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Word Gems exploring self-realization, sacred personhood, and full humanity
Surrender & Acceptance simply notice, part II
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Kairissi. We’d like to share with our readers what seems most important on this subject. Elenchus. Our views have changed on this over the years. K. We’re reminded of Peter Russell’s comment, how all this has become “simpler and simpler” for him. E. This is important. When we begin this path, we tend to want to “try very hard” to make something happen. But trying hard automatically sets up a confrontation or resistance in the mind. K. We see the goal but then realize we’re not there; and so, there’s an immediate tension. The problem with this is that tension or resistance will never access, but blocks, the higher energies. E. And so, to the new-comer, this seems an impossible situation. How can we achieve a goal here if we’re not allowed to exert will-power to make it happen? K. Discovering the answer takes us on one of the most important journeys of our lives. E. This journey is a quest to find the true self, the inner riches, our link to God. K. And even stating this much, we find ourselves in difficulty. We can’t go looking for the true self because we are the true self. We’re not the physical body but the consciousness that animates the body. And so the true self, unlike most things sought for, is not “out there.” Strictly speaking, it’s not even “inside” -- there is no inside -- because we are the true self, we are consciousness – and it’s not really a link to God either because we are one with God, with no clear dividing line between us. E. (small smile) It can be a little confusing. K. It’s confusing because we’re identified with the body. We think that’s who we are. The ego is that part of us, part of the larger field of consciousness, which believes itself to be the body. And this misperception, for the new student especially, can cause some trouble. E. I’d like to mention that the impetus for this article arose as part of our desire to serve as counselors in Summerland. We’d like to help people find the true self. K. You mean, come to an awareness of the true self. E. Yes, thank you – I’ve already stumbled in my explanation. K. That’s why you have me. E. No doubt. And so we were thinking about, how can we summarize or encapsulate all this information? What can we tell people if they want to know about the inner life? K. Like – what is the first step? E. Right – what is the first step? We should know something about this. K. This is not a trick question. E. But right off the bat we're stumped. What is the first step in becoming self-aware? K. (small smile) Wouldn’t becoming self-aware require a certain self-awareness even to begin? E. mmm... We’re falling farther down the rabbit hole. The problem with a “first step” is that a formula or method is implied. The ego wants to reduce all this to an algorithm. K. But Krishnamurti said there can never be a formula -- the “truth is a pathless land” and cannot be bottled and sold for $29.95. E. With inflation these days we’re seeing $49.95 more and more. But, you’re right – there is no sure-fire formula or method to discover the true self. K. So, how can we be counselors with all this if we can’t even tell our students what the first step is? E. Well, one thing we can do is to offer direction; meaning, we can’t do this for the student, but we can point the way. K. This sounds good, until we come to the part about – what is it that we’re actually pointing to? E. I’m not sure why I brought you along here, but you do raise a troubling issue. As a counselor, I might reference how things worked for me when I started out. I could tell the student to begin some conscious breathing exercises. I did that for years, and still do some of that. K. But, wait a minute, buddy. Mandated breathing exercises sound suspiciously like a formula: “do this and you’ll soon be right.” E. (sighing) K. Not only that, but you began the breathing exercises only after that mystical experience which gave you your first glimpse of enlightenment. Breathing exercises, for you, was like pouring lighter fluid on a campfire that was already blazing. E. It's true. The breathing was an effective enhancement but did nothing to initiate. K. I think what we’re saying is that it’s very difficult – maybe, impossible – to help another into enlightenment. That first mental flash of “light” is a momentary tiny portal into the energies of God. And good luck to us with managing the energies of God. E. But we also know that a counselor can do some good. We need to be very careful, however, in defining what this benefit might be. K. What can we say about this? E. One thing – another point about the breathing. For many years I practiced the breathing, and felt that it helped me. But I finally realized that it wasn’t actually the breathing that was helping me but something else. K. This is very interesting – because even though the breathing was an enhancement and not an initiator, it’s still a “formula” to increase awareness. Truth is a pathless land, whether the path is before or after the “first contact” with the divine. E. Yes, that’s right, but I was confused on this point for many years. K. Elenchus, what was really happening with this breathing? You were, in fact, making progress, but if it wasn’t the breathing that was supplying the benefit, then what was actually helping you to grow? E. The answer here was unclear to me for a long time. And even this moment I’m understanding some things. K. If the breathing was not the main catalyst to growth, what was it? E. The breathing seemed to work because, when taking a conscious breath, the chattering in the head tends to shut down. And when the voice in the head is muted, one begins to notice the mind as it is, unfettered by the ego. K. And now we’re back to “simply noticing.” E. “Simply noticing” was the key all along. I could have done that without the breathing. And that’s what I do mainly today. I “simply notice.” K. And what would you say you try to “simply notice”? E. Everything, really; but, mainly, I try to notice what’s going on in my head. Like, where did this thought come from? Is it a form of fear? Is it trying to make a path for the ego? And sometimes I just ask myself, “What will be the next thought that comes into my head?” When I do this, I find that the mind can be silent for many seconds, until finally a thought barges in. But in that silence, I learn much about myself. K. Elenchus, what word of advice might we offer to the new student? E. We cannot force God’s hand to grant us enlightenment. God doesn’t respond well to commands. Divinity will lead us to enlightenment at the best time. But here’s what we can do: We can assume a humble mindset – we call this “surrender and acceptance.” This openness and willingness is no guarantee that enlightenment will be immediately forthcoming – Divinity always does what’s best for us no matter what we say or do – but if it is our time to “find the light of God” within, then an attitude of “surrender and acceptance” can only help us. In this spirit of willingness, we can endeavor to “simply notice” the content of our own minds, which, also, can do nothing but help us, if it is our time to awaken. K. Elenchus, can we summarize this information? E. No ritual or formula will help in achieving enlightenment: no lotus position, no chanting, no open palms, no structured breathing, no prayer, no fasting – no external aid will offer benefit. Editor’s note: Why is prayer on this list of things ineffective? Most prayer, what is commonly known as “prayer,” is not really prayer at all but an expression of the ego’s “I don’t have enough” because “I am not enough.” This kind of “prayer” reflects the ego’s nightmare of universal neediness and aloneness. This is illusion and dysfunction. It’s not that we can never ask for things but asking as a form of prayer needs to be done from a higher level of consciousness. Yes, we should try to change bad situations as we can, but so many things right now cannot be changed, and we have to do our best to live with many evils in this world. In this light, one of "surrender and acceptance," the better kinds of prayer are not about asking, as such -- because this world cannot be changed -- but an entering into a state of mind which could be described as seeing life and the universe from God’s point of view. When we do, we realize that things, from that larger perspective, are as they should be right now in terms of lessons to be learned, that all is well in hand, despite the difficult classroom that is planet Earth. Let's keep in mind, too, that death is not a calamity, there's much more coming, though the ego perceives it otherwise. See more discussion on the “prayer” page. K. Why is “simply noticing” a good thing? E. When we take note of the antics of our own mind, we shine a mental spotlight of awareness on the wiles of the ego. It doesn’t like that, prefers to operate in the dark, with illusions and images, inciting us toward materialistic end. The spotlight of awareness disrupts the energy of the ego, robs it of power, and allows, be it only momentarily at times, the underlying soul energies to percolate upward. Over time, these flashes of insight and light occur more readily and more often. All this displaces and refashions the egoic forces, leaving space for the mind of God to influence us. This is a process that will continue for the next million years, and beyond. Deng Ming Dao is my favorite thinker on this precept: eventually, you'll experience exquisite, unimaginable things, know things, see things, as if from nowhere, but no one will believe you "Spiritual practice must be uninterrupted. We may be anxious because we see very little happening on a daily basis, but we must be patient until we can see what the accumulation of our effort yields. Self-cultivation means steady gradual progress… "After long self-cultivation, one’s accumulated energy reaches a threshold and then bursts out, full, breathing, and vibrant… When one’s spiritual energy emerges, it feels like a swan rising from the water...
"If you spend a long period of time in study and self-cultivation, you will enter ... a world of extraordinary perceptions. You experience unimaginable things, receive thoughts and learning as if from nowhere, perceive things that could be classified as prescient. Yet if you try to communicate what you experience, there is no one to understand you, no one who will believe you. The more you walk this road, the farther you are from the ordinary ways of society... To speak to them of the wonders you have seen is often to engage in a futile bout of miscommunication. That is why it is said that those who know do not speak." Deng Ming-Dao, 365 Tao
K. Elenchus, look! Deng said that after a while our accumulated energy will burst forth, full, vibrant, and "breathing"! Wow! - we don't have to breathe in a certain way, a time will come when the energies will breathe for us! E. Cool.
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