Inner Awareness

... Most of us think that awareness is a mysterious something to be practiced, and that we should get together day after day to talk about awareness. You don’t come to awareness that way at all. But if you are aware of outward thing-the curve of a road, the shape of a tree, the color of another’s clothes, the outline of the mountains against the blue sky, the delicacy of a flower, the pain on the face of a passer-by, the ignorance, the envy, the jealousy of others, the beauty of the earth-then, seeing all these outward things without choice, you can ride on the tide of inner awareness. Then you will become aware of your own reactions, of your own pettiness, of your own jealousies. From the outward awareness, you come to the inward; but if you are not aware of the outer, you cannot possibly come to the inner.

When there is inward awareness of every activity of your mind and your body, when you are aware of your thoughts, of your feelings, both secret and open, conscious and unconscious, then out of this awareness there comes a clarity that is not induced, not put together by the mind. And without that clarity, you may do what you will, you may search the heavens, and the earth, and the deeps, but you will never find out what is true. ~J.Krishnamurti

What is This?

Q: Your teachings resinate. I fully understand who I am not. I feel all arisings are transient and they should not be taken so seriously. But there is still a lingering question of 'who am i'. what is the self or oneness that all the masters are abiding in?



A: You are like the fish in the ocean, searching for the ocean. The fish has heard many stories about the ocean, and the stories are magical, fascinating and deeply intriguing. You ask, "...what is the self or oneness that all the masters are abiding in?" It is the same self and oneness that you abide in. The only different is that you are living in a dream of your own creation, that has the self and oneness, as some separate and future experience. And so you strive and think and try and try to understand,and all the while the river flows to the ocean

Yes, and as you become more aware, you realize that all this, that you used to believe was you, is not you. And so the question then arises, "Who am I?" "Who am I really?" "Where am I?" "If I'm not the body and the mind, then what am I?" You are looking for something to be—some thing! You are looking for an entity that is ‘me'. First there is the creation of ‘me', and then this created ‘me' is searching for something that can be accepted as ‘me'. So you have an illusion searching for an illusion, and then to intensify the frustration, you believe that this nightmare is real. The impossibility of being able to wake up from this dream, is because of the belief, that if you wake up from this dream, you will die. And yes, the ‘you' that you believe that you are, will die. So this fear of death is very real, but based on a false assumption—that you are this entity called ‘me'. Having this entity called ‘me' trying to wake up, is like trying to pull yourself up by your bootstraps. You, cannot create the waking up, because you, are the source of the problem. The very belief that you exist as an entity, makes waking up impossible. Once you totally see that you are living in a dream and that you are a dream, then the dream is over.

And all these words, go into the mind, and either make sense or do not, and either way, nothing changes in you. So you go round and round. This is the wheel of Samsara. This is living in the mind. To get off the wheel, ‘you' have to cease to be. And as you keep looking for who you are, and keep understanding what you are not, and all self concepts fall away, then slowly there is less and less of ‘you', until there is only emptiness. And then, in this state of emptiness, there is only oneness. And nothing abides in nothing—this is the fullness, this is the light, this Enlightenment, this is the wonder, this is the miracle, this is the Buddha-field.~Umi

The journey starts with a single step:

your intention to live each moment more consciously than the last.

The mind without & within I Am

We are transcending the mind not to negate it but to embrace it from a deeper perspective. The mind without I Am represents a very limited state of consciousness. But the mind within I Am represents the presence of true intelligence.~Anadi

Wake up to your eternal identity!

Who is present inside the head? Recognise this very 'I' which is present. It is your very centre of identity behind the mind.

Become aware of thinking, seeing that thinking is arising and passing outside of you. Recognise the centre behind thoughts. This sense of identity behind the mind never changes, it remains always the same. When you recognise the centre in the mind, something very significant takes place. Suddenly, you see that you are not who you thought you were. You discover that you are made from the light of awareness. You have no form, you have no memory; you have no colour, no sex, no nationality, no name… Can you see the significance of this recognition? If you truly see… if you truly see that you have no form – you will be in a state of shock! If you are not in a state of shock, it indicates that you have not seen your true face yet. You are still identified with the form, you are still on the sub-conscious level, identified with your former ego-image.

Recognise clearly the centre behind thoughts and stay with this experience. Abide in the state of pure awareness. Imagine that you do not have any form, you have no memories, no past and no future... You do not know what was yesterday and what will be tomorrow. You have no knowledge, you know nothing… But you are! And when you feel it clearly, you have a glimpse of eternity. You can have an insight into what it truly means to be eternal. It is not merely a poetic expression. Eternity is real. Wake up to your eternal identity! ~Anadi Kristof

Monistic Multiplicity

Of the three cosmologies postulated by major religions, monotheism, pantheism and monism, only monism is both nondual and complete.

The monotheistic belief that God made us in His image implies that He is a powerful being who looks somewhat like us - He is our father in heaven. God is held to be the creator of the universe, but He remains separate and distinct from His creation; dualism prevails in this view.

Indian understanding posits two nondual cosmologies, pantheism and monism, both of which arise from enlightened experience.

Pantheism postulates a divinity that is immanent and omnipresent in all that exists, but there is no aspect of the divine that is transcendental to existence.

Many enlightened Indians say existence is eternal and self-created. This understanding is pantheistic; it means that existence is one divine consciousness, but there is no God-the-beyond.

Pantheistic gurus believe that buddhas are the highest flowering of existence, and that consciousness is aware of itself only through them. They have attained the ultimate enlightened consciousness and have dissolved in existence, hence many Indian gurus are deified and worshipped by devotees as gods on Earth.

Indian pantheism is influenced by Shiva and Buddha both of whom are nondualists, but they and many enlightened Indians omit the transcendental aspect of divinity: God-the-beyond; thus nondual pantheism is incomplete.

Advaitan cosmology is monistic; it is both nondual and complete: one transcendental consciousness permeates and animates all that exists. Advaita shares Buddha's experience of conscious oneness, yet it agrees with modern science that the universe had a beginning and therefore must have an unknown source.

That mysterious source cannot be existence because the innate intelligence of the universe requires a source with a superior intelligence to design and create it. The design for existence occurs prior to its creation. Source exists prior to existence in a realm beyond space-time.

Existence is simply that which exists; it is comprised of six realms: the universe; the energy, astral and psychic realms; the Self or Being; and the cosmic witness.

The universe and the non-material realms of existence are created by the eternal mystery of Source, the seventh realm, God-the-beyond, or the void of non-existence.

Source is the transcendental power and intelligence that creates and sustains existence, which is made from the mysterious consciousness of God’s ultimate reality.

Advaita means ‘not two’. Existence and its source, non-existence, are one divine consciousness with an infinite multiplicity of manifestations.

Monistic multiplicity cannot be refuted by enlightened experience or by reason, and in fact it rests on both; it means that God is immanent and transcendental. He is both existence: life-as-God, and the source of existence: God-the-beyond.

This insight relieves buddhas of their status as gods on Earth that is prevalent in India. Buddhas are the highest flowering of human consciousness, but their limited human nervous systems can accommodate only a tiny drop of the ocean of intelligent awareness that is both the void of creation and all of existence.

The beautiful word ‘God’ has been sullied by millennia of divisive religions and irrational dogma. The time has come to redeem the word ‘God’ and reclaim it to mean the eternal, intelligent awareness of the void that is both existence and the source of existence.

The time has come to reclaim the word ‘religion’ from the raft of orthodox beliefs that distort it, and to restore its true meaning of spiritual enquiry. And perhaps it is also time for all seekers and gurus to transcend limiting beliefs and to embrace the holistic understanding of monism.

Monotheism and pantheism are incomplete, polarized cosmologies that are unified and integrated in monism’s nondual embrace.

As we move towards the spiritual renaissance of the Sat Yuga, monism will provide the foundation for a holistic religion of Unity for the third millennium and beyond.

Monistic multiplicity reflects the cosmic reality of one indivisible transcendental power animating all phenomenal manifestations. God is both immanent and transcendental. He is awareness, love, intelligence and playfulness. Very soon His light will transform the world. ~Maitreya Ishwara

Dogen

Dogen used to tell his disciples, "Unless you die, you will not be reborn." So one stupid disciple -- and there are always many! -- thought, " if this is the key, then I must try it." So one day he must have lain with closed eyes, flat out in front of the door of the master, just in the morning when the master was expected to come out for the morning prayer. The master opened the door and found that his disciple was lying there not breathing, as if dead. The master Dogen said, " Okey, doing well."
So the disciple opened one eye just to see the expression on the master's face, and Dogen said, "Stupid! Dead men don't open their eyes!"

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There is nothing more beautiful than to be open to the whole experience, of life and living. Without the mental noise, everything becomes passionately alive and a deep stillness expands you in awe and wonder at the miracle of Being alive.

...will you allow me to help you?

There is a very famous story about a sufi mystic, Bayazid. When
he went to his master he was a young man, desirous of knowing.
He went to his master and he asked the master,
`Would you teach me, sir?'
The master looked at him and said,
`Would you allow me to teach you?'

And that very saying became a transformation!

Meditation and Transcendence in the Upanishads

The Upanishads are the essence of all religion. Really, they are not for the beginners, they are for those who have left the beginning far behind. They are for those who have been struggling for a long time – meditating, searching, inquiring. Only then can the Upanishads become helpful. ~Osho

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From wholeness emerges wholeness, wholeness coming from wholeness, wholeness still remains.

Isa Upanishad
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When all the senses are stilled, when the mind is at rest, when the intel-lect wavers not--then, say the wise, is reached the highest state.

This calm of the senses and the mind has been defined as yoga. He who attains it is freed from delusion.

Katha Upanishad 2.6.10-11
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The wise man should surrender his words to his mind; and this he should surrender to the Knowing Self; and the Knowing Self he should surrender to the Great Self; and that he should surrender to the Peaceful Self.

Katha Upanishad 3.13
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Even as a mirror stained by dust
Shines brilliantly when it has been cleansed,
So the embodied one, on seeing the nature of the Soul,
Becomes unitary, his end attained, from sorrow freed.

When with the nature of the self, as with a lamp,
A practicer of yoga beholds here the nature of Brahman,
Unborn, steadfast, from every nature free--
By knowing God, one is released from all fetters!

Svetasvatara Upanishad 2.8-15

By making the body the lower piece of wood and Om the upper piece and through the practice of the friction of meditation, one perceives the luminous Self, hidden like the fire in the wood.


Two birds, united always and known by the same name, closely cling to the same tree. One of them eats the sweet fruit; the other looks on without eating.


In this universe the Swan, the Supreme Self alone exists. It is He who, as fire, abides in the water. Only by knowing Him does one pass over death, There is no other way to reach the Supreme Goal!

Svetasvatara Upanishad
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"Meditation (Dhyana) is, verily, greater than consideration.
Meditate on meditation!

Chhandogya Upanishad

Ramana

A passenger in a train would be silly to keep his load on his head. Let him put it down. He will find that the load reaches the destination all the same.

Similarly, let us not pose as the doers, but resign ourselves to the guiding Power.

To Crystallise Attention

Q: What does it mean to crystallise attention?

A: It means to create certain solidity in the mind. Awareness, in the case of an average person is completely fragmented and dispersed. Therefore, one is not able to experience any clear sense of Me within the mind. For this reason the need to bring the energy of the mind into focus arises desperately. A crystallised attention has continuity, solidity and a clear sense of its subjective existence within the movement of the mind. To crystallise attention is to bring structure or form into the chaos. That's why, all schools of meditation work with the development of mindfulness. Attention which has been crystallised, in the ultimate sense of this word, is self-aware and self-contained. It has become one with itself in an objectless way. But, when the process of crystallisation is complete, the next step is to let go into the space of Being which has no point of reference. This is what we call de-centralisation. Crystallised attention is the essence of our Presence. However, it is only through the letting go of our presence into the Universal Presence that we can become truly absent, that is, absorbed in Reality.~Anadi

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When you are not aware of Awareness itself, you experience Awareness as thinking. A very fast process of recognition of different objects: mental, physical and emotional.~Anadi

Playfulness

During the 4,000 years of the age of darkness, the Kali Yuga, most religions tend to suffer from seriousness and hypocrisy.
God acted a little seriously with His messenger, Jesus, King of the Jews. Jesus was a beautiful man who gave his life for the meek, the poor in spirit. His sacrifice was necessary to create Christianity, the most influential religion of the age of darkness. Now times have changed. The new religion of Unity has a primary commandment: Follow your intuition consciously, without causing harm to any creature. Naturally this cannot work while there are so many violent, uncaring people in the world. Nor can it work when there is such unequal distribution of wealth. Social and political injustice is at the root of much of the crime and violence that plague the world.
We all follow our intuition unconsciously. When we start to follow our intuition consciously - with the understanding that God is the one power that animates us all -we have the basis for a harmonious, just and conscious civilization.
Conscious celebration of life-as-God is a cornerstone of Unity. Joy and playfulness are divine. ~Maitreya Ishwara

True meditation is useless!

The key to meditation is your own absence. The aim is not to get something, or to develop a super-ego or to become 'enlightened.'

The purpose is not to develop psychic powers or experience ecstasy. These are all the ego's products, the ego's fabrications. True meditation is useless, because There Is No-one To Use It! ~Anadi

Patience [Osho Zen Tarot]

Patience

We have forgotten how to wait; it is almost an abandoned space. And it is our greatest treasure to be able to wait for the right moment. The whole existence waits for the right moment. Even trees know it--when it is time to bring the flowers and when it is time to let go of all the leaves and stand naked against the sky. They are still beautiful in that nakedness, waiting for the new foliage with a great trust that the old has gone, and the new will soon be coming, and the new leaves will start growing. We have forgotten to wait, we want everything in a hurry. It is a great loss to humanity.... In silence and waiting something inside you goes on growing--your authentic being. And one day it jumps and becomes a flame, and your whole personality is shattered; you are a new man. And this new man knows what ceremony is, this new man knows life's eternal juices.
~Osho Zen: The Diamond Thunderbolt Chapter 10

Commentary:

There are times when the only thing to do is to wait. The seed has been planted, the child is growing in the womb, the oyster is coating the grain of sand and making it into a pearl. This card reminds us that now is a time when all that is required is to be simply alert, patient, waiting. The woman pictured here is in just such an attitude. Contented, with no trace of anxiety, she is simply waiting. Through all the phases of the moon passing overhead she remains patient, so in tune with the rhythms of the moon that she has almost become one with it. She knows it is a time to be passive, letting nature take its course. But she is neither sleepy nor indifferent; she knows it is time to be ready for something momentous. It is a time full of mystery, like the hours just before the dawn. It is a time when the only thing to do is to wait