Sometimes Enlightenment Can Be a Real Kick in the A**

Very Clean Enlightenment - This is More Like It

DIEGO:
05:33
hey ciaran
my name is diego, and i´ve been reading your work lately

CIARAN:
05:33
word
how you finding it

DIEGO:
05:34
quite frankly i´m frustrated and angry

CIARAN:
05:34
cripes

DIEGO:
05:34
bc i don't seem to get it

CIARAN:
05:34
yeah
it can be a bugger
so where are you at right now
re the whole
no you thing

DIEGO:
05:35
there is no you, looking at it from that lens

CIARAN:
05:35
ok

DIEGO:
05:35
but i get pissed, bc i only am at the point of mentally understanding it, not seeing it

CIARAN:
05:35
ok
still
that's not a bad point, eh?
could be worse
might not have any idea about it
could be on fire
or in a bag
all of which would be worse
ok dude
look
you have to have a level of understanding
i mean, shit
you might just stumble across it
but that's a million to one
everyone i've ever popped
had to get some level
of clear idea
of what it was they were looking for
that's not just fine
it's important
it really is
and yes
while yes
of course you do need to see it
because that's where the juice is
don't be so down on yourself

DIEGO:
05:37
so it's best to define why i want this to happen?

CIARAN:
05:38
no
that would be silly
ignore that sort of thing
pointless
it's best to get try and get the issue
clear in your head
to the extent that you can
when you are not enlightened
which is to say
you have to allow
for a certain level of haze
but
you still gotta get some sense
of what you're looking for

DIEGO:
05:40
and how do i go about it? other trying to understand or thinking about it

CIARAN:
05:40
well look
the difference with this thing
as opposed to another idea
is that this is actually true
and that changes the playing field a little
in your favour, actually
this no you thing
isn't just true
it's totally true
from every conceivable angle
in every possible way
it could ever be thought of
one of the major problems people have
is that they're trying to see it in this one thing
or maybe from two or three angles
or whatever
and they get stuck in some paradox or other
and they start spinning out
thing is
it's true from every angle
100%
you can look at it from your ownership of a sandwich if you want
whatever
and actually make it
in 10 seconds
it is that total
so point one
is don't worry too much about angle of approach
because all angles hit it
after a single honest step
just pick whatever you feel most comfortable with
the second thing
is what you're actually trying to do
with this angle
or whatever

DIEGO:
05:44
what do you mean by that?

CIARAN:
05:44
well look
i say this over and over
it's like we're so stuck in thinking
that ideas are things
well, not things
that the arena of ideas
is the main arena of interaction
in which we operate
i know i'm getting a little out there
try to stick with it
that we don't really credit reality itself
with actually being there
we think we need to believe this or that
or whatever
otherwise it will go away
people think enlightenment
is like a special kind of confidence
you know?
that if you hold the peace
and believe there's no you
then you'll get all the hot new age babes
or whatever
but it's not like that

DIEGO:
05:46
hahaha im
guilty of that

CIARAN:
05:46
more than anything
cheeky scamp
more than anything
it's like seeing one of those magic eye patterns
like in the film mallrats
"it's a sailboat not a schooner"
if you've ever seen it
the truth is that there is a boat there
you don't see it
because it's unusual for you to look in that way
it's not impossible
or even particularly hard
your eyes focus in and out all the time
but you've just got to jiggle the thing a little
and then pop
sailboat
or schooner or whatever
look
there actually is no you
in real life
it's not a game
or some special thing
that you believe
which is magic
or makes you awesome
by it's internal awesomeness
it's just a single thing
that is actually the truth
really
check it out man
it's trippy as fuck
really
there really is no you
there's just the life
that 'you' think that 'you' are living
but there's no you
there's just thinking
and living
is that not
something of a headfuck?

DIEGO:
05:50
yes it certainly is

CIARAN:
05:50
is it true?

DIEGO:
05:51
honestly, i get glimpse that it isi

CIARAN:
05:51
well
check them
look deeper
find out
find the real truth of this
is this just ciaran talking crap
or is it real?
you get a glimpse of it
glimpse harder
you know?
is it true?
ask yourself that
right now
is it true?

DIEGO:
05:53
it's weird, it clicks in my thoughts

CIARAN:
05:53
is it true?

DIEGO:
05:55
don't know right now

CIARAN:
05:55
find out right now
there is no you
behind your life causing it
or in front of your life
being effected by it
there's just your life
and it's not yours
it's just life
and you
are just the imagination
of yourself
headfuck yes
true?
look
see
look at it
look how totally fucking true it is
it is mental
it is everywhere
look
it's so obvious
it's not magic
it's just the truth
look
look right now
look
it's real dude
look at the fucker
there's no you
in any sense
there's just life
it's crazy, yes
but it's 100% real
right now
look
there's no you

DIEGO:
05:59
have got a headache right now, from looking

CIARAN:
05:59
no you haven't
there's just a headache
it's not your headache
there is no you

DIEGO:
06:01
so life just is?

CIARAN:
06:02
you tell me

DIEGO:
06:02
i'm frustrated and scared by this

CIARAN:
06:02
no you aren't
there's just frustration
and fear
they're not your frustration
and it's not your fear
there is no yo
you

DIEGO:
06:03
that feels so true

CIARAN:
06:03
is it?

DIEGO:
06:04
it is, but there's no change

CIARAN:
06:04
no change in what?
in 'you'?
you dumb bastard?
i will slap you

DIEGO:
06:04
yes, in thinking in terms of me

CIARAN:
06:04
no shit
so
you're not thinking
in terms
of you
there's just thinking in terms of 'you'
and the 'you' involved in that
is a fucking fiction
that does not refer to anything
fucking look you dumb bastard
it's right there
come on
seriously
it's so simple
it's not some mental complex equation
there just isn't a you
at ALL
there's just life
look
and NO
it will not MAGICALLY change things
but
if you see
that it is actually true
yes
it's pretty fucking mental
so look
and see
if it's fucking true or not
now
and don't just stare off into space
repeating it like a mantra
actually look
for the actual answer
to the question
is there really no me?
actually answer it
in real life
for yourself
now

DIEGO:
06:08
there's only the thought of me

CIARAN:
06:08
YES
go on

DIEGO:
06:08
there is no me, it's not anywhere

CIARAN:
06:08
GOOD
YES
go on

DIEGO:
06:08
it's not physical, it's not of substance

CIARAN:
06:08
true

DIEGO:
06:09
it's not fully definable

CIARAN:
06:09
no
it's not in ANY way definable
because it does exist
at ALL
try again
doesn't exist rather
you know what i meant
ahem
there is no you
look
it's incredible isn't it
the totality and the simplicity
of the delusion
it's just huge
but at the same time tiny

DIEGO:
06:10
it is simple

CIARAN:
06:10
yeah
just so simple
it's right there all the time
but we just never look
it's crazy right?
this 'delusion of self'
thing
yeah?

DIEGO:
06:11
its unnecessary

CIARAN:
06:11
of course
is there a you
in any sense?

DIEGO:
06:12
no, it's just a belief, fake

CIARAN:
06:12
uh huh
look at how deep it is
inside everything
it's like the foundation stone
of all human bullshit
there's just life right
this one moving flow
of consciousness and life
we call the present
in it there are thoughts
actions
will
belief
truth
lies
but no you
never a you
incredible
that we would be so deluded
about something so intimate to us

DIEGO:
06:13
everything just is

CIARAN:
06:13
yup
tell you what
keep exploring it
post something up whenever you see something cool
i'm off for a smoke
but will be back
in just a little while
but keep exploring how real it is
as it is
pretty mental to look at
and quite cool

DIEGO:
06:14
thanks man

CIARAN:
06:15
just keep looking
and keep on the conversation
just see if you can't see some more stuff
it is quite cool to look at the truth

DIEGO:
06:16
there's no you to keep protecting
there's no self to keep nurturing
there's no self love
there's no self help
the only thing that is, is freedom

CIARAN:
06:19
freedom indeed my newly enlightened chum
stick with it
you're really getting somewhere now
go further into it
just explore the truth of it
you don't need to persuade yourself of anything
just keep checking it the fuck out
it is quite cool
as i'm sure you'll agree

DIEGO:
06:21
there's a feeling of lightness
and some joy
like a big release

CIARAN:
06:21
yup
that's the one
stay with it
keep looking into the truth of it

DIEGO:
06:23
this moment is very full
full of life

CIARAN:
06:23
isn't it just?

DIEGO:
06:23
there's no struggle

CIARAN:
06:24
nope

DIEGO:
06:24
but more of a childlike curiosity

CIARAN:
06:24
yeah
dude
i think we're finished here
that was rapid
even by the standards
of people who are very quick
you did good here
you're american right?

DIEGO:
06:25
nope, from el salvador

CIARAN:
06:26
but you go to uni in penn state?
how long have you been in america?

DIEGO:
06:26
yeah i went to school there, i was in america for 4 yearsi
then came back to el salvador after graduating

CIARAN:
06:26
ok
cool
not sure what it is
about hispanic people
you guys are very good at this
seriously
hispanic and irish
for whatever reason
no idea why
maybe just the fact
that both groups
are a little insane
i have irish blood
and am something of a nutcase
probably helps
anyway
now you've popped
here's the deal
all the thoughts and stuff
and the feelings
they don't go away
you can if you do nothing now
stagnate at a very shallow level
of enlightenment
so don't
get yourself
some eckhart tolle
there's a great audio thing he does
called 'through the open door'
it's really good
what you want to do now
is to deepen your vision
of the truth
not for a laugh
or because it is magic
but because there is a world
at the mercy of a lie
that's very simple
as you now understand
and cracking a person out of that lie
is not magic
nor is it really
that hard
it's a little tricky
takes a clear eye
a firm hand
and a kind heart
but it absolutely can be reproduced
i have no interest
in recreational buddhas
there is a kind of belief
in my country
Britain
that if a person has the ability to help others
they also have the duty to do so
you now have the ability
to help your people
in a way so deep
and so permanent
that it will change the whole dynamic
of the world
and turn the people of el salvador
into a beacon of truth
that can literally guide the world
out of the dark age
it is currently in
so deepen your state
and sharpen your scalpel
the world has need of you
diego
the question is
what's more appealing to you
the serenity of a mountaintop
or the glory of a free world?
what's it gonna be?

DIEGO:
06:34
definitely help others

CIARAN:
06:34
good man
ok cool
well
you did real good tonight
that was a pleasure

DIEGO:
06:35
have you tried this with relatives?
thanks

CIARAN:
06:35
with some limited success
i used to be pretty harsh with it
you can be clean
and firm
firmness is important
but so is just sort of letting the purity of the truth
do all the heavy lifting for you
anyway
run along now
download some tolle
sign up on the forum
and PM me so I can add you to the list
of enlightened people
and also

DIEGO:
06:36
ok will do

CIARAN:
06:36
start thinking about ways
to get this shit out
ok?

DIEGO:
06:37
ok, thanks
had to say that again

CIARAN:
06:38
haha
no problem hero
this is going on the blog btw

DIEGO:
06:38
going to bed now, catch you later man

CIARAN:
06:38
very nice enlightenment
sure man

There is more where this came from at RUTHLESS TRUTH

Also check out the forum for some gritty one-on-one, get the job done:
Ruthless Truth: The Arena

SIT SILENTLY AND DO NOTHING

ZEN WILL BE YOUR PATH. Dhyana, meditation, will be your path... and Rinzai was one of the greatest meditators. His meditation is the simplest -- JUST SITTING AND DOING NOTHING.

IT IS THE SIMPLEST AND YET THE HARDEST -- because if people are told to do something, they can; even if it is difficult, they can manage to do. But when they are told not to do anything and just to sit, it becomes almost impossible. NOBODY KNOWS HOW TO DO NOTHING, nobody knows how not to do. People know how to do things; it is easier. Once the knack of it comes to your consciousness, you will laugh that it was so simple: one can simply sit.

So, start at least one hour sitting, mm? I will give you other groups that you can do, but make it a point that whenever you have time, to just sit silently under any tree. GO TO THE RIVER OR ANYWHERE AND JUST SIT. There is nothing else to do, just go on sitting for one hour. Thoughts will come -- let them come and go.

Rinzai's famous saying is: SITTING SILENTLY, DOING NOTHING, AND THE GRASS GROWS BY ITSELF. There is no need to do anything -- the grass is growing by itself. And so grows the soul... so grows the inner being!

~ OSHO

*********** *** *********** *** ***********

THE EXPERIENCE OF BEING AT HOME has to be spread slowly, so that for twenty-four hours you are at home -- waking, sleeping. But this is possible only if you learn THE GREATEST ART OF BEING SILENT. Then you are settled in yourself. Then your whole energy is turned into a silent pool, without any ripples.

AND IF YOU CAN ATTAIN THIS STATE... existence does not want you to fulfill any other condition -- this is enough. You will be accepted, welcomed... by all the mysteries and all the splendor of existence. Right now, it is a small taste. But I have made it clear to you why it is happening.

YOU HAVE TO TRY IT ON YOUR OWN. Just go into the forest and sit silently, or by the side of the river, JUST SIT SILENTLY. Or just here in the ashram, anywhere, sit silently -- just being alert of whatever is happening all around, not thinking about it... what this bird is saying. They are not saying anything; they are just feeling so joyous in the early morning with the new life that the sun has brought again -- one day more to dance, to sing, to enjoy the whole expanse of the sky.

Just listen to them, the way you listen to me, and you will feel at home. And slowly, slowly you have to learn that it is not a question of listening, IT IS A QUESTION OF THE INNER CHATTER STOPPING. Then whenever you find the inner chattering is starting, simply say, "Shut up!" ...and you will suddenly be at home.

ONCE THE MIND UNDERSTANDS that you have found something greater, something better, something higher... slowly it recedes into the darkness. Its function is fulfilled; it is no more needed; it is an unwelcome guest.

~ OSHO

Reality As You Know It Does Not Exist

THRIVE - What On Earth Will It Take?

THRIVE is an unconventional documentary that lifts the veil on what's REALLY going on in our world by following the money upstream -- uncovering the global consolidation of power in nearly every aspect of our lives. Weaving together breakthroughs in science, consciousness and activism, THRIVE offers real solutions, empowering us with unprecedented and bold strategies for reclaiming our lives and our future. THRIVE is being released online on 11.11.11 at http://thrivemovement.com.

THRIVE contains interviews with several prominent activists, journalists, and authors, including Duane Elgin, Nassim Haramein, Steven Greer, Jack Kasher, Daniel Sheehan, Adam Trombly, Brian O'Leary, Vandana Shiva, John Gatto, John Robbins, Deepak Chopra, David Icke, Catherine Austin Fitts, G. Edward Griffin, Bill Still, John Perkins, Paul Hawken, Aqeela Sherrills, Evon Peter, Angel Kyodo Williams, Elisabet Sahtouris, Amy Goodman, and Barbara Marx Hubbard.

You Are Avoiding This Moment

If you really look,
you will see
you are avoiding
this moment,
you are avoiding
experiencing
this moment.

It is not that you
are somewhere else
and you have to get
back to here,

it is that you are
actively
avoiding this moment.

If you can really
be honest
and see this reflex
of avoiding this moment,
then you can really begin
to let it go
and drop into this moment.

You can begin
to let go of thinking
and experience what is here.

Our problems
make us important.
Our knowledge
makes us important.

They keep us
separated from this moment.

We hold on to our problems
and what we know
because we are scared
of the nothingness
underneath it.

We are afraid
of being nothing,
of being nobody.

We hold on to hope
and improvement
and 'feel good' quotes
because the present moment
is too vast and empty.

Yet the very thing
we keep avoiding
is the very thing
we are seeking.

The moment
you give it all up
and fully immerse yourself
in what is really here,
there is unconditional peace.

The silence of this moment
completes you.

~Kip Mazuy

So Much Beauty.....

"It was one of those days when it's a minute away from snowing and there's this electricity in the air, you can almost hear it. And this bag was, like, dancing with me. Like a little kid begging me to play with it. For fifteen minutes. And that's the day I realized there was this entire life behind things, and... this incredibly benevolent force, that wanted me to know there was no reason to be afraid, ever."

~ 'Ricky Fitts', from the movie "American Beauty"

Effortless Freedom

Enlightenment absorbs this universe of qualities.
When that merging occurs, there is nothing
but God. This is the only doctrine.

There is no word for it, no mind
to understand it with, no categories
of transcendence or non-transcendence,
no vow of silence, no mystical attitude.

There is no Shiva and no Shakti
in enlightenment, and if there is something
that remains, that whatever-it- is
is the only teaching.

~ Lalla

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

"If you want God and you chase God, God will be out of your reach. If you stop and drop every concept of God, you are enfolded in the Living Presence of God."

~ Gangaji

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

seeker of truth

follow no path
all paths lead where

truth is here

~ ee cummings

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

Acceptance is your inherent state, non-acceptance is artificial, fabricated.

~ Jean Klein

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There is no island of bliss to which we finally arrive post-awakening. The experience of Silence is always available, of course, and it is the background of all experience, but it does not REPLACE or NEGATE experience. It remains the birthplace of personal experience, which goes on just like before but without the personal attachment that used to make it so joyful or painful. We must keep our eyes open and move forward into whatever life presents from moment to moment, even as we rest as that Creative Silence. Such radical courage is what reveals that we are also Life Itself.

~ Richard Young

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

There is another, sweeter power available to us all, regardless of how many words we know. It starts in the heart and is effortlessly spoken through the eyes. Sometimes, just for perspective, take a break and hear the music.

~ Gangaji

------------ --------- --------- --------- --------- --------- -

Listen to your life.
See it for the fathomless mystery that it is.
In the boredom and pain of it
no less than in the excitement and gladness:
touch, taste, smell your way
into the holy and hidden heart of it,
because in the last analysis
all moments are key moments,
and life itself is grace.

~ Frederick Buechner

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The Treasure Chest of the Body

Everything we have ever fled from, as separated consciousness, is here, right here in our body, in our nervous system. We don't have to travel far to know ourselves, to meet ourselves.

This fleeing the body is what keeps us bound. And now we have an even more sophisticated form of leaving ourselves - the use of spiritual concepts. How frequently the mind tries to chew on these , in one more valiant, exhausting effort to get away from the 'ouch' of life, from what we are actually feeling, from the discomfort, the waves of angst that rise in the body.

Discomfort arising is a gift. It is the body's way of defrosting itself, of integrating the massive amount of old shock, separation energy that is stored there.

Don't deny your experience, even if you know at some level it's not real. Imagine telling an upset baby it doesn't exist. Where and how could that land. Let your experience become truly unreal by giving it the reality
and attention it first needs. It is through this body of ours that we come to realize we are not the body.

Presence and sensation with no ownership of any of it. Our sanctuary, our favorite resting place, our true resting ground.

~ Mags Deane

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in time of daffodils

in time of daffodils(who know
the goal of living is to grow)
forgetting why,remember how

in time of lilacs who proclaim
the aim of waking is to dream,
remember so(forgetting seem)

in time of roses(who amaze
our now and here with paradise)
forgetting if,remember yes

in time of all sweet things beyond
whatever mind may comprehend,
remember seek(forgetting find)

and in a mystery to be
(when time from time shall set us free)
forgetting me,remember me

~ ee cummings

Carl Herman - Open Proposal for U.S. Revolution

Though this is not the normal fare for this blog, I thought I would address the growing dissatisfaction pervading our global consciousness as certain well-known events unfold on the world stage. Exposing the lies we have believed and been subservient to, both inner and outer, is the task of all those who wish to awaken. Telling the Truth is the strongest tool we have in order to accomplish this. The Truth shall set you free.

“Constitutional governments and aristocracies are commonly overthrown owing to some deviation from justice…the rich, if the constitution gives them power, are apt to be insolent and avaricious… In all well-attempered governments there is nothing which should be more jealously maintained than the spirit of obedience to law, more especially in small matters; for transgression creeps in unperceived and at last ruins the state, just as the constant recurrence of small expenses in time eats up a fortune.” – Aristotle, Politics, Book V. 350 B.C.E.

Revolution is from the Latin, revolutio, a “turn around” of political power.

The US public would revolt and end unlawful US wars and banksters’ rigged-casino fraud if they understood and embraced the central facts of these issues. This four-part series of articles provides the central facts, invites passionate public response, and proposes specific revolutionary public action.

Please share the Revolution to end unlawful US wars and return trillions of our dollars to constructive work. With millions of lives at stake (perhaps billions), there is nothing more important for public participation.

Part 1: Open proposal for US revolution: end unlawful wars, parasitic/criminal economics

Part 2: Open proposal for US revolution: end unlawful wars, all begun with lies

Part 3: Open proposal for US revolution: end parasitic and criminal economics

Part 4: Open proposal for US revolution: expose corporate media as propaganda

These four articles are academic in language and documentation. My citizen advocacy paper, Government by dicts, has additional resources.

Click Here to read entire article.

Colin Drake - The Razor's Edge

It has long been held that following the spiritual life to its goal, complete awakening, is very difficult, like walking along a razor's edge. This article addresses this and attempts to show that, whilst experiencing the first awakening is very simple and easy, to live this awakening requires great vigilance like walking a tight rope.

Let the wise merge the speech in the mind, and the mind into intelligence (philosophical reason); let him merge intelligence in the great self (pure awareness), and that great self into peace.

~ Katha Upanishad - 1.3.13

This signifies recognizing that thoughts (mind) and sensations (speech in this case) appear in (and are seen by) awareness i.e. are merged in that. This is to be discovered by 'direct seeing' which is informed by intelligence. Then by the same process one can discover that awareness, being always totally still and utterly silent, is always completely at peace. This is all fairly straightforward and easy to 'see' as the appendix, from Beyond the Separate Self (and A Light Unto Your Self) attempts to show.

Arise, awake, enlighten yourself by resorting to the great (teachers),
for that path is sharp as a razor's, difficult to tread
and hard to go by, say the wise.

~ Katha Upanishad - 1.3.14

This next verse says that the path of 'direct seeing' is sharp as a razor's edge and thus we should abandon this and resort to the great teachers. However, this advice itself is very difficult to follow for the modern sceptical Western mind which does not trust anything that lies outside its own experience or 'direct seeing'. Also the teachings of the great are often difficult to follow being somewhat cryptic and needing interpretation. resulting in different opinions leading to schisms and the formation of sects. From this also comes tribalism based on 'our teacher is the best' or 'our interpretation is the correct one' and the whole sorry saga of division and competition is perpetuated!

So based on this I think, on balance, we are better off following Buddha's final teaching which was that one is to become 'a light unto yourself'. This can be achieved by the 'direct seeing' of our essential nature by self-inquiry or 'investigation of our moment to moment experience' - see the appendix.

This results in an 'awakened moment' when one sees that deeper than thoughts (mind) and body (mind) one is pure awareness and the ramifications of this seeing can be amazing. However, due to our habitual identification with the body/mind one soon 'drops off' again requiring a further awakening by self-inquiry or investigation of experience. So to become 'totally awake' requires absolute vigilance and commitment, akin to walking a razor's edge.

However, this is not a problem, for as the periods of 'wakefulness' (which are totally carefree) increase so will the commitment to identifying with the level of pure awareness. This will lead to more reflection and investigation, resulting in further awakenings which will continue the process. To call it a process may seem a misnomer for when one is 'awake' there's no process going on, but the continual naps keep the whole thing running.

This does require us to be more interested in being awake than in our own 'personal story', and to prefer peace to mental suffering. It is amazing how many people identify with these and seem to actually enjoy them in a masochistic fashion. Assuming that this is not the case one can use mental suffering to be a wake up call that one has 'nodded' off again and return one to 'awareness of awareness'. So although staying awake is like walking a razor's edge it is very easy to see when one has slipped off this and to hop back on again!

There is another danger for those that feel that they have 'awakened' and that is spiritual pride based on the thought that "now I've really got it" and thus cannot fall off the edge. It is easy to see that this thought "now I've really got it" is dualistic involving a 'me' that's got something (else). This is the difference between thinking 'now I've really got awareness' and directly seeing that one is awareness itself. Any thought that objectifies the 'I' is to be avoided, for awareness is not an object but the constant conscious subjective presence. Once again vigilance is the key .

Thirdly for those of us who attempt, in our own feeble way, to point to awakening there is another greater danger, which is believing that we are (separate individuals) pointing . This belief can easily be strengthened by the appreciation that we receive by those who experience awakened moments based on this pointing. As 'awakening' is the most profound seeing that can occur, often with momentous implications, the gratitude expressed is often of the most lavish proportions. So we need to 'walk the walk' by continually realizing that we are ephemeral manifestations of That (consciousness) , through which pointing is taking place, and that no separate 'pointer' exists!

In conclusion, 'awakening' is straightforward and available to all but is quickly countered by nodding off again. So we need to constantly reawaken by becoming aware of, and identified with, awareness itself. In this respect it is like walking a razor's edge, but it is not painful and hopping back on again is simplicity itself, by the relevant shifting of attention from thoughts/sensations to the awareness that sees these.

Appendix

Below follows a simple method to investigate the nature of reality starting with one's day-to-day experience. Each step should be considered until one experiences, or 'sees', its validity before moving on to the following step. If you reach a step where you do not find this possible, continue on regardless in the same way, and hopefully the flow of the investigation will make this step clear. By all means examine each step critically but with an open mind, for if you only look for 'holes' that's all you will find!

1. Consider the following statement: 'Life, for each of us, is just a series of moment-to-moment experiences' . These experiences start when we are born and continue until we die, rushing headlong after each other, so that they seem to merge into a whole that we call 'my life'. However, if we stop to look we can readily see that, for each of us, every moment is just an experience.

2. Any moment of experience has only three elements: thoughts (including all mental images), sensations (everything sensed by the body and its sense organs) and awareness of these thoughts and sensations. Emotions and feelings are a combination of thought and sensation.

3. Thoughts and sensations are ephemeral, that is they come and go, and are objects, i.e. 'things' that are perceived.

4. Awareness is the constant subject, the 'perceiver' of thoughts and sensations and that which is always present. Even during sleep there is awareness of dreams and of the quality of that sleep; and there is also awareness of sensations; if a sensation becomes strong enough, such as a sound or uncomfortable sensation, one will wake up.

5. All thoughts and sensations appear in awareness, exist in awareness, and subside back into awareness. Before any particular thought or sensation there is effortless awareness of 'what is': the sum of all thoughts and sensations occurring at any given instant. During the thought or sensation in question there is effortless awareness of it within 'what is'. Then when it has gone there is still effortless awareness of 'what is'.

6. So the body/mind is experienced as a flow of ephemeral objects appearing in this awareness, the ever present subject. For each of us any external object or thing is experienced as a combination of thought and sensation, i.e. you may see it, touch it, know what it is called, and so on. The point is that for us to be aware of anything, real or imaginary, requires thought about and/or sensation of that thing and it is awareness of these thoughts and sensations that constitutes our experience.

7. Therefore this awareness is the constant substratum in which all things appear to arise, exist and subside. In addition, all living things rely on awareness of their environment to exist and their behaviour is directly affected by this. At the level of living cells and above this is self-evident, but it has been shown that even electrons change their behaviour when (aware of) being observed! Thus this awareness exists at a deeper level than body/mind (and matter/energy[ 1]) and we are this awareness!

8. This does not mean that at a surface level we are not the mind and body, for they arise in, are perceived by and subside back into awareness, which is the deepest and most fundamental level of our being. However, if we choose to identify with this deepest level - awareness - (the perceiver) rather than the surface level, mind/body (the perceived), then thoughts and sensations are seen for what they truly are, just ephemeral objects which come and go, leaving awareness itself totally unaffected.

9. Next investigate this awareness itself to see whether its properties can be determined.

Firstly what is apparent is that this awareness is effortlessly present and effortlessly aware. It requires no effort by the mind/body and thoughts and sensations cannot make it vanish however hard they try.

10. Next, this awareness is choicelessly present and choicelessly aware. Once again it requires no choice of the mind/body and they cannot block it however they try. For example, if you have a toothache there is effortless awareness of it and the mind/body cannot choose for this not to be the case. You may think that this is bad news but it is not so: can you imagine if you had to make a choice whether you would like to be aware of every sensation that the body experiences? In fact be grateful that there is no effort or choice involved for awareness just to be - such ease and simplicity - which is not surprising for you are this awareness!

11. It can be seen then, that for each of us this awareness is omnipresent; we never experiences a time or place when it is not present. Once again be grateful that the mind/body is never required to search for this awareness; it is just always there, which of course is not surprising for at the deepest level we are this awareness.

12. Next, notice that this awareness is absolutely still for it is aware of the slightest movement of body or mind. For example, we all know that to be completely aware of what is going on around us in a busy environment we have to be completely still, just witnessing the activity.

13. In the same vein this awareness is totally silent as it is aware of the slightest sound and the smallest thought. Therefore awareness is always completely at peace as to be absolutely still and totally silent is to be completely at peace.

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[1] The theory of relativity, and string theory, show that matter and energy are synonymous.

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Keeping Quiet

Now we will count to twelve

and we will all keep still.

For once on the face of the earth

let's not speak in any language,

let's stop for one second,

and not move our arms so much.

It would be an exotic moment

without rush, without engines,

we would all be together

in a sudden strangeness.

Fishermen in the cold sea

would not harm whales

and the man gathering salt

would look at his hurt hands.

Those who prepare green wars,

wars with gas, wars with fire,

victory with no survivors,

would put on clean clothes

and walk about with their brothers

in the shade, doing nothing.

What I want should not be confused

with total inactivity.

Life is what it is about;

I want no truck with death.

If we were not so single-minded

about keeping our lives moving,

and for once could do nothing,

perhaps a huge silence

might interrupt this sadness

of never understanding ourselves

and of threatening ourselves with death.

Perhaps the earth can teach us

as when everything seems dead

and later proves to be alive.

Now I'll count up to twelve

and you keep quiet and I will go.

~ Pablo Neruda