Self-realization and wishful thinking...

June 4, 1999

>===> Tim Gerchmez <fewtch

Your message is essentially correct. However, there are those rare individuals

who can simply "open

their eyes, and see." My theory is that they were extremely close to

realization in their previous

lifetime, and this one requires only a slight nudge. But such people are rare.

<===<

Hello Tim ... and everybody else ....

In the course of my work, I chose to take the perspective with a group of people

that

"we are already enlightened beings ... we already have our eyes opened ... what

is it that causes us

not to be able to accept that which we already are ...?"

Now, it may well be that in previous lifetimes we got close ... but 'didn't make

it' ... and we

judged that ... and so came back to do it all over again ... thats one

perspective.

To take this a step furthur ... judgement = self beat up.

and again from the perspective I am taking ... what if I already know all of

'it' but I haven't

remembered ... what is the source of my forgetting??

This then becomes a self empowerment exercise rather than a learning exercise.

It becomes an

exercise in remembering (empowerment0 rather than learning (implied lack =

victim)

Whilst I am learning ... seeking one dead or alive as a 'teacher/master to learn

from/follow' ... I

am, if I am not careful, handing my power, my intrinsic wholeness to that person

in acknowledgement

of my lack.

Alternatively, I could take the perspective that this 'teacher/master' is my

mirror of 'who I might

realise I already am' ... which, again, puts me on the path of 'self' recovery.

For me, I can read this perspective into many of the quotes from 'the

enlightened ones' which appear

on this list ...

I cannot learn the consciousness of one who is held up as 'enlightened' by

debating the meanings of

the spoken/written word. In my experience I can remember this consciousness by

going behind the

words to the essence, the vibration contained within the words.

In doing so, I am not placing myself in an inferior position to reinforce victim

.... neither am I

taking on a doctrine or set of rules to control my life ... what I am doing is

alowing the

'master's' words to remind me of 'that which I already am but have forgotten'

.... and then I can

thank him as a loving friend rather than place myself in a position of obesience

....

This brings me to a definition of enlightenment which I use ...

En - light - enment is 'the bringing to the light of daily consciousness all

those things which are

down there (in my sub/un/consciousness, runnning me without my even being aware

of it, and keeping

me separate from the reas-isation of that which I already am'.

Of course, this perspective will 'push the buttons' of those who claim to have

the answers, because

the 'need to be a teacher' is the mirror of the same 'victim' I talked about

above

My previous post to this list ( "Eating ... Intro ... The root of Being" ) was a

description of one

of my processes into the roots of that separation ... an example of a learned

behaviours and an

imposed beliefs which for me, caused me to see myself as a victim and not able

to accept the

'friendship/oneness with the enlightened one' within the whole of this

body/mind/spirit which I am.

In seeking 'learning' with my head, I am turning the 'tree of life' upside down.

Christopher Wynter

Hobart, Tasmania

wynter

http://www.anunda.com

___________________

June 5, 1999

Madhya Nandi wrote:

> "Madhya Nandi" <madhya

>

> Happy Friday Satsanghers!

>

> On occasion, a well-intentioned Satsangher will post seeking wisdom

> regarding the nature of mystical/spiritual Realization. Often as not, the

> poster will be treated to a perspective which claims 'there's nothing to do!

> You're already there. Just accept that you are Enlightened, that you are

> 'liberated' and you will become That. Becoming That, you will see that you

> were There all the time."

>

> Who does not wish to be told that absolute freedom, joy, bliss, etc., can be

> so easily attained? Perspectives making the above claims, while sincere,

> are misguided and in fact, may accomplish more harm than good.

>

> Recently, we enjoyed a brief flurry of exchanges regarding the question of

> 'turya' or the fourth state of consciousness. It was intimated by some

> posters that the question of a fourth state, or indeed, of any 'state' of

> consciousness, was essentially unimportant. All that one need do is realize

> that one is already there! Just accept that you are already there and

> you'll actually be there! There are no 'states' of consciousness, some

> posters claim, just look around you and accept "the fact" that you are not

> this and this and this, and you'll see your "true" self.

>

> Again, nothing could be more misguided and misinformed.

G

I absolutely agree with this, it is a nice concept but it isn't the way it

happens. It is trying to intellectualize consciousness and create a reality

from some level of intellectual knowledge of the words and meanings. When it

happens from within there is a very different reality created through you but

not of you...so that everything in life is changed because of becoming awake,

but it wasn't you (as the witness or experiencer) that did it. It is your

essence, the spirit/soul which was made ready through specific interior

training over a long period of preparation which culminates in perfect union

with Godhead and because of the high pure frequency of Divine Will, one is

radiated.or exploded into the state where awakening/enlightenment takes place.

This is not something you create or make happen in anyway, it is not something

you think about and try to convince yourself of, and it is certainly not even

something you can in anyway imagine since it is out of the realm of the senses

or the mind. I describe it as being absorbed into the knower. What is left...

is that, which is.

>

> Enlightenment cannot be experienced by mere 'negation.' Why? Because

> Enlightenment requires a complete transformation of consciousness. THE

> CHARACTER OF THIS 'COMPLETE TRANSFORMATION' OF CONSCIOUSNESS IS SUCH THAT

> THE AWAKENED PERSON RECOGNIZES THAT WHILE EVERYTHING HAS CHANGED, NOTHING

> HAS CHANGED.

>

> What does this mean? Being 'Awake' is a substantively different experience

> of consciousness. The experience of time and space are completely

> transformed. The awakened person experiences, in the midst of the flow of

> temporal events, utter and complete timelessness. This 'non-temporality'

> becomes part of the structure of experienced consciousness. Experiencing

> 'no-duration' means that in the structure of one's consciousness, there is

> the awareness that time does not move at all. The experience of duration

> includes a quality of recognizing that all the 'time' that one has every

> experienced has occurred in a single, motionless instant. One is able to

> bring to mind any memory, any image from one's past and recognize a quality

> of that experience that is EXACTLY the same--and realize that temporal

> experience includes both duration and non-duration.

Gloria:

The only thing that exists is the moment which appears to be an eternal

moment because it is always there. And because one is not in the moment but

rather is the moment...day and night, days, months, years, past and future are

all absorbed into the eternal now. So that in this you live all of the lives

you experienced while at the same time you experience time and all lives

including the one you are in as a dream that you simply woke up from. Like a

black hole all of life is absorbed into this reality and the world as such

transforms itself as it is absorbed into the pure fire of this cosmic

whirlwind. This may sound like a far out description but in reality it isn't.

This is a cosmic phenomena since it is not just man becoming God but it is also

God becoming man. So in reality God wakes up in a body and man wakes up being

all that is.

> This is not the content of ordinary consciousness. Non-awakened

> consciousness experiences only the flow of time and not the absolute

> awareness of non-duration.

>

> The experience of spatiality also transforms with Awakening. The

> non-awakened consciousness experiences all movement as motion from one place

> to another. You get up to go to the bathroom and your awareness is moving

> from one room to another. You leave your home and get into your car to go

> to work and your awareness is of a linear journey from this place to that

> place to another place. The awakened consciousness, however, experiences

> spatiality very differently. Every place where the awakened person stands

> is apprehended as being exactly the same location where one has always been

> throughout all of one's spatial experience. All locations, no matter how

> distant or foreign, are experienced as precisely the same place. A

> 'familiarity' inheres in the experience of spatiality. The nature of this

> 'familiarity' is the experience of never moving--of being always in one

> familiar place that is absolutely the same. Thus the awakened consciousness

> both comprehends the datum of being in another location--as always

> before--and, additionally recognizes a quality of spatiality that is

> 'non-spatial' or non-different, if you will.

>

> The restructuring of awakened consciousness includes further

> characteristics. Because the enlightened consciousness perceives all

> time--past and future-- as exactly the same as the present, that

> consciousness behaves altogether differently from the person who experiences

> the flow of time.

>

> Persons who experience life in the context of a linear, time and space-bound

> consciousness, form and define self-identity by forming attachments to all

> the events that occur within this context and behave by virtue of that

> experience. The awakened consciousness is not bound by a strictly linear

> and narrative spatio-temporal reference for events that occur. The

> awakened consciousness releases all attachments to past events and ceases to

> identify with these experiences. The reason this occurs is because the

> structure of ongoing awareness has transformed. When this happens,

> attachments naturally fall away. The 'emotion/feeling' based mechanism for

> behaving is exchanged and a new dynamicity for behaving arises. The nature

> of awakened behavior arises from a complete union with the present moment.

> Behavior changes from its former narrative-based performance to an

> increasingly immediate and spontaneous 'Moment' based behavior.

>

> An example: I am waiting tables. A customer criticizes me for being too

> slow and delivering a cold meal. A common reaction is to feel defensive or

> angry or resentful. The nonawakened personality will react to this

> situation by virtue of the accumulated tensions from previous experiences.

> He or she might internalize the tension, or lash out at the customer, or

> even choose to return kindness for injury. But no matter the behavior, the

> tension of experiences accumulates when the personality is under the sole

> dominion of the narrative, cumulative form of consciousness. The structural

> result of awakening consciousness is the experience of nondifferentiated

> time and space. The effect of this transformation of consciousness is the

> release of accumulated tensions. The awakened personality no longer

> experiences or behaves as before awakening. Rather, no matter the actual

> character of the awakened waiter's response, that response will arise and

> disappear instantly. This means that her actions in a given set of

> circumstances will not be conditioned or determined by a personality that

> behaves as a result of accumulated tensions or emotional attachments,

> prejudices and so forth. Neither will the behavior arrive from an experiene

> of consciousness determined by existential concerns determined by

> attachments to the narrative flow of time from the past and into the future.

>

> None of these 'transformations' of consciousness signal more than

> 'recognizing consciousness for precisely what it is.' Nothing is added to

> or subtracted from the nature of consciousness as such. However, the event

> of awakening to 'what always already is' only occurs as one transforms one's

> experience of consciousness. Thus, awakening or enlightenment, must always

> be BOTH a transformative journey AND a recognition that through

> transformation one recognizes that consciousness is exactly as it always

> was. The necessary paradox is that the latter cannot occur without the

> former.

>

> The experience of 'turya', or the fourth state of consciousness is this very

> transformation. Although turya is always present in all states of

> consciousness, one can only transform consciousness through meditation and

> sadhana until gradually the positive qualities of turya permanently

> condition and illumine the experience of consciousness. This is a

> STRUCTURAL transformation of consciousness because the event of conditioning

> and illuminence, the restructuring of consciousness to recognize what was

> not previously recognized, automatically retools and reorients the context

> of BEHAVIOR.

>

> One can indeed experience glimpses of the absolute, immutable 'transcendent'

> aspect of consciousness. However, these glimpses can never be sufficient in

> and of themselves to accomplish enlightenment. More often than not, the

> hopeful recipient of such an experience, builds a wall of attachment around

> the experience and consequently, prohibits the possibility for real

> spiritual growth. This amounts to little more than 'enlightenment by

> wishful thinking.'

>

> Persons who suggest that no practices or transformation need occur to

> 'become enlightened or self-realized' are peddling little more than

> snake-oil. All the major mystical/spiritual traditions present spiritual

> attainment as a journey of transformation leading toward a new, structurally

> reintegrated personality. Such traditions include all the branches of

> Buddhism, the Sufi orders, Christian mysticism and most Hindu traditions.

> It is virtually impossible to name a single great Teacher, Sage or Saint,

> who did not journey toward enlightenment and experience as a result, a

> completely new structure of Experience. Teachers who advocate no practice

> or sadhana at all in order to experience Awakening are in the extreme

> minority.

>

> Work and discipline are always a hard sell. Aspirants do not wish to hear

> the sacrifices and the surrendering that must occur on the path of

> Self-Realization. Westerners in particular, are influenced by Christian

> traditions based on the simple acceptance of Jesus as the Savior for

> salvation. Americans often come to eastern spirituality unaware of the

> quality of commitment and effort involved in spiritual transformation and

> enlightenment.

Gloria:

Again, for the Christian it is a nice concept that you simply accept Christ

into your life and it is all done. However, again it is only a fantasy.

In reality every second is about union and surrender. So there is a mystical

mystery in this since one must master the divine principles of the dance which

is all about surrender while at the same time one is in taking in and applying

all of the realizations so that the body, mind, and soul are living in the fire

of pure love. So there is constantly the letting go and opening up occuring

simoltaneously. Interesting discussion, thank you for sharing.

>

> The reward for effort and transformation is very great. In time, work

> becomes pleasure, and pleasure becomes Self-Realization. Gautama Buddha,

> Abhinavagupta, Ramana Maharshi and the Dalai Lama--among many others--have

> lit the torch for us to follow. Let us walk in their footsteps--as our own

> circumstances allow and engender--and work together toward the only peace

> this planet can effectively experience: the transformation of behavior and

> the performance of enlightenment.

>

> Madhya

>

> ------

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--

Enter The Silence to know God...and...accept life as the teacher.

Gloria Joy Greco

e-mail me at:lodpress visit my homepage & internet retreat at:

http://users.intercomm.com/larryn/

June 5, 1999

Madhya Nandi wrote:

> : "Madhya Nandi" <madhyaFrom