Two Versions of Self

There’s no denying the self exist, but there are two versions of it. One is the self that thinks it constantly needs, and the other is beyond the thought of needing because it’s beyond the thought of self.

When you ask the question of who is the image in the mirror, do it in the context of who is the one who feels. Naturally the surface answer would be I feel, but who is this I (self) that feels and how about the one that exist beyond the surface of any feeling. This is the self outside the realm of one’s thoughts. Seeing this is all dependent on how settled the mind becomes and it’ll determine if one is aware that beyond the thought of self there is no one there, at least not in the context that self is thought of.

So who is it that feels? Sure the self feels, but it’s just not in the context where one attaches to any of their feelings. The thought of self and the self that exist beyond thought occupy the same form, they just exist totally separate from each other. They are as different as night and day as are the results of how one lives their life. One exist in the realm of attachment (thought). This is the self who most people think they are. The other self needs no label, there is existence, there just isn’t attachment to it. Find the self which brings the most benefit to life, beyond thought and the self without attachment will be revealed. This is the true essence of who you are, that is unless of course your thought of self is who you think you truly are.

Choosing Peace

When one wakes up from the sleep of the Conditioned Mind to notice just how much control it has over you, it is then that the chains that hold you in captivity are slowly removed one link at a time.

It may seem like there are many things that can take you from your peace, but in truth there’s only one. It manifest in many different ways, but it only occurs because of the conditioning in place. This simple fact is what’s mostly missed and it’s missed because it’s not seen. The other day I experienced this first hand as I was driving to work. I noticed a rattle every time I went over a bump in my car. At first this was really annoying me to the point where I pulled over to see what was causing the rattle, I couldn’t find anything. I continued driving and would get annoyed with each rattle. Then it hit me, I was allowing the rattle to take me from my peace. Before this epiphany my conditioning was in control, but once I become aware of this, I had the choice to not be taken from my peace. I didn’t have to replace the rattle with anything, I just had to stay in the present moment.

To me it’s these subtle annoyances that ruin my peace and they’re only in place because it’s the way I’m conditioned. Once the conditioning is seen, this produces the choice to not allow the annoyance controlling energy. It doesn’t stop the rattle, but it does stop attaching to the rattle; this is key in remaining at peace. This is the point missed by most. There are many rattles in life, from the way I write, to Donald Trump, a boss or job, the traffic, and so on, and not one of them has anything to do with taking you from your peace, only the conditioning in place allows that. Hold on to your rattles, and you will if it’s not seen that you don’t have to, but don’t blame the rattle for not being at peace, because that comes strictly from within you and since it comes from within you, only you can choose to not be rattled, one link at a time.

Created Mental Fabrications

The mental fabrications that are created to form an identity of self are actually the very thing that blocks out one from being in the space of their true self.

We hold on to our degrees, roles, wealth, social status, and an array of many other labeled things, and we think this self is who we are. These mental fabrications are nothing more than a story and none of them are truly who one is. Whatever you do in life only matters to the extent in how it allows you to love. An individual’s so called success means little except to the created mental fabrication that labels it’s so. Ok, so you’re a doctor, lawyer, school teacher, psychologist, life coach, athlete, author, spiritual guru, or whatever label you think you need to apply to make you into something, except what is create is only a mental fabrication of you. You are the stillness beneath any label that’s applied regardless of the story that you tell yourself.

If this is seen, space is created that’s allows one to be aware of this and remain in this stillness. There’s so much attachment to the mental fabrications as a label that this space is entered very seldom; matter of fact it’s non existence in most lives. Created mental fabrications are incessant mind noise. This is the never ending attachment to form; an identity to self that begins at birth as soon as one is given a name. There’s nothing inherently wrong with forming this identification until there’s no more space to be your true self, beneath all this nonsense. We spend most of our life unconsciously forming this identification and wrestling with our true self. There’s mostly unawareness of this, that is until there is. Once there is awareness of this space, one will spend as much time as possible here because not to results in creating mental fabrications and being someone who you are not.

Conflict With Oneself

All conflicts are within, they arise from one’s inner questions. Without the practice of discipline, the inner answers won’t be provided so one will have to look externally and blame others.

Nothing causes discontentment unless it’s allowed to. If something can be changed by all means change it, but if it’s being changed because of an inner conflict, it needs to be looked at why there is the conflict to begin with because even if the thing is changed, you will just move on to the next thing that will cause you to become agitated and then in conflict once again.

All conflicts are ego based because they come from the Conditioned Mind. You don’t think this is true? Are you in conflict with what is written here, they are just words. It doesn’t matter if they are agreed with or not, but if they cause conflict that comes from within you, not from the writer or what is written. But oh, how we love to blame others for our own self created conflicts. The only reason this is so is because of the lack of understanding of one’s own mind.

Everything that I have come to understand over the last ten years has arisen from within myself. It has been through the practice of discipline that real answers have arisen directly from my own inner questions. I can’t have anyone else’s answers because the one who questions is the one who has the answers. I do not have your answers because I do not have your questions. So everyone has their own questions to answers. Truth is the same for all beings, but how we come to its understanding is from the questions within ourselves. When one sits in stillness, revealed are answers to our questions, this is when conflicts with oneself and with the world will be no more.

I Attachment

Everyone has been conditioned at some level even if this is adamantly denied. The thing to understand is the more one denies their conditioning, the more the conditioning is in control.

If you think the Conditioned Mind is nonsense that’s your right, but that denial is part of the conditioning. Whatever keeps you attached to I is conditioning. If the conditioning wasn’t there the attachment to I wound be there. This is something that’s real regardless if it’s realized or not. That it’s being pointed out by someone is why it’s denied by some, but that doesn’t mean its not true. One can only see what has been provided, but the Conditioned Mind shouldn’t be discounted just because its not seen, however discounting it is also part of the conditioning . I will not reveal the subtleness of its own self unless there is quietness between one’s ears. Discount this, disagree with it, adamantly say it isn’t so, or who is this guy that thinks he knows me, but understand this too is all part of the conditioning. Stop all the dialog going on in the head and the conditioning will possibly be seen, or not and keep the bondage to I intact.

I is all that stands in the way to a life that is truly happy, joyous, and free. If you don’t think so, who is it that doesn’t think so? Argue with this if you want, but who is arguing? There’s no argument from me here because there’s no I trying to prove this is right. All I’m saying is before this is discounted it should be investigated. I’m just stating what I see. If this can be read and not attached to, then one is free. If not, the bondage to I is in control. It’s not complicated, but it’s very difficult to not allow I to control your thoughts. Thoughts have no power until there is attachment to them, but there can’t be attachment to them unless there is an I. In the space between your thoughts is the non attachment to I, it’s the space where there’s peace, but it’s not because I doesn’t exist there, I will always exist, but it’s just that in this space I isn’t being attached to by the Conditioned Mind.

Peace: A Showcase to Love

The beautiful thing about love is it transforms on its own, it doesn’t take doing. Probably the most misunderstood thing about love is the more that’s done to try and love, the less one truly loves.

We all know the kind of peace the world offers, but that’s not the kind of peace that’s needed for the betterment of humanity. Most get caught in the trap of thinking we would have peace if we had enough of supply and less demand, if we had our health, or the right kind of companionship, and that may be true to some extent, but having those things doesn’t guarantee that we won’t have an agitated mind about something else. As long as we look to people and situations for our peace, we shall fail to find either lasting satisfaction or peace. Universal Peace is a gentle spirit that wells up from the love deep within us. It has no relationship to the state of our situations in any way, although ultimately peace is what settles all our situations.

Material living puts its foundation in the form of possessions. Spiritual living makes use of that which is of the world; it enjoys the form, but its reliance is solely on that which is the substance of that form, or that which has created the form “Love”. Form may seem to be an end to a means, but the only time form ends is when there’s attachment to death. Life and death co exist, as the day form begins it goes in the direction of being one day closer to death. But it’s the existence in between that matters and only in the sense of how we love. The beautiful thing about love is it transforms on its own, it doesn’t take doing, this is probably the most misunderstood thing about love. Love just is and when this is understood one will be transformed.

Thought Filters

It’s not like one can control their thoughts from arising, but we can develop filters so at least they’re not in control. Whatever is the base of these filters is what will be emitted out.

I often talk about developing tools to live by, but what exactly does this mean. It’s easy to see how material tools work and the results they produce. A hammer when used properly will result in a nail being embedded in wood or possibly something else. A tool of eating healthy will produce health with fairly rapid results. Drive a car from point a to point b and lo and behold your destination is reached. Results from using materiel tools are pretty much a given. There’s very little mystery in how they work and the results they’ll produce, but how about the tools where the results aren’t seen right away, the ones that are used to look inward and need to be developed?

What these tools equate to are the filters in which one’s life is viewed. When a water filter, which is a tool, is used in line with a tap water faucet, its function is to remove the impurities of the water. It’s not a tool to make the water taste or look better, although these are the results produced The filter is strictly used to remove the impurities in the water. This is also what tools that assist a person in looking inward provide. A means to remove our conditioned impurities so our heart can open to our innate nature of love.

An air filter, an oil filter, a parental filter on the tv, these are all designed to catch impurities that can do damage, this is also the way the filter of our mind works. Which filter is chosen determines what’s not only received by the individual, but also by the world. The impure thoughts if not filtered properly create damage to ourselves and others, but when a filter is used that catches these, then we are left with results that produce love. This will occur only because the filter that we have in place catches all the impurities that get in the way of keeping this from happening.

Delusional Feelings and Emotions

Stuff happens there’s no denying this, how it affects you is directly related to the feelings and emotions that are attached to. Why this is a problem is because it makes something factual that’s just not real.

Feelings and emotions seem to be a natural part of life, but it’s been my experience that they are not, they’re just conditioned concepts handed down by people who say they’re needed. There are no facts to either of them, there’s attachment that’s for sure and that’s the only reason they exist beyond their initial arising. I’m not saying they won’t arise, especially in situations where loved ones are involved or if something is done that you apply the label of personal to it, but this still doesn’t make either one of them factual, they are still just a story. I was controlled by my emotions and feelings for a very long time and it probably wouldn’t have changed had I stayed the same, but something change me that exposed many of the lies that I took as gospel. I was conditioned to fall into the trap of what others thought life was about and basically this made me a slave to their conditioning as well as my own.

When one awakens to the fact that emotions and feelings are overrated, although as stated they will arise, their control lessens to a large degree because seeing there are no facts associated with them helps one not attach to them. For me the quieter my mind became, the more the conditioned lies were exposed and as they were exposed, this is what allowed me to see the nonsense of my conditioning and to stop attaching to it. Stuff happens there’s no denying this, how it affects you is directly related to the feelings and emotions that are attached to. Why this is a problems is because this makes something factual that’s just not real.

Truth is Love

The thought of what one thinks truth is isn’t truth. Once one truly awakens to come from a place of love, the only thing left to learn is how to remain in this place.

There’s always a lot of discussion when it comes to the topic of truth. Many hold onto the idea that everyone’s perception is different so everyone has their own truth, but what was revealed to me is there is only one truth, and it isn’t mine, lol. If you are taking a test and you have a question that requires a true or false answer, if the answer to the question is false, but you see it as being true and answer it as so, that doesn’t make your answer correct. You can argue about it, state your opinion on why you answered true, but just because you think it’s true doesn’t mean it is. To know truth requires a quiet mind, the more one holds on to the thought of what truth is, the less actual truth there is.

What has been revealed to me is seeing truth in the context as love, nothing else. What arose when my mind settled was there aren’t different versions of truth, there are different perceptions of it, but that doesn’t make it true. Yes we all see things differently, and we all like to hold onto what we have been conditioned to think truth is, but if we all came from a place of love, we would be falling over each other for a better humanity, not trying to conjure up a made up version of what we think truth is. Once one truly awakens to come from a place of love, the only thing left to learn is how to remain in this place. This place needs no explanation, nor defending, it wells up from deep within and although not everyone will agree with what is written here because of the conditioning in place, if you do you will know this is truth because you will not only be coming from a place of love, you will be set free.

Selfishness Only Harms

To those who can remain silent goes the spoils of the Universe. To those who have to disagree out loud because of holding on to I am right energy, goes the spoils of selfishness.

The base of most conditioning is selfishness, and although there are degrees in how much hold the conditioning has over a person, it causes suffering nonetheless. Not everyone has conditioning to murder, steal, abuse, rape, mug, and so on, but it’s all basically the same energy so even though some behavior is less harmful, this selfish behavior causes harm all the same, just not to the same degree as someone who is totally in the grip of their conditioning. The tighter the hold, the greater the suffering; to oneself and others. This is what’s at the core of I am right energy. Any disagreement is just a conditioned story, it’s not that everyone will be in agreement with everything that happens, but the tighter one holds on to their way being the right one, the more disharmony this causes; this disharmony is with oneself.

One can only see what is seen and that’s ok, but to disagree out loud with someone brings the conditioned energy to a much deeper level than reading or talking about something and not agreeing and just moving on. If there is an evil in the world it would use the disguise of selfishness because that is an energy that can only cause suffering. This is all about the Conditioned Mind not people. Because of the way the Universe is designed we are all connected, but because of I am right energy, it doesn’t allow it to be seen in this way by everyone, this is a direct result of the conditioning in place. To those who can remain silent goes the spoils of the Universe. To those who have to disagree out loud because of holding on to I am right energy, goes the spoils of selfishness.

Attachment to Form

When there’s attachment to form it opens up a doorway that leads to suffering. This doesn’t mean all that life has to offer can’t be enjoyed, it’s just that nothing last so why attach to it.

Many things are used because of the attachment to form, some harmful in nature and some healthy, but if there’s attachment to either, suffering will ensue because it’s simply the nature of attachment. To me I exist to experience all of life and to learn just how to do that is what my life is basically about. For many years I did not live, I existed. Just because you are alive that doesn’t equate to living. Sure if you’re reading this you are alive and you know this because when you look in the mirror you can see a form, but if the form in the mirror is attached to, life becomes so limiting because everything from there on in is given a label. Attachment to form slams the door shut to the unlimited essence of who one truly is; we are not the thoughts we have of ourselves and others are not the thoughts we have of them. There’s so much made up nonsense between our ears and it can all be linked to the attachment to form.

We think in terms that we are our body and mind without investigating if it’s true. We definitely have a body because that can be seen, but the mind, where is the mind? At least the body is form, the mind has no such substance, it isn’t anything at all. But how we allow it to control us is life’s biggest misunderstanding. The mind is what tells you everything, it creates happiness, sadness, anger, joy and so on, why this is a problem is because it’s all based on the attachment to form which can only cause suffering. Even when your mind tells you your life is perfect the same mind just moments later will tell you something needs to be different. If there wasn’t attachment to form this wouldn’t be an issue, but since form is what we manifest as, we attach to it and attachment is the root of all suffering. One day just like that your form will end, it’s inevitable, and the you are attached to it, the more suffering it will cause. The key is to not attach now because non attaching will occur one day without your permission so you might as well let go now and truly live your while you are alive.

Deep Stillness

The depth of our stillness is what determines the depth of our love. Without depth there is just what’s on the surface and this flip flops so easily because of the dependency on things.

The deeper stillness is as our foundation, the more love will be emanated in our life, and obviously the more love we have the more can be given. Also the deeper the stillness, the less our conditioning is in control. Go to the depth not known and go to a place of purity, but this will take a tremendous amount of understanding of why we aren’t in this way already. The transformation that occurs with this understanding from our head to our heart will determine the depth of our love. It’s essential to get to the heart, but without stillness we remain stuck in the head.

I’ve seen this played out first hand in my life and when love comes from the head it benefits no one. It’s the heart of love that’s pure, the head is usually filled with some mind made concept of love; there are many conditions put on this type of love. This is the cause of the flip flopping between the head and heart. The lack of stillness creates a flip flop foundation so our emotions are very easily swayed by things, and the things that sway us are allowed to occur because our emotions are that of an immature child. Why else are we swayed when things don’t go our way? Does not a child act in the same manner? Do not we as adults, act in the same manner of stamping our feet when we don’t get our way?

The purity of a child is different than the immature emotions of a child, so learn to go deeper than what the surface supplies you with and you will see a level of maturity not previously known. When this does become known, your life will be much more stable because you won’t be so easily swayed by the nonsense the world provides as a foundation. And with a solid and mature foundation based in stillness which is beyond what happens on the surface, flip flopping ceases and from the love of the heart is how life is lived.

Inner Discontent

The search for peace will never result in peace because the search itself is what keeps one from experiencing peace. Only when the mind settles will the discontent subside and just like that therein lies one’s peace.

Many people are on a spiritual quest to find an answer and for me this was in the form the question why was I so discontented with life. I say was because the discontent is no longer there. For far to many years I didn’t truly understand this discontent and so it was always there as was the searching to quiet it. This searching manifested in many different ways and none were beneficial in living my life in a loving manner. This is because of the way I was conditioned, to self seek (quiet the discontent) which kept the it in place. What a ride this produced, hence there wasn’t much peace in my life. This lasted for forty nine years and then one day through a tiny crack in my ego there arose the possibility of a different view of life, which was revealed to me and gave me some real answers as to the true nature of my inner discontent.

Ten years ago what began as a crack has been expanding ever since. For the most part the discontent for peace is no longer there because it has been replaced with a simple quietness, but when the mind becomes agitated, the discontent does return because of the Conditioned Mind Patterns in place; I’ve learned to see it from the I perspective and not attach to them. Only attachment to I keeps the discontent in place so one has to search instead of there being peace. The search for peace will never result in peace because the search itself is what keeps one from experiencing peace. In this moment right now is where peace resides so there’s no need to search for what already is. It’s only when the mind settles and I is let go of that the inner discontent subsides and lo and behold it is then that one will be at peace.

Temporary Fix

When impermanence is understood the craving for fulfillment is replaced with a satisfaction that whatever happens next doesn’t really matter because one day what happens next will prove just how impermanent everything is.

Death is a part of life as much as life itself is and regardless of any belief, one day this body will cease to support life in the form that it occupies today. We can make up a place spiritually that we are going to go to when we die, but the body is going to become void of life and it will either be cremated, decay in a box six feet below ground or in a vault above ground. If this one truth can be understood than nothing else would truly matter because the impermanence of all things would be known, and once the truth of impermanence is known, life takes on an entirely different dynamic and a mundane view no longer exists.

There’s nothing needed for fulfillment when this dynamic takes hold because one realizes life is already fulfilled. How can it not be with the understanding that all you need you already have because all that you have has no lasting substance to it. If everything is impermanent including life itself nothing will bring fulfillment to life except the understanding that life’s already fulfilled. Everything reached for in life is used as a temporary fix strictly to fulfill some inner craving, this is the reason why one is never truly satisfied. If there wasn’t a craving to be fulfilled, there wouldn’t be a need for a temporary fix. To me this is why impermanence has so much value because when it’s understood, the craving for fulfillment is replaced with a satisfaction that whatever happens next doesn’t matter much because one day whenever that day may be, what’s next will prove just how impermanent life really is.

What's Liked Bondage

There’s no denying the Conditioned Mind is like a pleasure seeking machine, but giving in constantly to doing what’s liked keeps the conditioning in control and thus one in bondage to it.

There was a FB discussion yesterday with a woman who says she occasionally uses drug because she likes the way they make her feel. Sure it feels good, why else do it? It’s not for me to label this as anything, all I know is for me giving in to the barrage of what’s liked thoughts keeps the I Self conditioning in place which keeps one in the bondage and prison to I. It’s one thing to get caught in a flare up of selfish behavior, it’s another thing to consciously even though it’s done unconsciously, keep the self satisfying conditioning in place. The human mind can justify anything and this is a daily occurrence for most, but until this is seen the bondage to I will remain.

There’s nothing inherently wrong with doing something that’s liked, but there are differences and what they are is most are selfish to fill some inner lack, but some arise from a deep place of stillness for the betterment of others. Reaching out for anything to fulfill a self satisfying need is purely selfish and it’s at the core of most things reached for; no matter how good it makes you feel. Someone once told me they enjoyed smoking cigarettes and they probably do, but except for satisfying a selfish desire, what benefit is there to smoking? It’s strictly done to satisfy self. Millions do this all the time with an array of things, alcohol, gambling, food, drugs, sex, helping others and so on, but until it’s seen that if one needs to use something to alter the way that they feel which is always derived from selfishness, the conditioned bondage to self remains in place. Check this for yourself or not, but it’s a truth that won’t be seen as long as the Conditioned Mind is in control and this is because it will justify the selfish reaching in some way.