In the whole universe and beyond there is either subject or object.... We know what an object is, and of course you are subject, and subject is a no-thing.
If 'subject' were a thing, it would be an object, and therefore not subject.
As the book Shantaram says "if you want to know the truth, close your eyes", meaning notice that you are the silence/awareness before thought arises - recognize your true nature as that - that silent awareness. You are already that, and only that. There is nothing to become or to attain.
When you close your eyes, you know that you are; you can't deny that you are. Your very being is presence/awareness. Everything else is illusion - EVERYTHING.
All has disappeared.
As Ramana says "all there is, is consciousness".
The belief in a 'me' is formed from an early age and gradually identified with. Once the belief is formed, it becomes encapsulated and self sustaining. The mind feeds on the belief. Life is then viewed from or referred to this imaginary 'me', hence the term 'man and his environment' or man and his consciousness. The concept of separation causes us to see ourselves as a third party - separate from the environment and acting in the environment. The search for truth is distorted by viewing through a false belief, an imaginary separate self - the 'me'. Seemingly there is a me searching, asking questions... Answers are found, but that only brings up more questions; and no peace!

The seeker has already gone too far. It's too much to say stop seeking because then it's two steps too far - first seeking and then to stop seeking. Instead, when we identify ourselves as a seeker, stop! Simply be the I AM, not I am a seeker, or I am a person seeking but the I AM. Dwell in that, dwell as that I AM, as that I am'ness - that is who you are. The 'me' is a conditioned belief, that takes many years to develop but its assumed power ends in a single moment of seeing. In fact it has no power, it only claims to have.
What you are, right now, and always have been, is presence/awareness. Without awareness nothing could be known. You don't have to wait a moment longer to know this. Waiting for some mystical event in the future only delays the seeing. You know that you are. It is one thing you can't deny. You already know it - it's obvious.
All language is inadequate in describing your true nature. Language is dualistic and part of the content of awareness. Being part of the mind it therefore cannot describe that which it appears in, like characters in a movie cannot relate to the screen. Language is conceptual & dualistic and can't describe the non-dual, non-conceptual self - it is useful in daily life but when it comes to the search for the self has to be used merely as a pointer - toward the truth. It is not the truth. Nothing spoken is the truth. No-one has ever spoken the truth.
From a 'me' perspective there appears to be a problem, something needs to be fixed - seeking ensues and the mind tells us that enlightenment will be the solution - one day.
At the point of self realization it is seen that there is no 'me'. The 'me' is an illusion, a belief and doesn't exist in reality. The 'me' is a conditioned belief that takes many years to develop. When it is eventually seen that the 'me' is non-existent, it is clearly seen that I am the 'I AM'. We've been conditioned to see the content of awareness and to ignore the fact that I am the awareness that it appears in. Content is very entertaining. You cannot deny that you are. A difficulty with the search for the self is that it is no-thing and so can't be found - there is nothing to find simply because it's a "no-thing", and who would find it anyway? An imagined 'one' looking would be a third party and that would need the concept of separation to create it. The I AM is pure subjective awareness; in that awareness, objects such as thoughts, feelings and the world appear & disappear.
From a 'me' perspective a solution will never be found, for several reasons. Firstly, the 'me' doesn't actually exist so how can it even look for something? Secondly, an imagined me actually has no power of it's own. Thirdly, there isn't actually a problem in the first place - it only appears that way from a limited 'me' point of view. The 'problem' only exists after the concept of separation has allowed the formation of the idea of a me. Fourthly, seeking implies the future and time, and anything that appears & disappears is impermanent. Fifthly, it's the omnipresent awareness that is witnessing all, so how can it witness itself when all is one? No. The only problem is that awareness (context) has become identified with the content, instead of remaining as it truly is. The Hindu religion has an analogy that describes the world as lila - the play of God, or the play of consciousness. All that needs to happen is for awareness to once more understand what it is and end the false identification. And this will happen when it is time for it to happen. Problem solved.

Is enlightenment an event or not? Some say yes and some say no. For me there was a time, and for many years I might add, when I suffered as a seeker and although later on I could see that I am awareness and generally understood much of what Advaita said I also knew the point of no return had not occurred. Then the day came when it intuitively hit me, and was most obvious that I AM, I AM is awareness, I am awareness. From there on the whole paradigm had shifted, and for me that was the moment of self-realization. In this description I would call that moment an event. Before then I thought of myself, as most people do, as a person who was aware. After then, and now, I know myself as pure subjective awareness in which everything - thought's, memories, feelings, this body and the world appears. The 'me' doesn't dominate the scene any more, although I still refer to myself as me - it's a linguistic convention. There is no 'me' in charge, and never was. Therefore there is no me to become enlightened. That was the fiction - the ghost in the machine. The whole landscape changes even though the appearances are the same.

At an early age (of the human) awareness becomes fascinated by the content of awareness - the world. Increasingly, involvement with contents takes place, and later identification occurs and strengthens. For many people there is an intuitive knowing that things are not quite right; a few go on to become seekers. For most seekers there is a long period of seeking where the seeker goes looking for his/her true nature. But looking for your true nature implies two, one looking for the other, a subject looking for their subjectivity. As awareness is non-dual there is a difficulty in that awareness is trying to identify with something other than itself and everything other than itself is an object. This is never satisfying because it won't find its true self as something other than itself. There comes a point where the seeking stops with a simple acknowledgement that I AM the witness of everything seen.
And then what was never lost is found.

Who am I? Not who I take myself to be, or who I believe, or assume myself to be, but who am I - really? Am I this body? If so then how much of me would be deleted if a leg was surgically removed? That would be about one fifth of my body mass. Does that mean that I would only be four fifths of a person, or that every fifth word I spoke would be missing or I would have only four fifths of my original memory or earn eighty percent of my wages? And what happens when I vote?
Am I my name? Then who would I be if I changed my name? Would I be a different person - with different memories, different life experiences?
Am I my profession? Then I change my job. Who would I be then, another person?
Am I my memories? Then who is it that's remembering them and am I a different person as my memories change over the years?

Who, or what is at my centre and where is that centre? Obviously changing any of the above wouldn't change my being, who I feel I am. So what is the self? The mind will find many answers, objects of identification to that question but none will finally satisfy. Actually the mind will never find the true self because it's completely out of it's terms of reference, it's abilities. It needs a complete paradigm shift to understand it. The mind will never find the answer simply because the mind is just another appearance in awareness - another object and not the subject. It's like expecting my Toyota car to understand the factory and staff that built it.
The created is not capable of knowing the creator. The mind is not capable of knowing the awareness it appears in. Awareness is always behind everything known. The mind is the wrong tool for the job.
So, for a moment, stop the mind and just be. And then notice that you are still in existence - you still are, even without the thinking going on, with no thoughts. Then it's seen that the true you is not at all defined by the mind, but exists prior to the mind, simply as I AM.
Imagine you & I sitting opposite each other. Is there any separation between the awareness that I am and the awareness that you are. Where does one stop and the other begin?
'BE STILL and know that I AM'.
It's an interesting fact that seekers seek.
It's also interesting that we believe we will recognize what we are seeking when we find it.
This is the case, but for us to recognize what we find means we must already 'cognize' it - (know what it is), before we can 're'-cognize it. You can't 're'cognize something you've never known before. So, you see, we do know what it is we were looking for, but have forgotten.
Advaita says 'that which appears & disappears is not real'. Conversely what is real is that which never appears or disappears. We, the seeker, are looking for what is real, so we can't be looking for anything new because if it is not the case now then we're dealing with the unreal. This again shows that what we are looking for is already and always the case, and indeed it is.
The problem is that the mind always thinks in terms of objects, however insubstantial they are. The mind itself is an object appearing in awareness, now. Nothing is known without awareness and awareness is a no-thing. The mind can't get a handle on a no-thing and so it continues to search for 'things'. In this way the mind will never find awareness - it's the wrong tool for the job.
Awareness is, and you are that.

The whole spiritual trip is not about becoming happy.

The trip is about coming to see that we are the awareness that happiness, sadness and all emotions appear in. Then its not important to feel happy, since happiness is just another passing phase. And in the end all emotions are just appearances - they come and they go. The less we are attached to them the more freely they pass through and the less suffering there is. With this new, relaxed approach to life everything is peaceful.

Copy of my website

This is a copy of the website as I will let the site die in favour of this so I've transfered everything to this site and, as such, it needs to be read from the bottom as I posted from the beginning of the website first.

Contact Me

If you like something read here or feel like making contact but don't have a formal question, maybe you'd just like to make a comment about the site or just say hi. I'd be happy to hear from you and where you live.
Please contact directly via e-mail
I live in the small town of Balingup in the south west of Western Australia and can meet by appointment.
Visits can be made by appointment via the above email address.

New Audio CD
A practicaland non philosophical guide for the seeker.
Recorded in multiple files making it easy to start, stop & replay. Play it while driving to work or sync to your mp3 to enjoy while walking. A$15 + $5 p&p.

You can purchase my new audio CD (recorded in mp3 format) either by emailing me with your name & address and I will forward you my bank account details. When the money is deposited I will forward you the CD. Or using Paypal

Questions & Responses (answers)

I've chosen 'responses' rather than the traditional 'answers' because as we grow up we develop the notion there are specific answers to our questions - e.g. 2 + 2 = 4. It's a fixed answer.
In life I've found that many problems stem from a dogmatic black & white view - I'm right, you're wrong! A more lenient view comes with seeing life in shades of grey. A closer look will reveal it's the mind that wants to categorize, classify and pigeon hole everything but life is a continuum.
Responses come to mind following a question. It's not 'the' answer but 'an' answer. A different person asking the same question, or the same person asking it a different time will illicit quite a different, but no less accurate, response.

Q. You are a keen student of Advaita Vedanta, a philosophy that I have enjoyed for many years. I'm curious, when you say, "Notice the times in the day when there are no thoughts happening ...," when you become aware of that time, you are having the thought, "I'm having no thoughts." Therefore, aren't you thinking?
A. This is a crucial area here. Actually if you watch closely you can see that you can be aware of there being no thoughts - even without the thought 'I'm not thinking'. Yes you're right that if you think 'I'm not thinking' then you would be thinking, but I'm talking about the observation when there are no thoughts at all, just mental silence. Often a thought might pop in then. But if you become more familiar with this 'up close & personal' aspect of your life you'll notice that it's possible to be, without thought. If fact you are, with or without thought. Thoughts and memories come up later, but they are not you. When you get to watch the silence in-between thoughts you will notice that you still exist and then it's a matter of 'time' before it hits you that you are that awareness. Thoughts continue but from then on you don't exclusively identify with them. Then the seeking, suffering, questions & doubts stop, you have found what you've been looking for (which was never lost) and, as they say, you are home. Then there is the rock solid knowing what (not who) you really are.
Right now you are awareness, you are the Buddha mind, but you've become identified with appearances, thoughts, memories, feelings etc. This brings in anguish or suffering of some sort. You become a seeker to resolve this suffering.
Awareness itself, is seeking itself.
Q. What interested me much is where you have said (in your website) " you knew you were awareness but had not reached the point of no return". That seems to be the case here.
A. Yes, in my last weeks I would drive to work (through very quiet country roads and there were often no thoughts for long periods of time) and it was quite clear that I was totally present even without thoughts. Ramesh used the borrowed term 'intuitive apperception' - perception by no-one. I read and of course learned and formed a mental picture of what I thought was being pointed to, by Advaita, but also knew it was only intellectual. The last 'intuitive' leap, of 'no return', is out of our hands. It's like when we have a problem and just can't work it out and then suddenly while not even thinking about it the answer just pops up. No effort was needed, in fact often the effort is what's preventing it.
Q. (continuing) Many times there is a sort of ease about things, life is not as turbulent as it used to be but every time, there is the reading of stuff like "boundless peace, absolute freedom and strange beauty", deep down it is known that is how it must be but that is not clearly seen and then this wanting arises!
So, the next question that pops up is "so what next" and when will there be the point of no return?
A. These sorts of comments can be dangerous to the mind. The mind wants an experience - a bigger, better, faster & stronger experience than the last one. That's where drug addicts get lost - first they don't want the experience they have and try to avoid it with a drug - very nice but now there has to be more, and more drugs, and it's a slippery slope. Yes, life is easy when we understand it's not in our (the human) hands. All of this and - deep down it is known that is how it must be but that is not clearly seen and then this wanting arises! are arising thoughts in awareness.
Awareness is not an experience, awareness registers an experience and so the normal experience of humanness goes on, as before, and for the same reasons. Knowing this gives a peace though, a knowing that all is well. Ah! "So what next?" - classical mind stuff.
Q. Hi, Really like your site. I came across advaita about 2 years ago thro' Eckhart Tolle. Sought earlier on in life but not really aware what I was seeking. Life went on then realised few years ago my incessant thinking was actually responsible for a lot of unhappiness. Stumbled across Eckhart Tolle. Fascinated more by what he didn't say than what he did. Further research led me to advaita. Complete fascination. Lot of struggle with accepting it completely but stuck with it as intuitive sense it was the real McCoy. Now would say have quite a deep understanding - tho' everytime I think that I usually go on to receive deeper insights! You'll appreciate there is a lot of nonsense out there with not so much charlatans as those who are self-deluded. I've never been convinced by those who talk the talk - always ever so careful not to use the "I" word etc. who say (usually smugly) this is it. No more to be done or said. Don't look for an event- that's just the "I" coming back in. In other words they've never had "an event"! Was interested to see your history in this regard.On the one hand I don't want to wait for an "event" and by doing so potentially stop it happening. On the other I don't want to end up self-deluded thinking I don't need an event and am already It when in actual fact I'm not. Any guidance you can offer? And what's your view about self-enquiry - good or bad?

A. Good morning ?, Good to hear from you. Yes, those incessant thoughts, they drive us crazy, don't they?  I remember those times.  Ah! yes, as you say it is what's not said and not what is  - intuition is working well for you.  Sounds like things are progressing nicely.  You have developed a good understanding re talking without using 'I'.  It's a bit silly trying to talk without it.  All language is conceptual and so is not the 'thing'.  Words are just pointers.  It does present quite a challenge using language athough, of course, we have to.  If you understand that words are part of the mind and both appear in awareness then there's no problem.  Awareness wittnesses all. The 'event' is interesting - meaning is self realization an event or not.  I looked at this somewhere, maybe in my blog  http://devgrah.blogspot.com/   I found that the realization was simply that, a realization, but what's called enlightenment immediately follows and that is an event.  The thing is you are aware of these writings right now.  The eyes and nervous system processes them and a perception is formed.  It's awareness that notes them.  Without awareness nothing could be known.  So there's nothing to become - awareness is already working.  Behind all the identifications is awareness and you are that.  There really is nothing to become.  Waiting for some big experience only delays the understanding of what is already and always has been functioning.  Mind loves bigger, better, stronger and faster.  Everything that's happened in your life happened in awareness.  Yes the self inquiry is important.  The question 'Who am I', and watch the answers that the mind throws up - identifications.  The mind is an object in awareness and it thinks in terms of objects - it can't know the subject - you.  The original problem was when awareness became infatuated with objects, through the baby'e eyes, and became indentified with them, namely the 'me/human'.  At some point there was an intuition that something was wrong, but everyone we trusted convinced us all was well.  It's not a conspiracy, it's what had to happen; just like you and I had to start asking questions.  So don't expect an event just understand that awareness is behind everything.  As you would have noticed self realization is also sometimes referred to as 'the understanding'.  The understanding is important but the inquiry shows the mind at work close up.  For me, I did that while reading Ramesh and I watched the mind trying to work it all out and come up with one identification after another.  What was important for me was simply noticing that the real I (the I AM ) was wittnessing all this happening but it still was some time and while reading John Wheeler that it hit me. So down to the last line or two.  Yes you are it, you are awareness.  And ultimately only awareness is.  How would you know the words on this page without awareness?  You just have to come to that understanding and conviction.  You are not a human who is aware, you are awareness wittnessing everything through the human - everything is an appearance in you.  When this is seen it is the simplest and most elegant and uncomplicated understanding.  Our 'normal' understaning of the world is way too complicated.  Awareness is first and formost - nothing exists without awareness.  The delusion is thinking that you are the 'me' - that there is someone in there directing the human.  The human is programmed to function and don't need any more imput from a 'me'.  It would cause a conflict in the system, if the body/mind is programmed to do one thing but the asumed 'me' told him to do another.  The 'me' in the delusion - there is really only awareness with appearances in it.  Simple. I'm glad you could identify with 'my' history as I was criticized for that approach.  Some think it confuses to talk about history because there really isn't one.  It's nothing more than a dream.  I found Leo Hartong's book 'awakening to the dream' helpfull.  It is awakening 'to' the dream and not 'from' the dream. Hope this is of some help.

Questions & Responses (answers)

I've chosen 'responses' rather than the traditional 'answers' because as we grow up we develop the notion there are specific answers to our questions - e.g. 2 + 2 = 4. It's a fixed answer.
In life I've found that many problems stem from a dogmatic black & white view - I'm right, you're wrong! A more lenient view comes with seeing life in shades of grey. A closer look will reveal it's the mind that wants to categorize, classify and pigeon hole everything but life is a continuum.
Responses come to mind following a question. It's not 'the' answer but 'an' answer. A different person asking the same question, or the same person asking it a different time will illicit quite a different, but no less accurate, response.

Q. You are a keen student of Advaita Vedanta, a philosophy that I have enjoyed for many years. I'm curious, when you say, "Notice the times in the day when there are no thoughts happening ...," when you become aware of that time, you are having the thought, "I'm having no thoughts." Therefore, aren't you thinking?
A. This is a crucial area here. Actually if you watch closely you can see that you can be aware of there being no thoughts - even without the thought 'I'm not thinking'. Yes you're right that if you think 'I'm not thinking' then you would be thinking, but I'm talking about the observation when there are no thoughts at all, just mental silence. Often a thought might pop in then. But if you become more familiar with this 'up close & personal' aspect of your life you'll notice that it's possible to be, without thought. If fact you are, with or without thought. Thoughts and memories come up later, but they are not you. When you get to watch the silence in-between thoughts you will notice that you still exist and then it's a matter of 'time' before it hits you that you are that awareness. Thoughts continue but from then on you don't exclusively identify with them. Then the seeking, suffering, questions & doubts stop, you have found what you've been looking for (which was never lost) and, as they say, you are home. Then there is the rock solid knowing what (not who) you really are.
Right now you are awareness, you are the Buddha mind, but you've become identified with appearances, thoughts, memories, feelings etc. This brings in anguish or suffering of some sort. You become a seeker to resolve this suffering.
Awareness itself, is seeking itself.
Q. What interested me much is where you have said (in your website) " you knew you were awareness but had not reached the point of no return". That seems to be the case here.
A. Yes, in my last weeks I would drive to work (through very quiet country roads and there were often no thoughts for long periods of time) and it was quite clear that I was totally present even without thoughts. Ramesh used the borrowed term 'intuitive apperception' - perception by no-one. I read and of course learned and formed a mental picture of what I thought was being pointed to, by Advaita, but also knew it was only intellectual. The last 'intuitive' leap, of 'no return', is out of our hands. It's like when we have a problem and just can't work it out and then suddenly while not even thinking about it the answer just pops up. No effort was needed, in fact often the effort is what's preventing it.
Q. (continuing) Many times there is a sort of ease about things, life is not as turbulent as it used to be but every time, there is the reading of stuff like "boundless peace, absolute freedom and strange beauty", deep down it is known that is how it must be but that is not clearly seen and then this wanting arises!
So, the next question that pops up is "so what next" and when will there be the point of no return?
A. These sorts of comments can be dangerous to the mind. The mind wants an experience - a bigger, better, faster & stronger experience than the last one. That's where drug addicts get lost - first they don't want the experience they have and try to avoid it with a drug - very nice but now there has to be more, and more drugs, and it's a slippery slope. Yes, life is easy when we understand it's not in our (the human) hands. All of this and - deep down it is known that is how it must be but that is not clearly seen and then this wanting arises! are arising thoughts in awareness.
Awareness is not an experience, awareness registers an experience and so the normal experience of humanness goes on, as before, and for the same reasons. Knowing this gives a peace though, a knowing that all is well. Ah! "So what next?" - classical mind stuff.
Q. Hi, Really like your site. I came across advaita about 2 years ago thro' Eckhart Tolle. Sought earlier on in life but not really aware what I was seeking. Life went on then realised few years ago my incessant thinking was actually responsible for a lot of unhappiness. Stumbled across Eckhart Tolle. Fascinated more by what he didn't say than what he did. Further research led me to advaita. Complete fascination. Lot of struggle with accepting it completely but stuck with it as intuitive sense it was the real McCoy. Now would say have quite a deep understanding - tho' everytime I think that I usually go on to receive deeper insights! You'll appreciate there is a lot of nonsense out there with not so much charlatans as those who are self-deluded. I've never been convinced by those who talk the talk - always ever so careful not to use the "I" word etc. who say (usually smugly) this is it. No more to be done or said. Don't look for an event- that's just the "I" coming back in. In other words they've never had "an event"! Was interested to see your history in this regard.On the one hand I don't want to wait for an "event" and by doing so potentially stop it happening. On the other I don't want to end up self-deluded thinking I don't need an event and am already It when in actual fact I'm not. Any guidance you can offer? And what's your view about self-enquiry - good or bad?

A. Good morning ?, Good to hear from you. Yes, those incessant thoughts, they drive us crazy, don't they?  I remember those times.  Ah! yes, as you say it is what's not said and not what is  - intuition is working well for you.  Sounds like things are progressing nicely.  You have developed a good understanding re talking without using 'I'.  It's a bit silly trying to talk without it.  All language is conceptual and so is not the 'thing'.  Words are just pointers.  It does present quite a challenge using language athough, of course, we have to.  If you understand that words are part of the mind and both appear in awareness then there's no problem.  Awareness wittnesses all. The 'event' is interesting - meaning is self realization an event or not.  I looked at this somewhere, maybe in my blog  http://devgrah.blogspot.com/   I found that the realization was simply that, a realization, but what's called enlightenment immediately follows and that is an event.  The thing is you are aware of these writings right now.  The eyes and nervous system processes them and a perception is formed.  It's awareness that notes them.  Without awareness nothing could be known.  So there's nothing to become - awareness is already working.  Behind all the identifications is awareness and you are that.  There really is nothing to become.  Waiting for some big experience only delays the understanding of what is already and always has been functioning.  Mind loves bigger, better, stronger and faster.  Everything that's happened in your life happened in awareness.  Yes the self inquiry is important.  The question 'Who am I', and watch the answers that the mind throws up - identifications.  The mind is an object in awareness and it thinks in terms of objects - it can't know the subject - you.  The original problem was when awareness became infatuated with objects, through the baby'e eyes, and became indentified with them, namely the 'me/human'.  At some point there was an intuition that something was wrong, but everyone we trusted convinced us all was well.  It's not a conspiracy, it's what had to happen; just like you and I had to start asking questions.  So don't expect an event just understand that awareness is behind everything.  As you would have noticed self realization is also sometimes referred to as 'the understanding'.  The understanding is important but the inquiry shows the mind at work close up.  For me, I did that while reading Ramesh and I watched the mind trying to work it all out and come up with one identification after another.  What was important for me was simply noticing that the real I (the I AM ) was wittnessing all this happening but it still was some time and while reading John Wheeler that it hit me. So down to the last line or two.  Yes you are it, you are awareness.  And ultimately only awareness is.  How would you know the words on this page without awareness?  You just have to come to that understanding and conviction.  You are not a human who is aware, you are awareness wittnessing everything through the human - everything is an appearance in you.  When this is seen it is the simplest and most elegant and uncomplicated understanding.  Our 'normal' understaning of the world is way too complicated.  Awareness is first and formost - nothing exists without awareness.  The delusion is thinking that you are the 'me' - that there is someone in there directing the human.  The human is programmed to function and don't need any more imput from a 'me'.  It would cause a conflict in the system, if the body/mind is programmed to do one thing but the asumed 'me' told him to do another.  The 'me' in the delusion - there is really only awareness with appearances in it.  Simple. I'm glad you could identify with 'my' history as I was criticized for that approach.  Some think it confuses to talk about history because there really isn't one.  It's nothing more than a dream.  I found Leo Hartong's book 'awakening to the dream' helpfull.  It is awakening 'to' the dream and not 'from' the dream. Hope this is of some help.

The human experience

When we first hear the word enlightenment, and if it appeals to us, the mind starts to look for understanding - of what this thing is. The mind, being a problem solver, tries to understand. In trying to understand this unknown state it employs it's ability to conceptualize. In it's search for understanding the mind invents some pretty extreme ideas - everything has to be considered. Often these ideas are supported by, or originated from what's been talked about and heard on the 'new age' circuit and usually from well meaning but unrealized people and sometimes from stories heard from ancient India, texts or books.
Here, I'm attempting to simplify and expose some of these ideas and myths. The impression that enlightenment is for a rare few 'exalted ones', is limiting and supports the idea of it being difficult or special. The perceived difficulty tends to lead to years of searching and straining to 'get' the message. There is nothing difficult about the self, it's not a new experience. If it were a new experience then it would, at some time, disappear again and therefore would be unreal. In fact the self is already the case and is so simple that it has been over looked. You are already the self - after all, what else could you be? It's the mind that loves to look for difficulty and assume that the more difficult the thought the cleverer it is. But it's this tendency to look for difficulty that creates the trouble. Abandon this in favor of the simple and you'll have more chance.
The belief that once self realization takes place the person becomes perfected in some way, is a common false idea. It stems from comparison between people and the belief that some people are better than others; that we have flaws. In some religions guilt is used with a bit too much enthusiasm. Each person is the product of their programming - the genetics, family & cultural beliefs and personal experience. Since we didn't choose either the genetic information or the world and time we were born into it was clearly not in our hands and therefore we are not responsible, or at fault. Each person grows up and functions according to their particular programming. In that sense we are all perfect - perfectly who we are programmed to be. That is not to say that we will not change. I am perfectly me and you are perfectly you and our dog is perfectly who she is. We don't become perfected after realizing our true nature, all that happens is that awareness once more recognizes that it is awareness (subject) and not the human body/mind (object). The body still needs food to maintain itself, is not indestructible and is as prone to illness as anyone else's. If a self realized person fell off the roof they are still subject to gravity and it's effects. If a bone is broken it needs medical attention in the same way, and in the end the body dies whether realization has taken place or not.
Some people think that spiritual guidance should be given free of charge; that it's a special state not subject to worldly circumstances; that somehow the self-realized person no longer has to pay bills, that the power and water companies automatically suspend their charges and that they no longer have to buy food. Indian culture is such that a spiritual person is supported by the local community but in the west it's different and will become hungry and will eventually come to the attention of the authorities.
With self realization the search ends and the suffering of the seeker is over (that doesn't mean that all pain stops though). There is a rock solid (but not rigid) knowing of our true nature. But the human animal and the human experience continues on largely as before. The central nervous system doesn't suddenly stop working or get transformed into something else. There isn't a difficulty with this since it is then understood that I never was the human. I have been, and continue to be, the witness of the human experience but had become mistakenly identified with it and as it. Incidentally this is exactly what is supposed to happen. The only change is that now I know that I am the witness. The exclusive (mis-)identification ends and it is understood. The human animal, through the nervous system, continues to report on the world it finds itself part of. Now, instead of the human experience of being in the world it is also known that the world is in me.
Another human, trying to understand what's being described by the awakened being, is at a disadvantage in that he/she views the world from within the limited human perspective instead of from the omnipresent presence/awareness perspective. The effect of the 'I' identification is that it apparently places you in the world and yet separate from it while from a true perspective it is known that you are awareness and all else is an appearance and that there is no separation. Separation is an illusion - a concept. Since the concept of separation helps the human to get about in an apparently three dimensional world without bumping into things, it continues.
It is a common 'new age' belief that you are the creator of your thoughts and actions. I became a seeker but was it my choice? Was the feeling, from an early age, that something was wrong, my fault? Did I decide that? Did I choose the circumstances that led me to do my first new age group? Did I choose the experiences I would have? Did you choose the life that unfolded for you? Do you choose the thought's that upset you, or keep you awake at night? Are you happy with them? Are you suffering because of them? If so why did you choose them, and why would you? And if you can choose then why haven't you chosen enlightenment, if that 's what you want?
It is common to believe that we are in control but have you ever asked yourself how you do anything? By this I mean the simplest thing - like raising your finger? Your finger raises when needed but try explaining to some-one how you did it.
After realization, thoughts and actions go on pretty much as before - although often thoughts appear at a more leisurely rate. Long spaces of no-thought is generally the case; there isn't the constant mental comment on everything as before. Thoughts continue to spontaneously appear and disappear - but it is clearly understood that no-one is creating them. If you did want to create a thought, on what basis would you decide which one to have next - after all if you thought about it that would entail thinking, and how would you choose that thought? You only have to sit in meditation to find there is no on/off button on the thought machine. No! Thoughts appear spontaneously and then ego claims authorship - after the fact.
It's usual to believe that we are in control of our lives and are somehow responsible for them. If you are in control of your life then why are you not enlightened? If that's what you want then choose it. If you can't then acknowledge that you can't and are not in control. This is a meaningful step towards understanding.
Another belief is that as we 'progress' on the spiritual path that we will become like out teacher or guru, that we will end up sitting about blissed out. Usually we learn this stereotype from Indian teachers where there is a long tradition of gurus being much revered and looked after by their community. In western countries the community tends to view that type of activity as undesirable. Generally we have to earn our own living. For me, in those early days, I thought I would end up wearing white robes and talking to groups of seekers who would pay my way. I now know that it was the destiny of that guru to live in that way while my western family and cultural programming makes me work for a living - and so it is for most of us. As for being blissed out - it's not as desirable as the seeking, suffering mind suggests, in fact I found it a detraction from the clarity and got in the way of normal life. It is the suffering mind that seeks for the opposite experience - bliss, but that's a dualistic state, as is any experience. Once it is clearly seen that I am the context (of all) and not the content of mind there is no need to seek bliss.
Perhaps the biggest, inhibiting belief for the seeker is that realization is an experience, and will happen in the future at some point. This waiting for something to happen keeps the mind focused on it's beliefs, wanting some 'special' experience that gives the experiencer a special status. Realization is simply the understanding that you are presence/awareness, right now; here/now. You are that; there's no waiting or effort needed. This is the difficulty for a mind, that we have to work hard to get what we want.
I think it was Adyashanti who said "we are not humans having a spiritual experience, we are spirit having a human experience".
There is a natural tendency for the mind to continue to gather more knowledge when seeking enlightenment. A lifetime of gaining knowledge was required to survive and get jobs done effectively. There is no problem with knowledge per se. but more knowledge is just more of the same. When it comes to seeking our true nature more knowledge is not of help. What's needed is a paradigm shift; a shift away from 'more' to 'where' the knowledge is seen/witnessed.
Identification as 'I' or 'me' is a belief in an individual entity but close observation will reveal there being no such thing. If you think in terms of 'you' being part of the audience watching a movie, you maintain the idea of a separate 'you'. If you, as a seeker, look for the screen behind the 'me' then the idea of separateness continues. Instead, know that you are the infinite screen on which the movie called world, audience and 'me' appears. The only problem is that identification with part of the greater movie has happened.

The human experience

When we first hear the word enlightenment, and if it appeals to us, the mind starts to look for understanding - of what this thing is. The mind, being a problem solver, tries to understand. In trying to understand this unknown state it employs it's ability to conceptualize. In it's search for understanding the mind invents some pretty extreme ideas - everything has to be considered. Often these ideas are supported by, or originated from what's been talked about and heard on the 'new age' circuit and usually from well meaning but unrealized people and sometimes from stories heard from ancient India, texts or books.
Here, I'm attempting to simplify and expose some of these ideas and myths. The impression that enlightenment is for a rare few 'exalted ones', is limiting and supports the idea of it being difficult or special. The perceived difficulty tends to lead to years of searching and straining to 'get' the message. There is nothing difficult about the self, it's not a new experience. If it were a new experience then it would, at some time, disappear again and therefore would be unreal. In fact the self is already the case and is so simple that it has been over looked. You are already the self - after all, what else could you be? It's the mind that loves to look for difficulty and assume that the more difficult the thought the cleverer it is. But it's this tendency to look for difficulty that creates the trouble. Abandon this in favor of the simple and you'll have more chance.
The belief that once self realization takes place the person becomes perfected in some way, is a common false idea. It stems from comparison between people and the belief that some people are better than others; that we have flaws. In some religions guilt is used with a bit too much enthusiasm. Each person is the product of their programming - the genetics, family & cultural beliefs and personal experience. Since we didn't choose either the genetic information or the world and time we were born into it was clearly not in our hands and therefore we are not responsible, or at fault. Each person grows up and functions according to their particular programming. In that sense we are all perfect - perfectly who we are programmed to be. That is not to say that we will not change. I am perfectly me and you are perfectly you and our dog is perfectly who she is. We don't become perfected after realizing our true nature, all that happens is that awareness once more recognizes that it is awareness (subject) and not the human body/mind (object). The body still needs food to maintain itself, is not indestructible and is as prone to illness as anyone else's. If a self realized person fell off the roof they are still subject to gravity and it's effects. If a bone is broken it needs medical attention in the same way, and in the end the body dies whether realization has taken place or not.
Some people think that spiritual guidance should be given free of charge; that it's a special state not subject to worldly circumstances; that somehow the self-realized person no longer has to pay bills, that the power and water companies automatically suspend their charges and that they no longer have to buy food. Indian culture is such that a spiritual person is supported by the local community but in the west it's different and will become hungry and will eventually come to the attention of the authorities.
With self realization the search ends and the suffering of the seeker is over (that doesn't mean that all pain stops though). There is a rock solid (but not rigid) knowing of our true nature. But the human animal and the human experience continues on largely as before. The central nervous system doesn't suddenly stop working or get transformed into something else. There isn't a difficulty with this since it is then understood that I never was the human. I have been, and continue to be, the witness of the human experience but had become mistakenly identified with it and as it. Incidentally this is exactly what is supposed to happen. The only change is that now I know that I am the witness. The exclusive (mis-)identification ends and it is understood. The human animal, through the nervous system, continues to report on the world it finds itself part of. Now, instead of the human experience of being in the world it is also known that the world is in me.
Another human, trying to understand what's being described by the awakened being, is at a disadvantage in that he/she views the world from within the limited human perspective instead of from the omnipresent presence/awareness perspective. The effect of the 'I' identification is that it apparently places you in the world and yet separate from it while from a true perspective it is known that you are awareness and all else is an appearance and that there is no separation. Separation is an illusion - a concept. Since the concept of separation helps the human to get about in an apparently three dimensional world without bumping into things, it continues.
It is a common 'new age' belief that you are the creator of your thoughts and actions. I became a seeker but was it my choice? Was the feeling, from an early age, that something was wrong, my fault? Did I decide that? Did I choose the circumstances that led me to do my first new age group? Did I choose the experiences I would have? Did you choose the life that unfolded for you? Do you choose the thought's that upset you, or keep you awake at night? Are you happy with them? Are you suffering because of them? If so why did you choose them, and why would you? And if you can choose then why haven't you chosen enlightenment, if that 's what you want?
It is common to believe that we are in control but have you ever asked yourself how you do anything? By this I mean the simplest thing - like raising your finger? Your finger raises when needed but try explaining to some-one how you did it.
After realization, thoughts and actions go on pretty much as before - although often thoughts appear at a more leisurely rate. Long spaces of no-thought is generally the case; there isn't the constant mental comment on everything as before. Thoughts continue to spontaneously appear and disappear - but it is clearly understood that no-one is creating them. If you did want to create a thought, on what basis would you decide which one to have next - after all if you thought about it that would entail thinking, and how would you choose that thought? You only have to sit in meditation to find there is no on/off button on the thought machine. No! Thoughts appear spontaneously and then ego claims authorship - after the fact.
It's usual to believe that we are in control of our lives and are somehow responsible for them. If you are in control of your life then why are you not enlightened? If that's what you want then choose it. If you can't then acknowledge that you can't and are not in control. This is a meaningful step towards understanding.
Another belief is that as we 'progress' on the spiritual path that we will become like out teacher or guru, that we will end up sitting about blissed out. Usually we learn this stereotype from Indian teachers where there is a long tradition of gurus being much revered and looked after by their community. In western countries the community tends to view that type of activity as undesirable. Generally we have to earn our own living. For me, in those early days, I thought I would end up wearing white robes and talking to groups of seekers who would pay my way. I now know that it was the destiny of that guru to live in that way while my western family and cultural programming makes me work for a living - and so it is for most of us. As for being blissed out - it's not as desirable as the seeking, suffering mind suggests, in fact I found it a detraction from the clarity and got in the way of normal life. It is the suffering mind that seeks for the opposite experience - bliss, but that's a dualistic state, as is any experience. Once it is clearly seen that I am the context (of all) and not the content of mind there is no need to seek bliss.
Perhaps the biggest, inhibiting belief for the seeker is that realization is an experience, and will happen in the future at some point. This waiting for something to happen keeps the mind focused on it's beliefs, wanting some 'special' experience that gives the experiencer a special status. Realization is simply the understanding that you are presence/awareness, right now; here/now. You are that; there's no waiting or effort needed. This is the difficulty for a mind, that we have to work hard to get what we want.
I think it was Adyashanti who said "we are not humans having a spiritual experience, we are spirit having a human experience".
There is a natural tendency for the mind to continue to gather more knowledge when seeking enlightenment. A lifetime of gaining knowledge was required to survive and get jobs done effectively. There is no problem with knowledge per se. but more knowledge is just more of the same. When it comes to seeking our true nature more knowledge is not of help. What's needed is a paradigm shift; a shift away from 'more' to 'where' the knowledge is seen/witnessed.
Identification as 'I' or 'me' is a belief in an individual entity but close observation will reveal there being no such thing. If you think in terms of 'you' being part of the audience watching a movie, you maintain the idea of a separate 'you'. If you, as a seeker, look for the screen behind the 'me' then the idea of separateness continues. Instead, know that you are the infinite screen on which the movie called world, audience and 'me' appears. The only problem is that identification with part of the greater movie has happened.