http://www.nonduality.com/pieter.htm [The Self, Maya and the Heart]

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Dear GregorI suppose at one time I may have been gnawed at by the same issues andquestions that are now consuming you.I've attached a few of texts that might help. Maybe the last attachment isa good introduction to the others.All I can say is that it is a matter of reading and rereading the texts andpondering over them and continuing otherwise with whatever practices you mayhave for stilling the mind.Suddenly, something new will occur to you: the discarding of attention as ameans to see and know. You suddenly realize that the body and mind do notrequire the animation of a focusing of light and being into whatever imagesappear, around which is built up the impression of identity.The body and mind are disengaged, outshined, like the turning up of thelight behind a slide as projected on a screen.You abide singly as Self and the sense of " I " - now diffused through thelens of the mind, is reabsorbed into the Singularity of the Heart and youabide - unconditioned, uncaused, timeless...As you are always already That, there are no practices to come to thatexperience. All you can do is to read texts such as are attached or in thewebsite article, and consider them, " hear " them, as in the refrain of Christ " Those that have ears to hear, let them hear... " Then all the questions you have will fall away naturally.You might also try to get a copy of " I AM THAT " by Nissagadatta Maharaj(Acorn Press) and " Talks with Sri Ramana Maharshi " fromhttp://www.ramana-maharshi.org/ and The Avadhut Gita (which I can also sendas an attachment).Once you begin to " grok " what this experience is all about, you might wantto start to read the 4 Gospels in the New Testament, because you willsuddenly find yourself hearing the Truth about the Self (the seer) statedwith an extreme power that will reverberate within you (as in Luke 11:34).The key to these Gospels is in the first part of the Gospel of John, and inthe realization that by the word God or the Father is meant the Name givento Moses of " I AM THAT I AM " or " I AM " which should be substituted for thesewords in every case. Moreover, to fulfill the meaning of the first 2Commandments, neither should the word " I " be associated with images (throughwhich an identity can be built around), nor should one identify one's senseof " I " with thoughts or impressions.All that can be done is to find out what those who have gone before us andabide in this Truth have to say, and consider what it could mean that theyare trying to convey, and somehow try to get it.As you mull over these various texts, the intellectualizing and comparingand categorizing and collecting and trying to answer the questions you'vestated below will begin to fade into a single sense of clarity of being, asense of absorption and at the same time of flooding over of light(consciousness) that disengages the sense of compactness tightness orsolidness of the body and focus of attention in the mind, like lifting theneedle from a record, where the record keeps turning, but no one remains tohear it.You will also find that as you abide deeper and deeper in your Self, thebody/mind also experiences the world with unconditioned love, withoutjudgement, much greater unobstructed clarity, as one with everything,because the sense of 2 has become meaningless. You begin to become thevirtues formerly learned about and vaguely practiced.The Truth of this experience is unrelated to anything that can be thoughtabout, but It can be heard, by reading about the experience from those thathave lived It, as such reading brings about a mode of mind through whichThat which is Intelligence Itself, and is who you really are, hears and yousuddenly find yourself abiding singly as Self.This is my own experience, and these are the texts that I used to read andreread trying to hear what these Knowers experienced.And then I did hear.What more can be said.....Pieter--Attachments: 1.. The Third Zen Patriarch's Fat Mind 2.. The Ultimate Reality Transcends What Can Be Expressed in Words (From " The Teachings of the Compassionate Buddha, " edited by Edwin A. Burtt, c1955, p. 194-204) 3.. " I am " Poem found under a 16th Century Crucifix 4.. The Heart of the Ribhu Gita (Ch 26) 5.. cc of an e-mail sent to others--Kabalgabic <KabalgabicMaya%Samara%20 <pietersaFriday, November 24, 2000 12:43 AMhttp://www.nonduality.com/pieter.htmGreetings....I am in a deep conflict and was hoping you could shed some insight onto aquestion that has been haunting me relentlessly. I keep hearing, mostlythrough the Advaita crowd, that I am not my mind, not my body, not mythoughts, not my emotions, nothing......that I am nothing but consciousness.I hear that I am the consciousness that animates this body and this mindthat I have. Fine...great!!! I feel this to be true. Yet, I then hear that Iam not the DOER of anything....How can I not be the doer if I am theanimating principle, the conscious intelligence behind every thought, word,deed, and action? I have further heard, from several " enlightened " teachers,that there is no free will whatsoever, and that every thought, word, deed,and action whether virtuous or violent is actually predetermined, and thatwe are merely vessels for everything to take place in (some are using thenon-doing argument to womanize, lie, and cheat). This has actually beenproven, somesay, through science, which shows that the brain actually notices theactions and thoughts a half second after they have taken place. Is God then " puppeteering " us? What Freedom could we possibly have or enjoy then? I hearwe are not only NOT the doers, but also not the choosers, not the intenders,and not the experiencers...so who is acting on the information we receive?And what REALLY did Buddha mean when he stated " actions are performed; deedsare done; I am not the doer thereof " ? Is not the crux of Buddhism, andreligion in general, that YOU create your own reality, as has been echoed bymany of the channeled prophets and sages, as well as enlightened ascendedmasters? Why are all the people who are advocating this non-doer theory herein the west so blissed out, so they say, on an existential and trueexperiential level? It makes me feel so helpless and fragmented, not tomention in greater duality. What ever became of Self-mastery and Osho sayingthat he is a master of his mind and body - was that a hoax? Isn't thatmastery a doing? I think the Advaita ideas create a horrible existence, tonot have any control over one's own life, to be merely a victim ofeverything. This is new age Calvanism here!! What meaning could the humanexperience then have? What are these bodies and minds and thoughts andintentions good for if we are none of them and we are not responsible forhow they interact within and without " our " own bodies and minds? Are wemerely meant to just speculate!!!!??? What have you experienced? Are you notthe Doer Are any of us Doers? Who is, if not us? Even with spontaneity, itseems asthough " I " am DOING that spontaneous action. What does it mean to " do " andnot to " do " ? Do we have a choice in " doing " or " non-doing " ? I know this is along question(s), but I would really appreciate any response whatsoever,whenever it is convenient for you. Thanks a lot for taking the time to readthis....Sincerely,Gregor Bertramkabalgabic