Realizing The Infinite
The Art of Being Itself
Introduction
A foundation
1 Upon rare and often unrecognized flashes of pure awareness, you
awaken to your Self.
And consciously or not, you long to crystallize what you have found. However, you may lack a foundation from which to proceed. Thus, the art of Being
Itself.
That's all it takes...
2 That's all it takes is just
one brief moment of Self discovery to finally realize what it's like to be
truly free, even the joy that is to be found but through a still and centered
mind. Then it is simply a matter of expanding that tiny glimpse into timeless
awareness, of building upon that most elusive of all experiences, of reversing all you thought was true, until You Are All That Is.
Peace is yours
3 Perhaps you are still conflicted as to what might become of you given so few
alluring options. Yet you have only to cease identifying so much with that which
you have come to believe is ‘myself’ and peace will assuredly be
yours.
Being Itself?
Being Itself
4 Being Itself
could be defined as any extent to which you functionally withdraw from the
world of the urgent and mundane. In addition to its formal practice, it can be relatively spontaneous rather than confined to any certain
place or time. It can be a way of deliberately and abruptly awakening from 'the
dream', as it were, refusing to continue to be swept along by the relentless current
of thought and activity. It can also become second nature.
What you really want
5 There seems to be no end to what your mind will
chase after. But where does it lead you? Surely not toward inner peace. And
isn't that what you really want? Thus, the value of a still mind, if only for a few brief healing moments at a time.
Get in touch
6 Get in touch with the arising of thought. This is called living at a higher level of awareness—whether in a quiet
corner or in the heat of the day.
Choose mental stillness
7 In your quiet time: to be conscious, to choose mental stillness,to leave internally arising preoccupations
just as you found them leads to an increasingly still and centered mind. Inevitably, passing
thoughts seduce you into resuming your obsession over what you consider to
be the most urgent, worrisome, or pleasurable in your experience. Their call is
mesmerizing, even hypnotic - for you forget all about your initial intention to
abide simply in the present. Thus, the value of daily practice.
Practice
Listen, hear, and begin again
8 This practice of
listening, hearing and beginning again - of listening for your self beginning to think, then promptly returning to a thought free state of listening and repeating as often as thinking begins (most likely every few seconds) - enables you to transcend the dream if only for seconds at a time—even
your core belief in separateness—and, as a result, to both remember and
reconnect with 'your' one, undifferentiated Self.
Historically
9 Historically, 'meditation', another name for listening - is
the practice of conscious mental stillness normally facilitated for a time by
some technique, if only the pure awareness of awareness itself. It is, in part,
the discipline of making the distinction between unconscious and conscious
thought, and upon that foundation, of entering the realm of conscious
non-labeling, even that of Being Itself. It is the process by which
you cultivate higher awareness of not just yourself and the world around, but of your very 'Self'.
Return to the present
10 You possess your very own 'innernet', as it were, containing
countless mind pages. Become aware of and gently close each window of thought as it
appears on the screen of your consciousness, dissipating, as well, the urge to
open any number of associated links simply by returning to the present.
Try this
11 Engage in pronounced, conscious breathing.
Then, as moved, gradually expand your awareness to encompass everything, yet nothing in
particular, whether within or without. When, upon realizing that you are
distracted from your intention to simply 'Be' a still witness of your
environment, whether mental or physical, refocus and continue as
before. Eventually the intention itself, though fleetingly,dissolves altogether as
the mind becomes increasingly accustomed to a realization of inner stillness so that
at least for brief moments of time all that’s left is the joy of pure
consciousness.
Mindfulness
12 Recognizing how the automatic associative process
of the mind dominates us, becoming aware of how it begins, how its inception
escapes our notice, and how to ultimately bring it under control is, among
other things, the natural result of any kind of Self awareness expanding discipline: call it
listening, Zen Buddhism, mindfulness, or what have you.
Practice
13 Begin your practice during your most peaceful
moments, expanding to the most trying.
Strengthen your intention
14 There are two forms of environment, whether
inner or external, which may enter your awareness: those that disturb the peace
(unpleasant thoughts, upsetting news, 'difficult people'
and so on), and those that evoke it (such as the stillness of a snowy forest or the
majesty of a thundering waterfall). Yet,
paradoxically, those things which tend to disrupt peace also possess the
ability as well, if you are open to the possibility, to increase inner stability. If allowed, potential distractions may merge with and deepen the inner stillness rather
than disturb it, may further calm the mind rather than agitate it, may
ultimately strengthen your intention for peace rather than diminish your resolve.
Learn to listen
15 Learn to listen for and recognize mental noise, (the sound aimless
thinking makes), and to turn it off.
More on the associative process
16 Of course, when you write a paper, a poem or create any other work of art, you are the conscious initiator of the minds associative process. It is
only when it runs out of control, when you are unaware of its comings and
goings, only when you are unable to locate its off, on, or pause button that it
becomes detrimental to your well being.
Are you aware?
17 Are you aware of the ebb
and flow of your thoughts? In the absence of your conscious participation your
mind directs itself. Or rather, it follows the ruts of your unconscious thought
patterns which may reflect a negative past as well as an intrepidation over
the future. Ultimately, your accustomed interpretation of the world around you may tend to
generate a perpetual lack of peace and well being. And is that what you really
want? And so, the value of daily practice.
More on pure awareness
Pure awareness
18 Gently dismiss all temptations to label
"what is". The result: pure awareness.
Ideally it is best
19 Even though with pure awareness comes the unconditional acceptance of all that confronts your senses, ideally it is best, if only during formal practice, to retreat to less obtrusive environments such as some quiet corner or peaceful park bench.
Surrender...
20 Rest from all
thoughts of heaven and earth, all sense of time and place, and slip gently into
the peace that is this one eternally present moment.
To the extent...
21 To the extent that you are present may you
choose what is most conducive
to your
joy.
A brief word on the ego
The solution
22 The ego is the one that is always planning your next move. This makes it very difficult to ever
find inner peace. The solution - less ego.
The next move
23 In the face of
opposition, let ‘your’ Self make the next move.
True freedom and salvation
24 It is only by passing through the portal of pure consciousness that you even begin to realize that
which is true freedom and salvation. Here, the undeniable truth shines forth
without reservation in the absence of the false and imposed. Only here is it
directly expressed and experienced undiluted by the fleeting, the counterfeit,
and the known. For these are where the ego vainly struggles to find ultimate
transcendence, or to recapture, perhaps, the glorious feeling which accompanied some long forgotten magical childhood
moment stumbled upon, however briefly, in adolescence. And driving and despite
all its striving and deceit, it is this which the ego truly desires. Yet it is this alone that is truly ever present, you have only to awaken.
Why bother?
Certain bliss
25 Your mind is the greatest obstacle lying between you and
certain bliss.
Peaceful outcomes
26 As you practice, you unwittingly strengthen your
capacity to spontaneously suspend your habitual reaction to upsetting events
and to choose responses more conducive to peaceful outcomes.
The value of Being Itself
27 There seems to be a point at which talking about, analyzing, and
discussing problems becomes counterproductive. And so, the value of now and again stilling the mind.
It is healing
28 It is healing
to realize how it truly feels to be upset, depressed, anxious or bored, to
experience the emotion fully without burying it under obsessive thought and
activity, to become the detached observer of your own present state of mind, a
silent witness to your own pain, as it were, secretly
eves-dropping on the drama that is yourself.
Peace as valid
29 Daily practice
empowers you to let go of stressful thoughts, stressful life situations, a
stressful life - to accept peace as valid, even preferable to business as
usual.
Already present
30 If you are already present when unpleasantness arises, it
merely enters the silence where reason, imagination and creativity reside. Only
here may new and insightful ways of responding best be put into action.
Creative Energy
31 With Being Itself comes the release of all superfluous
thought, freeing up great wells of creative energy.
The flow of life
32 The process of listening is a conscious letting go, a
releasing of the grip of your daily tensions which build up, so a residual does
not carry over to the 'next day and month', building up 'over time' a plaque of
stress, clogging the flow of life.
‘My Life’
33 Your past story
determines your present script and future role in the continuing saga of 'your'
life. But this is true only at the level of the dream, from which you may
awaken at any moment.
Newfound freedom
34 Normally our train of thought
glides on the rails of the familiar, off to the future on the tracks of the
past, However, at times, we can be thrown off track by the winds of change and the tumults of life. At this
point, we must find the way on our own, with nothing more than the
uncertainty of our new found freedom to guide us. And so, again, the value of Being itself.
The One
35 To the extent that you realize your very Being Itself, your sense of self is less dependent on what others can do
to or for you. You no longer grasp at the many forms ‘out there’ in an effort
to become whole. For you realize that you already are, The One.
