How to realize your true nature and end suffering
Published in ILLUMINATION-Curated
2 days ago (Medium.com)
The sense of self — that which we call “me” — is complicated, complex, dynamic, insecure, confused, fearful, and conflicted. All of these traits keep it from understanding the simple truth about its own essence. This seems to necessitate an endless flow of words in writing and verbal discussions trying to explain the ultimate truth about life and who we are beyond the self.
A clear mind is free of thought.
A clear mind is one that is beyond thoughts that reinforce the sense of self and perpetuate its illusion.
Stated simply, if we were to remove all attachments, thoughts, ideas, memories, suppositions, identities, emotions, fears, and judgments — all of which color what we take ourselves to be — then we would clear the mind enough to see what we really are beyond the self.
In Sanskrit, this process of elimination is called neti, neti — not this, not this. Remove all that you are NOT to find what you really are.
What makes it so difficult?
What is the difficulty? Why can’t people realize their true nature as easily as breathing or meditating? Thought is the problem. It is the ultimate imprisoner.
The self is the offspring of psychological conditioning. It has placed itself at the controls even though it is not really steering the ship.
The self is like a computer that has been programmed, full of information that tells it what it is and informs it how to act, think, and behave. How can the self ever hope to change and wake up if it is stuck in a programmed loop that cannot see beyond its own self?
The sense of self is the very obstacle that keeps itself in inertia, and it is the same illusory entity that tries to pull itself out of the mire.
Enquiring into the self
On rare occasions, a person may sense that life is not how it seems and that there must be another way to live without all the suffering, worry, confusion, and mental anguish.
And so begins an exploration of what she is, her relationships, how thoughts come about, and so on. This process of self-inquiry can take a lifetime, several years, or even an instant.
In actuality, seeing the truth is an instantaneous realization. But the self makes it an ordeal and a journey, because it has been inculcated into believing that everything must take time and effort. We are constantly fighting ourselves, thwarting ourselves and causing our own conflict and friction.
It’s not you, it’s me
In every generation there have been a few who have broken through the metaphorical barrier of the self to find the clarity of mind called illumination or enlightenment.
These guides or gurus try to pass along what they know so that others may benefit and find out for themselves what lies at the heart beyond the limited and self-limiting sense of self.
But their message isn’t always so clear to those who desire it the most. Yet, at other times, it is very clear, but for some reason, the listener cannot grasp it. There are times when the message is not communicated well enough to be of much use.
To the one who has awakened, there is a simplicity to waking up that is obvious only to herself.
Can you wake up right now?
What does it take to wake up to the ultimate reality of your own true nature? This requires no thinking, belief, information, or mentation; it is a direct realization. The irony, however, is that the simplicity of illumination is only recognized after the realization has occurred.
This is analogous to one of those memes (below) of a young woman, in which we see only one way until someone points out that there is another way to look at it, and then we suddenly see an old woman in the same image. Both images have been there all along. Similarly, the ultimate “you” has always been right here and now and is not something you must cultivate or attain.
When illumination takes place it is in an instant and everything falls into place with unequalled clarity so that there is no doubt, confusion, or thought. It is not an experience or intellectual understanding; it is simply a matter of permanent clarity.
Knowing what you are, fundamentally, is quite simple. The difficulty is letting go of all the conditioning that the self has accrued.
The self is both the captor and the captive.
Ironically, it is the self that senses something is amiss and that there must be more to life than all the ideas that get in the way.
And it is also the self that seeks a solution to its suffering and imprisonment. Seeming to play a dual role, the self believes it is both the tourist and the tour guide.
Freedom begins when consciousness (the clear mind) prevails to see that the tour guide and the tourist are one and the same entity.
Written by Vic Shayne
·Writer for ILLUMINATION-Curated
NY Times bestselling author writing about reality beyond thought, consciousness, philosophy, psychology, and the self to alleviate suffering; vicshayne.comFollow