wordlessness

WORDLESSNESSExistence is nameless. As long as no name is given,everything is One. With words there is no way to escapeduality. Words are a contrivance for those who understandonly the language of words; they can create a terrible blockto awareness because when we name something, we nolonger see it for what it really is, we only see the symbolor label we have placed on it. We separate it from the restand make it an object. When we speak, we bring in duality;it is impossible not to. Obviously, when we wish to conveysomething to another person, we usually make use ofwords, but there is no need to use words simply for one'sself. If we constantly listen to the inner "babbler," so manywords pile up within us that we completely lose sight of ourinner mystery. Only when these superficial layers of wordsare removed can we become acquainted with that center.Pluck a guitar string and listen to how the resonance ofthe note begins to fade. Can you hear where the resonancegradually lost itself in non-resonance? In much the sameway, words slowly merge into silence. The full and emptydefine each other.It is in the silent spaces that we find definition, just as itis the intervals in music that allow us to hear the melody,and the relationship of light and dark that enable us to see.In the same way that sound is a vibration of sound andsilence, the entire universe-all of existence-is a vibrationof solids and spaces. When we move our attention from theconscious thinking level that uses words (the solids) throughhigher levels of consciousness, the mind arrives at the"spaces" of pure awareness.When we have refocused our attention past the noise andconfusion of the "babbler" in our minds, we become awareof the quiet of "no-mind." It is in the silence of "no-mind"that we transcend the limitations of ordinary perception andhear the melody of the soul. We are able to experienceperiods of wordlessness in which we are able to see thingsclearly. Buddha said, "Whatever I say is not to tell you ofThat Which Is, rather it is to lead you there."Obviously, I have a thing about words. For instance,people in my seminars ask why I don't talk more about love.I respond by saying that everything I talk about concernslove, but they wanted to hear the word itself. They don'tunderstand that the word conjures up all the concepts andbeliefs they hold about love.Another example of a concept-laden word is "God."When people hear the word "God," it triggers their beliefsystems and they no longer are capable of thinking clearly.Their beliefs enable them to set aside the reality in favor ofthe concept. You believe a certain thing about a person orgroup of people, such as Asians, homosexuals, fundamentalists,or women, and it enables you to dismiss them. It'sa prejudice, which is also a loaded word.Most people deny their prejudice because the word hasdeveloped such negative connotations, usually relating toracial issues, when all the word "prejudice" means is "apreconceived judgment or opinion."Here's a thought I'd like to spring on you-all beliefsare prejudices. Makes you stop and think, doesn't it?_______________________________________________RELEASE OF ENERGYCan you imagine the tremendous energy that is at yourdisposal when you release your prejudices? Beliefs andillusions aren't maintenance-free; because they are conflictsand cause suppression, they use tremendous amounts ofenergy. On the other hand, no energy is required to releasethem. Once released, that energy then becomes availablefor use in other areas of your life.Fletcher was a young man who came to me complainingof a lack of aliveness in his life. After we talked about whatwas happening (or not happening) in his life, I told him tolet go of his ideas about his parents. He had a lot ofchildhood issues relating to his parents and had nurturednegative ideas about them for years. Now he wondered whyhe felt so tired and uninvolved in life. He finally understoodthat these ideas arising out of old programming were usingup all his energy. I would estimate eighty percent of hisattitude toward his parents was negative, only twentypercent positive. Rather than telling him to concentrate onthe twenty percent positive feelings, I told him to releaseall the feelings, positive and negative. The complete disappearanceof resistance, for and against, would free onehundred percent of his energy and allow him to move intoa completely new state._______________________________________________ENTERING INTO FREEDOMIt's so simple. It doesn't start a month from now whenyou're prepared or six weeks from now or a year from now.It starts right now, while you are reading this book. It's liketelling someone not to think about a pink elephant. Oncethe idea of transcending beliefs is planted, you immediatelybegin to observe your process. It's irrepressible.People think that freedom is something that they aregoing to attain at the end of some process. Not true. Itdoesn't come at the end, it comes at the beginning. Youhave to become free first, then that liberation allows you tosee everything in your life more clearly. Discovery isimpossible without freedom. There can't be any compromise.Freedom is freedom. If you're going to be free,you're either free of everything or you're not free at all.You can't be a little bit free.7THE NEXT STEP:SET YOURSELF FREE"Man is just a bridge betweentwo eternities, the eternity ofnature and the eternity of God."_____________FRIEDRICH NIETZSCHEHuman consciousness is a most mysterious reality toexperience. Many think that it is something that happens toyou, that it cannot be sought. This impression is inaccurate;a fully developed consciousness is both an active and aproductive state of mind.More than ever before, it is time to be as present aspossible. We must see and accept what is here and now ifwe are ever to unveil the illusions which surround us andreveal the profound mystery of existence within ourselves.It is not far away in some past or future life. It will not berevealed through some master being. Leave these things.Leave all you think you know. Enter into existence now,this very moment.Existence has never been far away. It is not a place thatis to be reached. It is closer than near. It is simple, ordinaryand exists in the profoundly mundane. Unless we let go ofthe far away, the conceptual and the burdensome knowledgethat has enslaved us and come back to the here andnow, we are doomed to continue in this perpetual dreamstate from which all life's misery flows. The sooner youbecome aware and drop out of the philosophy trap, thebetter, because life will not wait for you and your theories.You are the adventure: discover and live this truth now.It happens right here, right now-in fact, that's the onlyway it happens ... if you will only allow it._______________________________________________LIVING HONESTLYMy car came to a stop at a crowded intersection. It waslate afternoon, hot and noisy. I was tired and anxious to gethome. Glancing out the window, I saw a homeless mansitting on the curb. He wore a sign with the word "Hungry"on it. Next to him stood an enthusiastic young man holdingout plastic bags of fruit-grapes in one bag, oranges inanother. He also had a sign. It read "Fresh fruit, $1 a bag."The scene was so bizarre I wished I'd had a camera. I couldhave sold it to Life magazine.Life is a wild thing, full of irony and inconsistency; it'sunpredictable and uncompromising. The incredible beautyand adventure of life lies in its ability to always be asurprise, and you can't be surprised if you have specificbeliefs about it. You can only be disappointed. Experiencethe joy and richness of life by allowing yourself to be bothearthly and unearthly. Since it's possible to be both, whymiss out on anything? Use every opportunity to grow andto be. Life is a force, a power, an energy. Life soars. Meetlife on its terms and you will soar with it. Let the roots ofyour earthly experiences grow deep and varied, and youwill reach higher than you've ever dreamed possible becauseyou will be more complete.Don't let anyone impose on you his beliefs about whatis wrong with you. The ego may need to be transformed,it's true, but not because it's wrong or bad or evil. It simplyhas to be observed; what is meaningless will start fadingaway of its own accord, while what is meaningful will beginto materialize and grow. The beauty in being watchful isnot that we have to work to bring about its transformationbut that life itself-the Whole-transforms it.All existence is beautiful. There is nowhere to hide fromit. Just remember that if you live totally, honestly, truthfully,things may begin to go deeper. When things aredeepening, they begin to change. Accept the feeling ofinsecurity this may bring, and trust your energy. Don'tcompromise; there's no need to-insecurity will disappearwithout compromise on your part.Be careful not to destroy today by being afraid of tomorrow,because if today has been destroyed, where will tomorrowcome from? If you don't worry about what tomorrow willbring, and if you accept tomorrow's insecurity, you willlive today so courageously that a beautiful tomorrow willarise out of that totality. So while you are alive, be alive!Don't concern yourself with how long it lasts._______________________________________________THE NEXT STEPThe next step surpasses all the steps of ordinary consciousness.Transformation is instantaneous, not gradual.Reality is what makes the present so vital. The real is alwayswith you. You don't have to wait for what you are.The ordinary, common mind that is part of the humancondition has a built-in need to have its beliefs verified byothers who believe similarly. The common mind automaticallyseeks out and finds this confirmation for its owncomfort and security. To surround itself with others whohave the same wants and needs, who will support andperpetuate one another's dreaming, so that it will staycomfortably incarcerated within the framework of its delusions,is the common and habitual thing to do. This is nota criticism; it is to be expected while dwelling in ordinaryconsciousness (herd mentality) because that is exactly whatwe are supposed to do, or more accurately "must do," whilein that generic state.There is also the uncommon mind-the God or spiritualmind. If you have reached a point where you have thecapacity (if not always the willingness) to enter into a verydifferent state of consciousness-a place that has nothingto do with ordinary consciousness you are, in a sense,alone. You will find there are few books you can read andeven fewer places you can go that will support you or offerany confirmation of this extraordinary state. You begin torealize how completely mechanical you have been and howpredictable this world and everyone in it is. At this point,you will find it increasingly difficult to express yourexperience of this state and virtually impossible to followthe herd just for the comfort it provides. Because, incontrast to this extraordinary state, herd consciousness isalways mundane, unremarkable, unoriginal and dulling.In this step there is a different quality of hearing andseeing that is truly significant and very uncommon. It is, infact, extremely rare, although at first glance it will appearnot to be. It will, at first hearing, sound ordinary. That'sbecause you are listening with your ordinary consciousness.This vital step is the ability to hear what you need to hear,not what you want to hear._______________________________________________RESISTANCE TO CHANGEIf you're not able to hear what you need to hear, you willcontinually seek out places in which to encounter what youalready know. You will hold onto what you want to be trueabout yourself, God, love, life and the world. You won'tgo anywhere or listen for very long to anyone who maydisturb that illusion. You will, once again, need to bedisillusioned. It's the only way to incite your consciousnessto move within a system that is so ponderous and mechanicallyrepetitive.This pattern must be broken because it affects everysingle area of your life and is the major obstacle to goingbeyond ordinary consciousness. You must see that this isindeed what you do and then face up to the possibility thatthings may not be what you want them to be. Would yoube willing to hear that? Could you hear it?The next step is tricky because the dominant part of youwill assert that, "I am open to hearing what I need to hear! "That is definitely not true. You will deny this; you willbecome defensive and argue that you are open and available.(You're probably doing so right now.) Ask yourselfif you are prepared to hear something new, somethingwhich you may not like, or, are you prepared to hear onlythat which you already know and/or that which you wantto believe?When hearing something new, this dominant part ofyourself will say, "Even if what you say is true, I don't likeit!" If you don't like something, you'll never see it. Youwon't believe it, you won't trust it you will simply rejectit. However, your opinion has no bearing on the fact thatordinary consciousness simply does not want to hear anythingnew. It wants to hear what it wants to hear; when itcatches a glimpse of what it needs to hear, ordinaryconsciousness blocks this information because it doesn'treally want to hear it.If you have the capacity to look at this, here is what youneed to consider now. Don't think that your consciousnessis extraordinary because you regard yourself as a "spiritual"person, accumulate volumes of metaphysical, occult andancient knowledge, have met extraterrestrials, can read thestars or speak with the dead. That's all a diversion and ofno consequence as far as awakening is concerned.When you have gone to the extreme polarity of what yourordinary consciousness calls "spiritual," this prominentpart becomes especially deceptive. Its allure is its ability tomake the mundane appear to be "new," unusual, interestingand fun. This is actually a ruse to keep you involved andunder its mechanical influence so you will feel as thoughyou have transcended it.Resistance to change is inherent on the level of themechanical structure of your ordinary consciousness. Youwant to hear what you want to hear from what ordinaryconsciousness sees as a new and exciting source. But it'simportant to see that what you are capable of hearing at theordinary level is what you have already heard, what reinforcesthe beliefs of your conventional consciousness. The"exotic" is not telling you anything new. It's keeping youwhere you are ... in the grip of the ordinary._______________________________________________THE BRIDGEAt the beginning of this chapter is a quote fromNietzsche. It bears repeating: "Man is just a bridge betweentwo eternities, the eternity of nature and the eternity ofGod. " Keep in mind that eternity is not a duration of time.Eternity exists in the here and now, this present moment.Nature exists in eternity, as does God, functioning appropriatelyfrom moment to moment. As I write this, myhouse is swaying back and forth from one of the thousandsof aftershocks Los Angeles is experiencing after a majorearthquake. I know that at this moment, people throughoutthe city are experiencing fear as they feel the tremor. Butthe earth is doing what it has done for millennia. It doesn'thave a problem with that-it is alive and ever transformingitself.Man, however, lives in time. He takes natural occurrencespersonally and gives them human attributes, such asa "vicious" storm, an "angry" earthquake. He calls anunknowable God "loving" or "wrathful," depending onwhat suits his purpose. This is because man is in themiddle-he is half-nature and half-God, and doesn't knowwhat to make of it. He is confused and ever striving to becertain, but you can only be certain if you don't know much.The more you know, the more confused you become. Youcan never be certain if you know a lot, and there is no clarityin one who knows little and is therefore certain, becausethey are simply unaware of contradictory facts which couldconfuse them. Only the ignorant can be certain. When aperson becomes more aware, more present, the minddiminishes, and all uncertainty and certainty diminish alongwith it.Problems result from the way man looks at the world.Because man has a divided consciousness, it distorts hisperception. He sees "two" where there is only "one. "Whenever there are "two," there is conflict.Some people lean more toward the common part of theirmind, others toward their "God" side. The differencebetween a mind that is spiritual and one that is common isthat a common mind thinks, "There is nothing wrong withme-everything else is wrong." Common-minded peopletake no responsibility; blame is always placed elsewhere."Things will be just fine if they go the way I think theyshould go." So they constantly try to change the worldaround them. But is there any more happiness in the worldas the result of these efforts?_______________________________________________DOING VERSUS BEINGAs you move through the phases of becoming moreaware, it may sometimes appear as if nothing is happening.You are so accustomed to effort that just being is veryunsettling. You desire outer activity because you are notused to taking the time to look at the reality of what ishappening to you. In allowing yourself to simply be, youmay feel insufficient as you are, so you become unsettled.See that you are feeling unsettled and be with that feeling.Settle into being unsettled. Remember: Nothing is lackingand there is no excess. Everything is balanced. You are theproblem, not the world around you.When you observe a flower, do you think nothing ishappening? Just because you are not sensitive to the flowerdoesn't mean nothing is happening. If you are completelypresent with the flower, you will sense that it is a livinghappening-alive, sensitive to the sun and wind, pulsatingwith life. How silly to expect it to do something, as if simplyexisting were not enough. Can you see how silly thedemands you place on yourself are?When you think nothing is going on with you, it isbecause you lack sensitivity. Sensitivity requires availability,vulnerability and observation. It may take time for youto adjust to this pace because you are used to running sofast.Non-doing is difficult. The mind wants something topractice, but practice is not necessary. Enlightenment canhappen in an instant. It is not a question of how to bring itabout but how to allow it. You know something so profoundis taking place deep within yourself that it cannot beanalyzed or explained; words are inadequate.When the inessential has been released, the essential isrevealed. A magnificent simplicity of being is born. Youbecome ordinary; to be ordinary is the most extraordinarything in the world. Others are striving to be extraordinary,which makes their pursuit the most ordinary of all.I'll address some common questions, then offer you sometechniques that will help you in the process of awareness.· Is there a technique I can use to know the truth?Don't try to know the truth, just know what is not true.That's enough to free you from the false. What I'm aboutto tell you is not a technique just be available to the senseof it.Non-investigation is the main cause of bondage. Whenyou don't know, you are free to investigate. If you arelistening to me and something awakens within you, you willhave an insight-something will be sensed, perceived. I'mnot trying to convince you. I'm just conveying a fact to you.The only preparation for it, in a sense, is that you must notbe identified with your knowledge, your beliefs. I meanprepared in the sense that you understand the meaninglessnessof everything you have ever known.It is your awareness of the thinking process, an awarenessthat can move you into a place where a realization ofwhat is can occur. It's called an awakening, a realization,or an insight. I sometimes refer to it as "the happening."· How do we go beyond our belief systems?Investigate. A thing recognized is a thing transcended.Observation effortlessly produces its own change. Whateverneeds to remain will; the rest will fall away.What's difficult is that we've enmeshed ourselves in somuch fantasy that separating the real from fantasy can bevery challenging. But it is possible and worth the effort, orI would not have written this book..· Why is it so difficult to let go?People don't want to let go of anything because they'reafraid they'll be left with nothing. They think that to let gomeans to get rid of something. Letting go is more like goingto sleep. You don't give up your bed when you fall asleep;you just forget it. Not understanding this, they are afraidand consequently, seek to substitute one belief for another,one form of conditioning for another and they call thatfreedom. They don't know that the finite is the price of theinfinite, just as death is the price of immortality.· Is it possible for me to observe everything around me inmy daily life without the shadow of images or beliefs?In time, yes. Not at first perhaps, but you must beginnow, right where you are, this very minute, and you mustfind out for yourself. Don't take my word for it. Don'tbelieve me. Awareness or perception implies a state ofseeing in which there is no image. There is the experienceof just being.· What is the witnessing that you encourage?Inside the body there appears to be an observer andoutside--a world under observation. The witnessing Iencourage is in itself a meditation, a living process of beingavailable and non-resistant to what comes uninvited. Witnessingis the last remnant of illusion, the first touch of thereal. Beyond it all, there is the unknown, some call it God.This crossover I call the Gap.· How is the Gap created?It already exists. There is no need to create it by believingin it. The Gap (void, silence, space, God) created by yourmind will not be real, it will just be your own creation. Inorder to enter the void, (the Oneness), belief and thoughtmust cease.· What about certain diets or behavior?Outer circumstances can either help or hinder innercircumstances, but cannot change them. A situation can becreated by outer circumstances so that the inner can eruptmore easily, but outer transformation is not inner transformation.The efforts you make on the outside must not become asubstitute for inner transformation. The outer you willnever feel ready to transform because it has decided oncertain qualifications and preconceived specifications thatmust be fulfilled before it will be ready. But it will neverbe ready. Obsessions with the kind of food you eat, theclothes you wear, or certain behavior can be hindrances.I'm not saying to neglect them, because they can be helpful,but be aware that the inner you is not touched by them. Theouter is the extremity while the inner is the central part ofyourself. Don't use activity on the outside to escape whatis needed inside.· Am I responsible for everything that happens?Shifting responsibility is a uniquely human game. You'reresponsible only for what you can change, and you can onlychange yourself. Realizing this is the first step.At one level, you must clearly see and take full responsibilityin order to affect any transformation in your distortedway of seeing. Then, and only then, can you transcendresponsibility.You will see the belief that a particular thing can causean event is incorrect. For anything to happen, the entireuniverse must consent. Every cause is universal. Your bodywould not exist without the entire universe contributing toits creation and survival. To affect the course of events,you must bring a new element into the world and thatelement can only be you, the power of love and understandingfocused on yourself._______________________________________________TECHNIQUESI will offer some techniques you may find helpful in thebeginning, but be aware that they too must be transcended.Use them and be willing to release them or they will becomean addiction. Addictions medicate pain. Unless the pain isseen, the addiction remains. Consciousness is a flow frompast to future-awareness happens only in the present.LOVE EXERCISEDo this exercise everywhere. Be aware of the energyradiating from your body but don't direct it. Try to senseit. When I say "sense" it, [don't mean emotionally. Sensingsomething is not the same as feeling something. Allow theenergy to be absorbed by whomever or whatever needs it.Don't interfere, just let it radiate from you, without focusingon a a particular object.In love, all fear disappears. There is no tomorrow, thereis no past. This moment is enough. Love just is you can'tdo anything about it. If you do, it becomes artificial.THE 'I DON'T KNOW"EXERCISEAll day, be aware of everything you say. Whenever youfind yourself coming to conclusions about anything, askyourself "What do I really know about it?"In this exercise, you must stay especially alert to hearyour own opinions. Actually, it's kind of fun to catchyourself in the act. Remember not to change anything, justbe aware. You may be surprised at how many conclusionsyou reach.MOTIVE EXERCISEThe One Power is responsive to our intentions andexpectations. Our expectations cause the energy we channelthrough us to affect other energies. Spend a day concentratingon "why. " Know why you do what you do and be honestabout it. Don't discuss your reasons with anyone, just beaware of your real motives.NO EXPLANATION EXERCISESpend the day not explaining any of your actions. Evenif you are asked, just say, "I have my reasons." It takes acertain amount of courage to do this because we usuallyfeel that we are expected to explain everything we do-especiallyif we say no to someone. Can you not explainyourself for one day?THANKFULNESS EXERCISEThankfulness is loaded with energy. Begin to appreciateeverything. Realize that you don't know what currentexperiences will mean to you in the future. Be thankful allday for everything that happens or doesn't happen.THE STOP EXERCISEThe name of this exercise tells you what it's all about.It's quite simple-all you have to do is just stop. Stop.Observe what you're feeling, what you're doing, whatyou're thinking. Take a moment and just be aware, bepresent.THE AUTOMOBILE EXERCISEYou can modify the Stop Exercise for use in the car.Now, obviously, you don't want to completely stop the carunless you're parking. I call this modified version theAutomobile Exercise. Just before you get in the car, takea deep breath. Stop yourself and be aware of what you'redoing. Get in your car and set off on your trip, but insteadof driving on autopilot, thinking about what you're goingto do later, slow down and take a good look at yoursurroundings. If you're going 90 miles an hour, it's notvery easy to observe because you're too busy handling thecar. The slower you go, the more you see. Be aware ofeverything you're passing. If you're traveling a familiarroute, be aware that it's not the same. Things are different.Flowers have grown, trees have changed, different peopleand cars are on the sidewalks and roads. It's like akaleidoscope-every day, different colors, shapes and patterns.We take this for granted because we're lost in ourthoughts. Slow down.You can also apply the Automobile Exercise to walking.While walking, pause now and then. Slow down and beaware of the physical feeling of walking. Be aware of yourmuscles stretching, the air flowing past your face, the sightsand sounds around you. Don't try and change anything orimprove on anything. Look. See. Be totally there.OBSERVATION AND AWARENESSAcceptance is not a state of inaction or passivity. It is thefirst step to successful action. You relax, you let go, youare patient and peaceful. In this state you merely are. Inthis state there are no expectations. There is no unnecessarydoing. When you are calm, detached and in completeacceptance, you see the truth of a thing. Then truth acts.This action is different in that it is much more effective thanif you try to do something based on your beliefs about whatshould be done.This exercise has to do with being quiet. Sit down in acomfortable position and take a deep breath, which slowsthe body's system and helps you observe more aboutyourself. Begin observing your body. The body is theeasiest thing to observe, and the easiest to feel separatefrom. Be aware of the sensations your body is feeling. Ifyou feel uncomfortable, see if you can be with that feeling.If you must move, be aware that you're moving. If youjudge the fact that you can't sit in one position, go aheadand judge. Be aware that you're judging the fact that you'rejudging. Being constantly aware allows your body to bewhatever it is.When you've done this for a while and feel ready to moveon to another area, explore listening. Listen, really listento all the sounds around you and see how many you canpick up. You'll hear things you may not have noticedbefore-a dog barking in the distance, the hum of traffic,birds or the wind. Listen to all the sounds you normallydon't hear because you're so preoccupied.When you've exhausted that area, move to your feelings.Be aware of what feelings are happening. Don't worryabout judgment right now. Judgment is of the mind; justobserve that. So, be aware of all your feelings withoutjudgment. If you do find yourself judging them as good orbad feelings, then be aware that it is your mind judging.That's what minds do-they judge. If you're having a sador unhappy feeling, see if you can leave it alone and be withit. Try not to push it away or exchange it for any otherfeeling. Take time and be aware of every feeling that you'rehaving at the moment. Don't conjure anything, just experiencewhat you are experiencing.Move on to your thoughts. Watch them as they come andgo. Be like the sky and let the thoughts be like clouds,coming and going of their own accord. Observe all this.This exercise leads to your becoming more aware inevery aspect of your life. You will be aware of the timesyou restrict yourself, when you want to say or do somethingand don't, when you shut down. You'll become more awareof your expansive moments when you are in tune witheverything around you. Be aware, don't judge, let thesethings just occur naturally. Be aware of every moment. Seeif you can spend a period of time not improving yourself.Just watch. Soon, you'll get to a point where you'll findyourself automatically observing yourself, the world, andeverything in it. This is the habit of awareness. It's a littledifferent from complete awareness. Eventually, you dropeven the habit of awareness and just live in pure awareness.You will be aware and not have the need to express it,explain it, or be understood. You won't need any of thesethings. You will no longer need to be right. You will nolonger need to be agreed with. All these things will fall bythe wayside. You'll simply be aware.I would like to stress that when you are observing thebody, anything you observe is not you. If you can observethe body, then you are not the body. If you can observefeelings, then you are not the feelings. If you can observethe mind, you are not the mind. Then what's watching allof this?'WHAT IS PERMANENT IN YOU" EXERCISENo matter what you have experienced in your life, thereis something about you that has never changed or beenaffected in any way. What is that something? Do not nameit-don't call it your "higher self," or "God," or the "soul"because that will separate you from it. Don't call it anything.Don't believe in it, just sense it. The sense of it willcome and go; let it you cannot hold onto that either. Youcan only discover this for yourself. How?Watch! Watch everything. Observe it all as it happens,then ask yourself, "Who is watching this pain, this fear,this body, these emotions?" Anything you can watch andobserve is not you! This, unfortunately, cannot be fullyexplained, which is frustrating for me at times. It's not inthe words. Just try to get the sense of what I am saying.Watch.THE SKY TECHNIQUEIn order for this technique to be clear, you must first tryto understand the structure of the mind. You cannot makethe mind clear. It cannot be whipped into submission, as somany techniques and groups attempt to do. The mind canbe left behind, dropped, but it will never be clear-that isimpossible. It is the mind's nature to be full of concepts andbelief-"stuff." Mind is a continuous process of thoughtsgathered from everywhere, like a storeroom full of thingsyou think you may need someday. Of course, for the mostpart, you never will, which is why these things were storedin the first place. So they go on collecting dust. Allconfusion is stored in the mind. Drop the mind and confusionis dropped, but first it must be understood.Think of it this way. Your awareness is like a clear bluesky while your mind is like a cluster of clouds. The sky isnot affected by the clouds, which come and go as they will.The sky remains clear.When flying in an airplane, there is always turbulence attakeoff, especially as you pass through a cloud layer. Onceyou break through, however, you level off and everythingis smooth and peaceful. The clouds are below you now andyou may think, "Ah, the sun has come out." But the sunwas always shining. You don't need to change the cloudsto enter the clarity of the sky; just see the clouds as cloudsand go past them. That's where peace is, higher in consciousness.So here is the exercise: On the next clear day, preferablyearly or late in the day when the sun is not too bright,meditate on the empty sky. No clouds, no birds, no planes.Stare at the sky without blinking. Meditate on this pristinesky and enter into its clarity. Become one with it.You will begin to feel the mind disappearing. There willbe gaps as the mind begins to drop away, and you will beginto be aware that the clear sky has entered into you. Therewill be only moments of clarity at first, but these intervalswill begin to lengthen as the clouds within you begin todissipate. Your thoughts will get out of the way, and theouter clarity will become one with the inner. They arealready one; it has only been the constant thoughts (cloudcover) which made a barrier. The sky doesn't begin at somepoint above the earth; it is the same sky one foot above theground as at thirty thousand feet above.The sky has no boundaries. This helps your boundariesdisappear because this open sky will be reflected withinyou. Stare into that emptiness and feel that you have becomeone with it. If you can do this, even for a moment, you willexperience realization because in that moment there is nomind. You are not thinking, and that is the only timerealization can happen. There is no fear; there is only thepresent, because the past and the future belong to the mind.Existence is the present.Remember these things: 1) Don't blink; just stare, evenif it is uncomfortable. If you blink, your thoughts willcontinue. Let your eyes tear up and let them unload the tears.2) Don't think about the sky. Do not think about it.Simply enter it, be one with it, or you will create anotherbarrier. If you move into the sky, it will immediately moveinto you. Take your time or it's not effective, but don'tthink of time. Just let yourself be lost in the sky. Then,when you really feel that you have become one with thesky, you can close your eyes and you will see it within also.3) After you feel that you and the sky have become one,enter that clarity. Don't say anything, just feel it. You willknow when. Just be aware of the clarity all around andwithin you. You are not to imagine any of this. It's notnecessary; the clarity is already there.4) Remember to be vulnerable. Nothing can enter youwithout your allowing yourself to be vulnerable to it. Don'tproject it; allow it to happen. Don't force it.YES EXERCISESpend a day saying yes to everything. "Yes" is open andavailable and lets your energy flow freely. "No" stops yourenergy, and usually comes out of fear and mistrust. Thereis a strong tendency to stop the flow and remain in controlby saying no, thereby resisting life so nothing can happen.Growth becomes sluggish. Embrace the life force that flowsfrom everything and that life embraces you. Trust that allwill work out. Just say "yes."BELIEF ANALYSIS EXERCISETo begin to really understand what you believe and why,write down your beliefs. The physical act of writing isimportant because there is a certain clarity that occurs as aresult. Get a nice big notebook with lots of pages in itbecause you are going to discover that you have many morebeliefs than you realize.· #1: What do I believe (or disbelieve) in? (Disbelief isalso a belief).Begin with "What do I believe?" Remember to includethe beliefs you have when you watch television or read thenewspapers. Write down as many as you can, and leaveplenty of room for the beliefs you'll become aware of later on.· #2: Where did I acquire this belief?What is the source of this belief? Did it come from myparents, teachers, a friend; my church or religious teaching;a book, newspaper or tabloid, television or movies? Putsome thought into this one and you may be surprised at whatyou come up with.· #3: What do I really know about it?The key to this step is not what you believe you know,but what the facts are that support the belief. If it's a belief,you may not know too many facts about it, but see whatyou come up with, then question those as well. Keep inmind that if you believe in a book, let's use the Bible foran example, then you must realize that your belief that theBible is the word of God forms the basis for other beliefsyou hold.· #4: Why do I believe this?Why do you believe it? This is extremely important. Isit because it fits in with the way you want, or hope thingsare, or will be? Is it because you feel empowered or specialby having this belief? Is it because your ego is enhanced asa result of believing this? Are you afraid not to?It is of utmost importance that you are honest withyourself. If you cannot be truthful with yourself, you'llnever be truthful with anyone else.Here is an excerpt of a conversation I had with anaudience member during a talk I gave several years ago.This is basically the conversation you need to have withyourself while you are doing the Belief Analysis Exercise."Usually speakers talk a lot about love, but I'venoticed that you don't mention love or God very often.Why is that?""I don't use the words `love' and `God' very oftenbecause they cause the mind to project too much of whatone wants them to be. This leaves no room for experiencingwhat is. All this incessant talk of love! If we really loved,we wouldn't have to talk about it so much.""I worship and love God.""Why?""What do you mean?""Why do you worship God?""Because I love him.""Why do you love `him'?""Because I do!" (An uncomfortable laugh, followed bya long pause.) "I don't know ... because I love him. Isn'tthat reason enough?""Reason enough for a person who never took the time toexplore, or reason enough for one who has been told heshould? What do you think would happen if you didn't loveGod?""I don't know. Probably something bad. I'd getstruck by lightning or something.""You don't love God; you're afraid of him. Your heartis full of fear, not love, and this is what is important foryou to see. Churches, temples and sacred things are not ofGod; they are the creations of our vanity and fear. Only theunhappy and frightened worship God. If you put aside thesethings and understand why you are unhappy instead ofenveloping yourself in the refuge of your belief about God,you'll experience the truth of God.""I guess that frightens me.""One of the greatest fears is of releasing one's conceptof God. Your `god' has to conform to your distorted ideaof him because if he doesn't, you won't detect him at all.You insist on your idea of particulars. Goddesses are thecurrent trap. Don't let your fear of God prevent you fromexploring the truth. Don't use God to escape. Watch thesepretensions and drop them. If you really want to be anauthentic person, be true to yourself.""How do I do that?""If you haven't loved, face the fact and know it. Dropall the illusions and remain true to your being, whatever itmay be. Since it is not possible to know yourself throughanother, no matter how great he may be, you must knowyourself directly. Then many things become possible.""What would there be left to believe in, then?""Why believe at all? Isn't nature enough? It's so muchmore rewarding and creative. Is it because you don't trustnature or the universe? You are nature itself and theuniverse, but you don't trust your own life energy. If youcan't trust your own life energy, you'll never trust another's.This is obvious when you look at the state of theworld."If we look through our own little belief system, we can'tsee what's really happening in our world. Seeing is understanding,and we cannot understand through the mind,which is only a fragment. Understanding happens when themind is quiet.""What do you mean by `quiet'?""By quiet, I mean no images.""What about unconditional love?""Start by seeing yourself clearly, that is to say, unconditionally.This act of seeing is an act of love because it isunconditional, untainted. Only love makes the mind sensitive.This seeing, observing and listening are the greatestacts. If you want to be free and unconditional, start byexploring your beliefs and releasing all that is binding you.You cannot love unconditionally with beliefs that, by theirvery nature, have boundaries."_______________________________________________MEDITATIONReports of transcendental experiences throughout historyshow a striking similarity that cuts across cultural, socialand intellectual distinctions. Researchers have found fundamental,universally available conditions that are presentin these experiences.Hundreds of studies of meditators show that "repeatedexperience of pure consciousness during meditation producessignificantly greater reductions in trait anxiety, depression,hostility and other symptoms of mental stress than[experienced during] simple or stylized forms of relaxation."This research is very careful to separate the practiceof meditation from the experiences of pure consciousness.Although the practice is helpful, it is the experience oftranscendence itself that is of the greatest benefit.Listen to the language of a scientist discussing quantumphysics-it sounds remarkably like the language of thesoul; one becomes aware that physics and metaphysics canbe thought of as two sides of the same coin. The metaphorsof metaphysics are simply attempts to describe what we areas yet unable to perceive with any stability. Those who havefully experienced the state of transcendence are termed"mystics" who "understand our logic." We cannot fathomthe more unified, yet seemingly paradoxical, nature of theircognitions until we too become transcendent. You can't getaway from the fact. You've got to be there to understandit.MEDITATION TECHNIQUESMeditation is many things to many people, depending onculture, religious traditions, psychological orientation, theindividual's purpose, etc. Whatever, it is not the definitionbut the experience that matters.Meditation opens the doors of perception, integrating themind and body, the aim being to refocus attention past thenoise and confusion of the "babbler" in our minds. Whenthis happens, we become aware of the quiet of "no-mind,"a state of pure consciousness with no content.There is also a body of scientific research showing thatmeditation is more effective in the alleviation of anxietythan therapy. Meditators have been shown in a recent,large-scale "meta-analysis" (a statistical technique designedto compare research across a variety of studies) to besignificantly more self-actualized than psychotherapy patients.In addition, surprising things like prison recidivismare significantly lower for prisoners who meditate than forthose who go into therapy.Traditionally associated with Eastern religions, meditationhas been practiced in one form or another in allreligions and in most societies. Meditation researcher MichaelWest notes that:American Indians practice a form of meditationremarkably similar to zazen [Zen meditation]. InAfrica, in the Kalahari Desert, the people of the!Kung Zhu/twasi practice a form of ritual dancing(like Islamic Sufi dancing) which activates a postulatedenergy source and produces an `ecstasy' experience.Many tribal groups practice such ritualdancing coupled with chanting to produce alteredstates of consciousness. ... The Eskimo would sitfacing a large soft stone and using a small, hardhand-stone, would carve a circle in the large stonecontinuously to produce trance. Meditation has longbeen used within the Christian religion and many ofthe Christian techniques are identical to those usedin other religions, cultures, and times.Basically, there are two forms of meditation: active andsilent. Historically, active forms have used chanting, drums,dancing and music to produce altered states of consciousness.Silent forms of meditation use four techniques toaccess pure consciousness: concentration, contemplation,mental repetition of a sound, and detached observation.Since the subject matter covers a large body of work, I'llgive a very brief overview. You may obtain books at yourlocal library or bookstore that will go into more detail.· Concentration of a steadily visualized image orsymbol, such as a mystical rose, a thousand-petalledlotus, a crescent moon, or Star of David; focus onthe breath; concentrate on no thought, consideredto be the most difficult, especially for beginners.· Contemplation of an object, such as a candle flame,a flower, statue, picture, or a mandala, a symbolrepresenting unity.· Mental repetition of a sound, which may be a singlesyllable, such as OM; a mantra, usually a Sanskritphrase; or a koan, which is an apparently insolubleriddle, such as "What is the sound of a single handclapping?"· Detached observation of what is happening withoutbeing caught up in or identifying with any reactionto it. The focus is centered on the present moment,and the mind observes itself observing life as itunfolds.Whatever form of silent meditation is used, it requiresnothing more complicated than to sit quietly and enterdeeply into one-mindedness. If the mind wanders, themeditator is instructed to bring it gently back to the focusand not allow it to be distracted. In "The Meditative Mind,"Daniel Goleman writes that the "key attributes of this stateare always the same: loss of sense awareness, one-pointedattention to one object to the exclusion of all other thoughts,and sublimely rapturous feelings. "Okay, I've described different kinds of meditation, butwhat exactly is it and how does it work? Scientists havecome up with several different models that attempt toanswer these questions. One model views meditation as amechanism to reduce stress and anxiety. Another viewsmeditation as nothing more than light sleep, a controlledversion of the trance state most people experience as theyfall asleep. Another model suggests that meditation is aform of self-hypnosis, although there are others who saythat the mind deals with information at different levels inhypnosis than while in a meditative state. For our purposes,the end result is what matters, not the method.Psychologist Arthur Deikman says, "Although the powerof meditation to affect physiological and psychologicalfunctions has been substantiated in many different laboratories,we have paid little attention to what the originatorshave said about its intended purpose and the requirementsfor its appropriate use. Focusing primarily on the experiencesand bodily effects of meditation is like collectingoyster shells and discarding the pearls. Such `spiritualmaterialism' inevitably interferes with the real potential ofmeditation."Meditation is a procedure, a technology. As such, itfacilitates outcomes such as stress reduction and consciousnessduring sleep. Although these outcomes are a naturalpart of the biology of the human system and can surfacespontaneously without meditation, it clearly increases thelikelihood of attaining these outcomes.What the originators say is that consciousness is theprimary reality from which matter and life arose. Throughmeditation, an individual can more fully experience thepure consciousness that lies at the center of being.As we enter into these states of consciousness, we areable to move past the stuck spot in our lives, the place wherewe have remained frozen in our beliefs. We are able tochange our beliefs and behaviors in response to one another.This process requires us to extend ourselves, which resultsin growth.OTHER INTERNAL TECHNIQUESThe whole process of the evolution of human consciousnessrests in the ability to identify oneself as separate fromwhile participating in an ever-expanding involvement withthe world. Higher states of consciousness are a naturalprogression when they are awakened in an individual whohas thoroughly completed the development of the basic egostructure. Yet, achieving the merger of self with Selfpresents a challenge to the ego. Always on guard, the egorules out the experience of oneness and makes the experienceof connectedness difficult.There is a wide range of inner-oriented techniques otherthan meditation that focus attention inward toward thesource of being, such as lucid dreaming and other dreamwork, waking imagery and creative visualization, journalkeeping, and self-hypnosis. I'll briefly discuss each one;you can obtain other books that go more thoroughly intoeach subject than I have the space to do here.Almost one hundred years since the publication of Freud'sclassic "Interpretation of Dreams," dream work is receivingwidespread recognition as a valuable technique forlearning more about the self rather than being dismissed asmerely phantasms of the sleeping brain. For example, thereare professional dream organizations; movies with dreamthemes are raking in millions; bookstore shelves are filledwith dream books, and magazine articles on working withdreams have become almost monthly fare.During the passionate embrace of altered-state-of-consciousnesswork in the 1960s, one study paid a young mana full-time salary to record his dreams over the span of ayear. He settled into a small mobile home and set out torecord his nightly encounters. With some practice, he wasrecording up to one hundred pages of material a day. Whatbecame incredibly clear was that the source of his nightlyexcursions was the experience of awareness.A particular form of dreaming, lucid dreaming, offersus a direct link to the experience of pure consciousness.The ultimate self-awareness experience in sleep is knowingyou are dreaming while you are dreaming, yet this is butanother bridge to even higher levels of consciousness.Although dreams are the psyche's deepest imagery generatingsystem, we can also benefit through the consciousapplication of imagery experienced in creative visualization.Jeanne Achterberg, president of the Association forTranspersonal Psychology, draws a line from the image tothe immune system to support a neurological relationshipbetween the image and the body's maintenance of health.Pointing to the central role of emotions in both imagery anddisease, she states, "Verbal messages must undergo translationby the imagery system before they can be understoodby the involuntary or autonomic nervous system and relatedcomponents. "EXTERNAL TECHNIQUESThere are external techniques that help intensify awarenessas well. Among these techniques are yoga, sports,games, martial arts, active forms of meditation using chanting,dancing and music, and other physical activities thatproduce what is popularly referred to as "flow." In everycase, the important thing is not the activity itself but theexperience of pure consciousness it facilitates. Even mundaneactivities can access this consciousness, as this storyillustrates:Ram Dass, a.k.a. Richard Alpert, tells of a time he waslecturing to a group of young people about meditation andhigher states of consciousness. Both he and the audiencewere attired in long, flowing robes and requisite beatificsmiles. In the midst of this sea of robes and smiles was anelderly woman wearing a brightly flowered housedress,matching hat and sensible shoes. She too often nodded witha knowing smile during his lecture on the beauty of higherstates of consciousness. The teacher wondered how it wasshe apparently identified with what he was saying. She didnot appear to "belong" to the audience to whom he wasspeaking. Afterward, he asked her how she "knew." Theelderly lady in the flowered hat leaned over in a conspiratorialfashion and whispered, "I crochet! "Repetitive activity entrains the brain. A contemporaryform of this can be seen in the popularity of Nintendo.While parents grumble about the apparently addictive qualityof the game, new research has shown that Nintendotrains hyperactive children to be attentive, which is themajor problem in hyperactivity. Mihaly Csikszentmihaly,Professor of Psychology at the University of Chicago, hasresearched the experience of pure consciousness in dailyactivities; he calls this "flow", and summarizes his work inhis book titled "Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience."Some of the activities that produced flow includedgames, gambling, television viewing, and sex.In the sports arena, the "runner's high" has been well knownfor years; lesser known are the effects on consciousnessof other sports. Hans Joachim Stein says of Kyudo,the art of zen archery, that "like any serious practice whoseaim is to penetrate beyond appearances to the essence ofthings and the meaning of life, the Way of the Bow can onlybe considered to have reached an end with the transmutationof the archer's earthly existence." Even a "non-sport" suchas golf, which has been praised by writer John Updike as"the one [sport] wherein the walls between us and thesupernatural are rubbed the thinnest," can produce beneficialchanges that lead to pure consciousness.The increasing popularity of martial arts, evidenced bymovies such as The Karate Kid and even the ubiquitousTeenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, emphasizes that the importanceof the external form lies in the interior experience.Psychologist Charles Tart tells the story of MoreheiUyeshiba, master of the Japanese martial art, Aikido, whohad witnessed village thugs beating his father:I felt that the universe suddenly quaked and thata golden spirit sprang up from the ground, veiledmy body and changed it into gold. At the same timemy mind and body became light, I was able tounderstand the whispering of the birds, and wasclearly aware of the mind of God, the Creator ofthis universe. At that moment, I was enlightened:the source of budo is God's love-the spirit ofloving protection for all beings. Tears of joystreamed down my cheeks. I understood: Budo isnot felling the opponent by force, nor is it a tool tolead the world into destruction. True budo is toaccept the spirit of the universe, keep the peace ofthe world; to take God's love, which correctlyproduces, protects and cultivates all beings in Nature,and assimilate and utilize it in our own mindand body.In a world seemingly full of hate and violence, this manwas able to deal with disharmony in a spirit of love._______________________________________________CONCLUSIONDi-no-saur (n.): Any of various prehistoric, extinct, oftengigantic reptiles; a person with obsolete ideas, beliefs,attitudes.We pause on the threshold, hands outstretched to embracethe long-sought missing thing. When the light floodsthrough the open door of our awakened perceptions, whatwe experience is the shock of recognition. The seeker andthe sought after are one.Standing near a 600-year-old oak tree, I reflected on howit was already old when I was born and will probably behere long after I am gone. Our current lives are not long.Long enough to learn what is required of us, what we needto learn, but not long enough to change much of anythingbut ourselves.Many of you are bound by what you feel is a past younever wanted and a future that cannot be. Therein liefrustration, confusion and fear. Dissolution and changefrighten you. You want the security of knowing where youare going, how you're going to get there, and what's goingto happen to you when you do get there. But you'll neverknow for certain because life has many possibilities, a fewprobabilities, and even fewer absolutes. Life is like that.Failure to adapt to these variables in the changing circumstancesof life is what leads to extinction.Negative experiences exact a price from us, as dopositive ones. One price of fame and recognition, forexample, is the burden of others' expectations. Goodfortune will always require more of us than failure everdoes. We're living a momentous adventure, the end of anage, and this adventure has its price also. There is alwaysa price for balance to be maintained, which is why everyincrease, whether personal or worldwide, is met by adecrease somewhere. This adventure is where we earn thecurrency required to enter the "New Era" predicted by somany. That currency is awareness, and it is acquired at avery high cost. That cost is the release of the old, which isalways the price of the new. Few are willing to pay thishigh price, but the fact that a price must be paid may be theproof that it is worth it.This New Era will undoubtedly be very different fromwhat is expected. Be willing not to know, not to be sure,and you won't be disappointed or postpone what is to be.Instead of spending valuable energy on theories and fantasiesof what the New Era will be, evolve by focusing yourattention on the work at hand. Life reveals many secrets tothose who wait, watch, and listen. Time always fulfillsitself. Stop expecting others to do for you what you needto do for yourself. Look beyond everything you see, thenlook higher still.Nothing in nature is clumsy. We are all creatures of ourtime, the "good guys" and the "bad guys." Each body iscreated for a life particular to its own unique purpose. Dowhat you were born to do, be what you were born to be.Accept it. Don't be a dinosaur. Drink deeply of life on itsterms and you won't become obsolete.Be willing to release all past beliefs; all gods andgoddesses; avatars and saviors. What worked then won'twork now. What worked for them won't work for you.Their time is over. This is our time. It is meant for us, foryou and for me. Let's move gracefully and lovingly intothis brave New Era, unspoiled and free of the past-ALLof it!And after all the journeying, all the pain andjoy, we may discover that the Transformationwas difficult to grasp, not because it was so faraway but because it was so very near. To findthe immense world of delight is, in the end, tocome home again, where it always was.-George Leonard, "The Transformation"