace.

Go back to that place of presence within yourself now:

• Switch off the radio and TV etc.
• Sit on a chair or sofa with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor.
• Breathe regularly with slow deep breaths. 
• Hear your breathing. Be as still as you can.
• If thoughts arise observe them non-judgmentally and then let them go; breathe thoughts away. 
  
• Gaze at what is around you. Do not label things, or think about them, just accept their shape, form, colour and 'presence'.
• Let what you are gazing at absorb you. Accept each object and acknowledge that you are experiencing all this moment by moment.
• After five to ten minutes, reflect on your experience; are you aware of your 'presence' in the here and now?

Hold onto this clarity of mind . . .

. .  . You are now in a state of Present Moment Awareness, which I call PMA. The alternative PMA is a Positive Mental Attitude . . . there is nothing wrong with having such an attitude, obviously ;-), but present moment awareness actually transcends all attitudes and enters what I call:
 

'The Natural State of Being'.

I say that the natural state of being is Present Moment Awareness, and that this state is in perfect equilibrium; it is not positive or negative, it isn't up one moment and down the next . .   it is in a perfect state of balance and harmony; a state which is beyond all attitudes of the mind.

Now, the only way you'll know if what I've just written is correct or incorrect is to enter the state of presence yourself, and hold it!

You have to hold your attention in this moment,

or put another way,

you have to be centered in this moment.

When your attention becomes lost in aimless and problematic thinking, which it does tend to do, you lose your natural state of present moment awareness. This happens because discursive thought (thought with a will of its own) takes your attention out of this moment. You can't be in two places at once, don't kid yourself that you can! You, your attention, is either in a the original state of present moment awareness or it is lost within, and masked by, your thinking processes.

To be centered in PMA is to have your attention at your centre; which is perfectly still, your centre does not move, whereas discursive thought does move. That is what thought is, it is quite simply movement in the mind.  Thought is a regurgitation of your conditioned past, all your life experiences playing over and over again (a loop of thoughts) in its playground; your mind. Listen to it often enough and you'll soon discover just what a noisy playground your mind has become . . .

  . . . you'll also notice that the thinking mind is never fresh and new like the state of presence is.

So, thought is simply the past you've experienced in your life, resurrecting itself within your mind & psyche. It becomes a constant stream of internal dialogue within the fore brain; all of which is normal. Everyone of us experiences this conditioning process and the consequences; a conditioned mind. But it isn't natural, it is not the Original State of Being.

The state of presence is one where your intelligence is fully present in this moment but your thinking mind is simultaneously perfectly still; I call this the state of:
 

'Alert Stillness'.

The mind goes perfectly still, present in this moment, but your intelligence is fully alert and ready to be put to use. Now, that is the Natural state, the Original state, and it is already perfect just as it is, so don't go adding any thought to it!

1yogi2many

'Presence'

'In the beginners mind there are many possibilities, but in the experts mind there are few.'
Shunryu Suzuki, contemporary Zen Master.

***

You don't need to be a Yogi or Zen master to practice meditation, you don't even have to be a monk. All you actually need is a desire to make a start and a willingness to participate with an open mind. Your mind works very much like a parachute works. If the parachute doesn't open when you pull the cord you are in big trouble. Are you ready to pull the cord of your mind, open it fully, and enjoy a view of life that many people are unaware of? If your answer is yes, then begin now by putting this meditation into practice.

• Switch off the radio and TV etc.
• Sit on a chair or sofa with your back straight and your feet flat on the floor.
• Breathe regularly with slow deep breaths. 
• Hear your breathing. Be as still as you can.
• For the next few minutes forget about thinking.
• If thoughts arise observe them non-judgmentally and then let them go; breathe thoughts away. 
  
• Gaze at what is around you. Do not label things, or think about them, just accept their shape, form, colour and 'presence'.
• Let what you are gazing at absorb you. Accept each object and acknowledge that you are experiencing all this moment by moment.
• After five minutes, reflect on your experience. Were you aware of your 'presence' in the here and now?
  

Practice this meditation everyday, morning and night and as many times as possible in between. If it is possible, read the steps above every time you sit to meditate. This will act as a reminder to you of your purpose . . .

. . . the time has come for you to pull the cord . . .

1yogi2many

Stress ReleaseTechnique

Just in case you are having a rough day, here is a stress management technique recommended in all the latest psychological journals.

The funny thing is that it really does work and will make you smile:

1. Picture yourself lying on your belly on a warm rock that hangs out over a crystal clear stream.
2. Picture yourself with both your hands dangling in the cool running water.
3. Birds are sweetly singing in the cool mountain air.
4. No one knows your secret place.
5. You are in total seclusion from that hectic place called the world.
6. The soothing sound of a gentle waterfall fills the air with a cascade of serenity.
7. The water is so crystal clear that you can easily make out the face of the person you are holding underwater.
 
There!!
See?
It really does work.
You're smiling already.
Feel free to share this if you know others who might benefit from this Stress Release Technique.

1yogi2many

Jnana Yoga

  Walk This Way . . .

I am a Jnana Yogi, it is my specialty, but I don't use eastern words because they only confuse the westernized mind; no, I use modern English words.

The word Jnana simply means 'Knowledge/Wisdom'; but it is Self-knowledge (knowledge about the truth of yourself), not worldly knowledge, that Jnana Yoga cultivates.

In becoming a Jnana Yogi I studied the truth of 'self' for many years and discovered that one day I was no longer a Jnana Yogi . . .

. . . I realized that I had moved beyond a name or label.

I am no longer a Jnana Yogi and yet I remain one, what a confusing paradox this is; and yet there is no confusion here. I am now free of all labels, free of all concepts, and as such I have realized that what I am is as nothing; and yet paradoxically it is out of this nothingness that everything unfolds as this moment, the here and Now.

Therefore I am 'The Now' or I am this state of 'Presence', which is free of all concepts, attitudes, opinions and beliefs.

I am free of likes and dislikes; free of attachment to anything outside of this 'Greater Truth-Reality-Integrity' that I've now realized as my very being.

. . . therefore what you think of me is none of my business; meaning that I have no fear of your beliefs or opinions, I see right through them, I know their source is ignorance itself. Now, if you were free of such limitations, well, that would be a different subject, then I would be ready to listen . . .

. . . what about you? ;-)

1Jnana-Yogi2Many

You Can't Lose Love . . . but you may think you can!

Its been said:

'You only lose what you cling to.'

'Emotional attachment is you holding onto something, something that you're afraid you might lose; but this is not love, there is no fear within love, it cannot be lost!' 

'If I cling to nothing . . then there is nothing to cling to . . . and love is.' 

'One can only cling to something that one is attached to on an emotional level. Who, or what, is it doing the clinging? Who is attached . . ?' 

'Love is letting go of fear, letting go of attachment and letting go of the last moment.' 

'In the beginning, which is always this moment, there is nothing to cling to; let go' 

'Love is this moment lived free of the need to cling to anyone or anything.' 

'Love is this moment lived free of psychological or emotional attachment.' 

'Love is surrendering to what is.' 

'Remove what you are not and what remains? The perfection of your being; Joy, Bliss and the Love of Consciousness.' 

'What is, is already perfect, the imperfection is your conditioned ignorance.' 

'Your conditioned ignorance is the past in you.' 'Let go of your conditioned past and what is left? Perfection . . or love.'

1yogi2many

A Better World Begins With . . . ?

'Looking for a better world to live in? Well here it is, make it so!' 

'You can't change the world, even if you like to think you can, but you can make a difference by being the change the world needs.' 

'All change begins within s/he who would like there to be change in the world; so, be the change . . make a difference within yourself first.' 

'As within, so without. A conditioned mind reaps a world of external conditioning.' 

'Dissipation of all conditioning within leads to a life lived free of all false external conditions.' 

'How does one dissipate all false conditioning within oneself? Through the power of self-observation; which is your naked attention turned within and observing/watching all your thoughts, feelings and consequent actions/behavior.'  

1yogi2many

How Thoughtless I Am . . .

 
‘OK, we all know that most people consider the word ‘thoughtless’ to carry negative connotations, right? They say things like “Wow, what a thoughtless bastard s/he is.” Or words to that effect! But what if we drop the need to judge the word as being either negative or positive, what then? 

Read the word again, but this time drop the judgmental aspect, simply see the word:  

Thoughtless. 

What is it to be free of thought, or simply to think less? 

Have you ever considered it as a possible way of life . . . 

. . . not to think? 

OK, that seems difficult to consider let alone put into practice, but what would be the end result? 

You don’t know do you? Sure, you may have a few opinions and beliefs on the subject, but you can’t possibly know what a ‘thoughtless’ state of mind might really be like because you don’t presently have that experience; is that correct, am I making sense? 

You have to have an experience before you can know what it is really like, otherwise all you have is a blind opinion. 

So, what if thought is not the great God that it’s made out to be; in fact it could be more of a devil than a God . . . how will you know with any certainty if you don’t investigate the subject in fine detail? 

The fact is you won’t know, will you, if you don’t make an effort, and what then? 

Well, you’ll be left with what you have right now; your old worn out attitudes to life and your beliefs and opinions born out of your past experiences; which equates to your conditioning . . . 

. . . wouldn’t you prefer to experience every moment as being fresh and new?’  

1yogi2many