All understandings are conceptual. Even a living realization can be grasped by the mind and turned into another concept to be understood and shared. What if we stopped going into the domain of mental concepts altogether and simply rested in what is here without moving, without also going to the mind to label, describe, remember, or understand… Just experiencing whatever happens as it arises, purely and untouched.
and friend of mine brought up an excellent concern:
Can you imagine if after we process thought into concept and fail to SHARE it? So many others wouldn’t be touched, stimulated and motivated to realize more. I so enjoy following your travels and posts. It’s like a good shot in the arm, for you are always willing to SHARE freely. Thanks for that! ♥
Yeah, that hits right on the money on some of my concerns as well. What’s being questioned here, on a deeper level beyond whether we say something or not, is whether or not we have to take what is discovered through the heart and immediately bring it up into the mind to be stored, leaving the heart and quickly going into the head.
Noticing all the various spiritual points of view like the absolute and the relative, the individual, the one, the infinite, and so on.. we may find that these actually wind up being ways to divide up ISness, pure being. In this video, we explore this topic as we point towards what IS behind all these ways of speaking about what is:
When I was 5 years old my mom always told me that happiness was the key to life. When I went to school, they asked me what I wanted to be when I grew up. I wrote down “happy.” They told me I didn’t understand the assignment, and I told them they didn’t understand life.
-Unknown
Okay, so what drives human decisions? In a nutshell, we tend to move towards what we believe will bring us pleasure and away from what we believe what will bring us pain. It’s about our beliefs.
It’s not that we move directly towards pleasure itself and away from pain. I’m sure you can find many examples in the world, and perhaps even in your own life, when you have moved away from pleasure and towards pain. Interesting, no? Why would we do such a thing? It’s because on a deeper level, beyond surface-level appearances, we are moving towards what we believe will bring that which feels good and away from what we believe will ultimately make us feel worse. Much of this is subconscious.
So why do we do those things that we “know” aren’t good for us? For example, why do we resist reality? Why do we try to control others or the world? Why do we try and manifest things? Heck, why do we try and get enlightened!? Why do we do all this stuff?
Simple, because we believe that our happiness and well-being depends upon it! Quite literally! In the end, we all want to feel good. We all want to be happy, to experience joy, to love and be loved, to experience all those good feelings and emotions.
So, joy. We’re seeking joy. We want to be happy. It’s pretty simple, really.
Yet this joy we’re seeking is conditional. We experience our happiness dependent upon things out of our control, and that doesn’t feel very good, does it?
This is a sort of universal disclaimer I usually like to mention after bringing up some of the more *flashy* aspects of the spiritual arena including the fracturing of time, crazy spiritual experiences, the ability to manifest powerfully, connecting with beings in other dimensions, out of body experiences, and so on…
All that stuff can be and often is lots of fun, very entertaining, and garner lots of attraction, but like everything else it comes and goes. Enjoy the journey, but don’t get caught up in the fleeting blips on the radar screen. In the end you’re only left with yourself. It just flat out doesn’t matter what experience you have or haven’t had. None of that defines you or your worthiness or level of advancement. It’s so easy for that shiny fun stuff to become a distraction and a detour which is how most people will experience it, especially at first when it’s all new and unfamiliar, yet the essence of the path is always YOU. Life will consistently show you that YOU are the point. Being yourself. That’s what it’s all about. Really. All these worldly and otherworldly things are simply more ways for you to experience yourself. They themselves are not the point. The sights along the path are all ultimately pointers that bring you back to you who appears to be walking the path. You ARE the path. You ARE the destination you seek. It’s where the real treasure lies. Within. It’s what virtually every master has said. This can’t be overemphasized.
All the flashy stuff is cool but frankly not at all necessary or relevant. Much of it will arise and blossom quite naturally the more you turn within, yes, but that inward focus is still key. There seems to be a healthy balance necessary between the discipline of abiding within and the freedom that comes with allowing all the outward manifestations to be. By placing these things in their proper context of recognizing that the comings and goings of various phenomena and experience are no more valuable or desirable than simple and ordinary being, we can acknowledge it and let it do what it will without overlaying any false sense of importance on seeking any particular experience, once again turning within as we consciously rest and live as what we are in this world. In fact, simply acknowledging them and sharing your experiences with others help us realize that we’re not going crazy. The sharings can help us in letting go of the fears, resistances, and places we get stuck. In this the sharings have lots of value.
There really is something to be said for being. For this pure silent everpresent BEING. It’s not a manifestation of the world, but almost prior to it, inseparably interwoven with it. It is so easily overlooked and forgotten, and it seems that disconnection of sorts is what gives rise to the experience of what is called a seeker. The reunion with being AS being (becoming one with God or whatever you wanna call it) is what all the experiences are really striving for but never quite succeed at, for they are seeking to accomplish something they never can. The disconnect never really happened. What we seek is always within, never lost, and already present. It’s been said thousands of times and will likely be said a thousand more.
Let’s talk about some of the main differences between the awake state and the asleep state as well as address two traps that keep one falling back into (the experience of) separation.
Awareness: Awake vs. Asleep
Asleep, awareness seems to be no big deal. You can be aware of awareness, but it seems like just another thing to look at like the floor or your thoughts. Nothing special really.
Awake, awareness is seen to be what you are, not as an identity like a parent or child, but as pure presence. Some say Presence prior to name and form, but this exists outside of time entirely, yet not separate from it. This aware presence is expansive, spacious, boundless, unchanging, and free. That which is seen by awareness is intuitively recognized to be not other than awareness and not separate from it.
Awakening is simply a movement of Consciousness. It is a moving away from the identification of being a separate one to the recognition that all of life is a flowering in Consciousness being revealed.
It’s possible to have the experience of vacillating between awake and asleep, something which Adyashanti refers to as a non-abiding awakening. Through simple trial and error and life experience, I’ve found there to be a number of ways to send yourself back into a state of egoic delusion. Here are two such examples:
When we think of our “life’s purpose” or our “mission in life,” typically it involves some form of outer doing. Maybe our purpose is to heal others, to repair cars, or to build a success business. For a long time my life’s purpose included waking up, teaching spirituality, opening up to loving myself and others, integrating various sometimes conflicting perspectives such as enlightenment and the law of attraction, and a few other things. You will notice that these are all doing-based activities.
Now an interesting thing to note is that all of these doings are all subject to change. They come and go as we evolve and walk down our path. These doings are ultimately all expressions of us being ourselves. When we try to permanently box ourselves into an outer role or set of actions, we actually begin to limit ourselves. When we tell ourselves that we must continue playing an outer role for whatever reason, this may actually impede our ability to fully be ourselves. On the other hand, when we decide that being ourselves is the most important thing, whatever form that takes quite naturally and spontaneously arises, it is experienced in a way that is supported by the rest of our being.
Be yourself. That is your inner mission in life. That is your purpose. That is why you’re here. To be yourself. It’s really simple.
“But what do I do!?” Just be yourself.
When you are focused on being yourself, the outer doing stuff arises quite naturally and easily out of that. You don’t have to give it a second thought, or even a first. You just do it, for no other reason than it’s you. You don’t need any other reason.
Addressing Fears of Being Yourself
When you are simply being yourself, what a tremendous freedom that is! Sure there may be fear around it at first that we need to bring awareness to and let go of.
Many of us have been taught over the years that it’s not okay to be who we are. We’ve been reprimanded and judged for sharing what is true for us. We may have been told that we shouldn’t feel a certain way. In any number of ways, we have been taught that it’s not okay to be ourselves and it is all this conditioning that we’re here to unravel and release.
That said, there’s nothing wrong with not being yourself. It can be a tremendously positive learning experience to experience NOT YOU. We may do this through imposing limitation upon ourselves, buying into limiting beliefs, diving into the energy of fear and separation, resisting what is, and so on. No matter in what way the energy of “not me” is created, it can be useful in helping us see that much more clearly what we REALLY are. The contrast really does serve us and my goodness, earth offers an abundance of contrast, does it not?
So not being yourself is here to serve you, until it does no longer and you can let it go.
Opening Up and Letting Life Flow
It’s amazing how when you let go of resisting yourself, what you want just shows up in its own way in its own time, and often times in ways you wouldn’t have been able to predict or orchestrate ahead of time. Not only does what you want manifest effortlessly and synchronistically, but the stepping stones in your path in life on an outer level become easier to follow. The decisions and actions that are in alignment with your essence feel joyous, exciting, light, and just plain right. It’s literally as if you are becoming more and more of who you are by traveling down your path.
As you recognize on deeper and deeper levels that being yourself, first and foremost, is what life is about, you find that all the outer expressions you take come and go naturally on their own, in perfect harmony with the ebbs and flows of life itself. It’s really quite amazing, far more beautifully orchestrated than anything a single limited mind could ever come up with. What needs to happen does. What doesn’t need to happen won’t. Life then begins showing you the essence of what is rather than you demanding life be a certain way. As you rest back into the observation of and appreciation of life, you see that things just fit. Way cool…
“You’re not here to teach what you’ve learned, but to be who you are.”
-Matt Kahn
When Matt told me this in our discussion the other day, we could both tell he struck a major chord within me.
As I began exploring this statement more deeply, I found myself having no idea who I would be without doing the whole spiritual teaching thang… Whoa! How quickly we fall into our roles…
Improving the World
So a part of me wants to “make the world a better place” and all that jazz. Something that’s common amongst us guys is that we like fixing things. If someone has a problem, offer them a solution so we can solve the problem. If someone’s suffering and feeling limited, help them know the truth for the truth shall set them free.
With respect to teaching, this tendency may become so intense that it can develop into wanting to practically beat people over the head with spiritual concepts and becoming somewhat preachy, particularly when we first invalidate the other. I’m not saying that this energy is the driving force behind my sharings by any means, but it can occasionally creep in nonetheless. It’s helpful to bring awareness to this and to recognize when the ego is doing its egoey thing.
For a while now it felt like the best way I could be in service to the world and give to others was to help spread spiritual messages and share spiritual teachings, just like many of the great spiritual leaders of yesterday and today. Hence this blog. This teaching/sharing thing has been an integral part of my path for many years now. I am now recognizing a shift in energy and the progressive diminishment of interest in talking about all this spiritual stuff so much…
I am the wisdom of your own heart. I am all that you could ever want, every single thing your heart desires. I am that. Nothing else could truly fulfill you. I am Infinite Love. Open your heart and you will find me there. My home is your heart.
As these words flowed through, it struck me how similar this message is with that of Jesus Christ. It was also recognized how easily these words can be misinterpreted and misunderstood, so let’s provide a bit of clarification for what both of us were talking about.
I am the Infinite, consciously aware of myself, expressing that which I am through this vehicle we call Ariel. I can express myself in a myriad of ways: through music, a street sign, a chance utterance by a stranger passing you by… all these are tools available to me. The clearest and most direct way I have of speaking to you is through the direct channel of your own heart. Your heart is smart. Your heart is wise. Your heart is all-knowing. You may trust it.
I am All That Is. I am all the Love in existence, and even more, for I am constantly expanding. I am everything you could ever dream of, and even those things of which you have yet to dream.
I am you. There is only one of us. Look within. The gateway to all that you seek is within you.
Appreciate yourself. Love yourself. For you are the Infinite. You are the living Divine.
Everything is this living Divine.
It can awaken in any person, including you. There is no question.
If you really want the Truth, look within. Even if it seems others have found it, what you perceive them to be is literally nothing more than a figment of your imagination. You alone are real. Be yourself.
When I say to open your heart and let me in, I mean this Infinite Love that I Am and I share, not just this Ariel dude as opposed to someone else. This Ariel dude is just a vehicle, a meat suit, that is at one with oneness, being used like a telephone to deliver a message, but do not confuse the messenger with the message. Think of Ariel more as a channel than literally someone who can make you happy. He is reflecting back to you what your heart already knows. That is all.
The “I” that I refer to here is way beyond just Ariel, yet is inclusive of that. It is beyond the “you” character that seems to be arising here, yet it is inclusive of that. It is the infinite Love that is always available within, right here right now deep in your own heart.
You Are Truly Loved features content designed to guide people towards enlightenment, unconditional love, and living a life of joy through Self-realization and proper application of the Law of Attraction.
So a part of me wants to “make the world a better place” and all that jazz. Something that’s common amongst us guys is that we like fixing things. If someone has a problem, offer them a solution so we can solve the problem. If someone’s suffering and feeling limited, help them know the truth for the truth shall set them free.
I am the wisdom of your own heart. I am all that you could ever want, every single thing your heart desires. I am that. Nothing else could truly fulfill you. I am Infinite Love. Open your heart and you will find me there. My home is your heart.