objective reality will never explain or satisfy our subjective experience.
no matter how advanced our scientific research and technology becomes at explaining the natural world, we will forever remain in subjective reality. our subjective experience cannot be fully explained because any explanation or interpretation of that experience would, by definition, be an object within subjectiveness itself.
no matter how far forward we explore, seek, learn or expand our intellectual understanding of the objective universe, we will never experience any thing that is actually outside of "ourselves". we could fly to the furthest reaches of the galaxy, we could define the innermost workings of the sub-conscious, we could fall madly in love, we could discover alien life, or we could meet God, and we would only arrive right where we began; subjective experience.
this is not to say that objective reality or the scientific/intellectual study of objects has no value. in fact, they are of infinite value!
without the appearance, exploration and understanding of objective phenomena, our subjective experience would be void of any experiential qualities. it would be a non-experience. that is to say, in the absence of objects, our subjective experience is something akin to deep sleep. this non-experience is a collapse of time, space, and the objective universe as we know it. however, from our own direct knowledge, we explicitly understand that life is not always a non-experience. it is most certainly something most of the time--something that is greatly misidentified.
this mis-identification begins with fear of non-experience. in the human condition, we confuse our subjective awareness with an object (usually the body), and in-turn, we become convincingly terrified that all the universe will vanish when this vulnerable, limited human object comes to pass.
all objects come to pass. no object is permanent. therefore all objects are dependent on some sort of preexisting, permanent infrastructure. what could that be? what is the preexisting infrastructure of the entire objective universe? could it be anything other than our own subjective awareness? is this not our direct experience? have you ever experienced anything outside of your own awareness?
if we are completely honest, there is no such thing as an objective experience. the body (or any object for that matter) is nothing more than a passing phenomenon within subjective awareness. there can be no empirical evidence of any object without the simultaneous presence of subjective awareness. they are inseparable. the opposite is also true; there can be no empirical evidence of subjective awareness without the simultaneous presence of an object.
this is all to say that life is one.
however, the human condition at large is deeply spellbound by objective reality. we firmly believe that we are a limited, vulnerable, fleshy little object in a vast, complex system of innumerable objects--most of which are in some way a threat to our short life.
this completely innocent misidentification can begin to be corrected with one honest look towards our direct experience right now: are you within the body, or is the body within you? right now, are you within the world, or is the world within you? were you born? will you die? from your own empirical experience, which is all that you have, have you ever not been? have you ever experienced anything outside of your own awareness?
asking these questions deeply and honestly, will reveal the truth of who you are and who you will always be.
3/26/10
2/26/10
one instant
you were never given more than this instant.
you have but this one particle of time.
you were never handed two moments and asked to sort them out.
show me this past and future you carry, and then remember it is only now.
forever and always this one blessed moment is given you.
it is simply here.
has this moment ever not been here?
you have but this one particle of time.
you were never handed two moments and asked to sort them out.
show me this past and future you carry, and then remember it is only now.
forever and always this one blessed moment is given you.
it is simply here.
has this moment ever not been here?
11/18/09
For All Time
To live freely we must let go of the subtle, underlying notion that sometime in the past we were more innocent, more care-free, or somehow happier than we are now. Also, we must let go of the subtle, underlying idea that things will be worse off in the future. These poisonous ideas will naturally subside if we consciously drop the hard-edged storyline of birth and death, yesterday and tomorrow, past and future. Our reverence for youth and absolute fear of death is nothing more than an escape from the ever-present reality of this moment. If we remain here, we are free for all time.
11/13/09
Your Fire
the world is on fire.
and your thoughts are like flames trying to put it out.
running this way and that,
spreading destruction with every step.
violently screaming, “there is no peace, truth, or good here! all must change to how I see fit!”
indeed.
you shall become a blazing inferno!
let your mad quest for peace consume you.
for you would do good to burn yourself out.
only then will you remember what was so before you set yourself ablaze.
and when all the fires of your dreams have gone,
in the calm, luminous expanse of reality,
you will laugh heartily at all the ways you tried to squelch the flames of life
with your fire.
8/14/09
A Love Letter to the Ego, from a Mirror.
The inability to admit you are wrong is better than chocolate cake.
The fact that you cannot communicate your ideas in a constructive manner is awesome.
You are completely incapable of forgiving anyone, including yourself. Well done!
It is surprisingly refreshing that you are guilt-ridden, selfish, and compulsively afraid of death.
The hard lines of division and separation you draw are a work of art.
Your selfish pursuit of personal pleasure, comfort, and gain is absolutely beautiful.
It’s pure magic the way you subtly hate your body, pretend to love it, and then project on to others your own physical insecurities.
Your insatiable appetite for things you do not have is a wonder to behold.
Your preoccupation with past and future events, and your complete resistance to accept things as they are right now is just peachy.
Your inability to love is lovely.
Your complete hatred of all things different is like a blossoming rose.
The fact that you cannot laugh or even smile brings great joy.
If it could even be said that you have a single flaw,
it would be that you just can’t see how truly perfect you really are.
I’ve always loved you.
4/10/09
Happiness is what's happening.
Look back at a time when you were happy and notice how "you" were not really there.
This happy time does not have to be some ecstatic, divine experience of enlightenment—just a pure, simple happiness that might have come with the sound of laughter and smiles. This happiness you felt is a natural state of lightness and a care-free abandonment of the self. In it, there is no past story or worry for the future. There is nothing to really cling to. "Time flies" and you relax into the present moment of beingness—that is, not being a "you".
Some might call it an escape.
However, it is not that you really stop or escape from being "you". It is more of a natural realization that "you" and the "experience" are the same thing. "You" become that funny joke, a lover's eyes, a baby's smile, or a warm bed. The defining line of the physical body is relaxed and forgotten. Times stops, thought stops, the world falls away and you enter into the current experience openly and naturally. You feel at home. You feel peace.
Now, look back at a time when "you" were in pain or discomfort. This might have come from "loosing" the happiness just described. In this state, the sense of self is heavy, upfront, and in the foreground. There is a strong sense of the past and worry for the future. The object of your pain or "lost happiness" is firmly in mind as being separate from you, attacking you. Time creeps by in a dreadful procession of minutes, hours, and days. The present experience becomes constricted within the body, submerged in thought, and lost in a hard, finite world. You do not feel at home. You feel suffering.
Notice the difference?
Suffering arises when the self is felt as separate from the experience. There is a "you" and there is a "pain" which is attacking the "you". Two separate things.
This occurs in any form of discomfort—mild or severe. If you are "freezing cold" it is because you have subtly created a line where "you" are on one side, and the "freezing cold" is on the other—making "you" uncomfortable. The same could be said for a harsh break-up, job-loss, etc.
On the other hand, when there is happiness, that's all there is! There is no "you" when peace comes. You and happiness merge into one seamless experience of freedom—a freedom where the "you" is not really there.
Upon realizing this, many people unconsciously say, "I must learn how to not be me! I must forget me!" However, attaining this loss-of-self is impossible through "personal" effort. You cannot remember to forget yourself. You cannot end you. That is a paradox. Happiness is only revealed naturally when the present experience is accepted for what it is, and the activity of a "you" stops on its own.
Most people endlessly search for definitive ways to trick themselves into a loss-of-self or happiness. Very innocently, they seek for a "new" and "different" experience that is separate from them, in an effort to forget themselves. They think it comes with a new car, spouse, drug, spiritual book, or religious practice that is somewhere outside of them. But remember, suffering only arises when the self is felt as separate from the current experience.
There are no "tricks," "techniques" or "objects" that can bring peace—because peace is all there is. Underlying and permeating every experience of "suffering" is the peaceful space that allows it to be. You, who are really just peace, confuse yourself to be separate from that which is happening. This "confusion" is a freedom that peace inherently owns.
Peace is absolutely free to be anything, even momentary "confusion".
The "problem" seems to arise when peace ties itself into a confusing knot, forgets that it has done so, and seems to "suffer" because it wants peace back—all the while forgetting what it naturally is. A metaphor might be a rope that takes the form of a knot, but never ceases to be rope. A knot cannot be without rope—a knot is made of only rope. Just the same, "confusion" cannot be without peace—"confusion" is made of only peace.
It is only the negative connotations implied with the experience of "confusion" that causes suffering (AKA forgetting that you are only peace).
In this sense, there is nothing to really "do" about suffering. Striving for happiness is "suffering". Striving for suffering to end is "suffering". If there is any effort at all, it is a gentle acknowledgment that "pain" or "something" has arisen in awareness, letting go of the label, and moving into the experience without judgment. It is a subtle release.
In truth, there is no real "moving into the experience" or "letting go of the label". There is just that which is arising, a recognition of it, and a release—all in one movement. Anything more than that is a self-centered game that keeps the illusion of "suffering" in place.
There is nothing more self-centered than devoting your entire life to ridding yourself of personal suffering.
Look deeply at the underlying motive to gain "liberation" or "happiness", and notice how it is all about "you" and your separation from peace.
How would it feel to just be what is happening, right here and now?
Beyond words. Beyond you.
How does what's happening feel?
This happy time does not have to be some ecstatic, divine experience of enlightenment—just a pure, simple happiness that might have come with the sound of laughter and smiles. This happiness you felt is a natural state of lightness and a care-free abandonment of the self. In it, there is no past story or worry for the future. There is nothing to really cling to. "Time flies" and you relax into the present moment of beingness—that is, not being a "you".
Some might call it an escape.
However, it is not that you really stop or escape from being "you". It is more of a natural realization that "you" and the "experience" are the same thing. "You" become that funny joke, a lover's eyes, a baby's smile, or a warm bed. The defining line of the physical body is relaxed and forgotten. Times stops, thought stops, the world falls away and you enter into the current experience openly and naturally. You feel at home. You feel peace.
Now, look back at a time when "you" were in pain or discomfort. This might have come from "loosing" the happiness just described. In this state, the sense of self is heavy, upfront, and in the foreground. There is a strong sense of the past and worry for the future. The object of your pain or "lost happiness" is firmly in mind as being separate from you, attacking you. Time creeps by in a dreadful procession of minutes, hours, and days. The present experience becomes constricted within the body, submerged in thought, and lost in a hard, finite world. You do not feel at home. You feel suffering.
Notice the difference?
Suffering arises when the self is felt as separate from the experience. There is a "you" and there is a "pain" which is attacking the "you". Two separate things.
This occurs in any form of discomfort—mild or severe. If you are "freezing cold" it is because you have subtly created a line where "you" are on one side, and the "freezing cold" is on the other—making "you" uncomfortable. The same could be said for a harsh break-up, job-loss, etc.
On the other hand, when there is happiness, that's all there is! There is no "you" when peace comes. You and happiness merge into one seamless experience of freedom—a freedom where the "you" is not really there.
Upon realizing this, many people unconsciously say, "I must learn how to not be me! I must forget me!" However, attaining this loss-of-self is impossible through "personal" effort. You cannot remember to forget yourself. You cannot end you. That is a paradox. Happiness is only revealed naturally when the present experience is accepted for what it is, and the activity of a "you" stops on its own.
Most people endlessly search for definitive ways to trick themselves into a loss-of-self or happiness. Very innocently, they seek for a "new" and "different" experience that is separate from them, in an effort to forget themselves. They think it comes with a new car, spouse, drug, spiritual book, or religious practice that is somewhere outside of them. But remember, suffering only arises when the self is felt as separate from the current experience.
There are no "tricks," "techniques" or "objects" that can bring peace—because peace is all there is. Underlying and permeating every experience of "suffering" is the peaceful space that allows it to be. You, who are really just peace, confuse yourself to be separate from that which is happening. This "confusion" is a freedom that peace inherently owns.
Peace is absolutely free to be anything, even momentary "confusion".
The "problem" seems to arise when peace ties itself into a confusing knot, forgets that it has done so, and seems to "suffer" because it wants peace back—all the while forgetting what it naturally is. A metaphor might be a rope that takes the form of a knot, but never ceases to be rope. A knot cannot be without rope—a knot is made of only rope. Just the same, "confusion" cannot be without peace—"confusion" is made of only peace.
It is only the negative connotations implied with the experience of "confusion" that causes suffering (AKA forgetting that you are only peace).
In this sense, there is nothing to really "do" about suffering. Striving for happiness is "suffering". Striving for suffering to end is "suffering". If there is any effort at all, it is a gentle acknowledgment that "pain" or "something" has arisen in awareness, letting go of the label, and moving into the experience without judgment. It is a subtle release.
In truth, there is no real "moving into the experience" or "letting go of the label". There is just that which is arising, a recognition of it, and a release—all in one movement. Anything more than that is a self-centered game that keeps the illusion of "suffering" in place.
There is nothing more self-centered than devoting your entire life to ridding yourself of personal suffering.
Look deeply at the underlying motive to gain "liberation" or "happiness", and notice how it is all about "you" and your separation from peace.
How would it feel to just be what is happening, right here and now?
Beyond words. Beyond you.
How does what's happening feel?
4/9/09
My Heart (The Intangible Depth of My True Self) Pt. 3
The evolution of humans on earth is for one purpose: love. This love is the genuine intention of the entire universe. Everything in existence is an affirmation of the impeccable accuracy and perfection of love's desire to be.
Consider human beings in all of our physical, intellectual, and emotional complexity. How perfect is the brain? The lungs? The eyes? How real and layered is anger, beauty, or even boredom? How far can math, science, and physics reach? How deep are relationships, society, and politics? All of these aspects of the human race are not bound within the perfection of physics. Rather, they are bound solely within the perfection of divine love.
We have evolved from basic matter into advanced social human beings as an apparatus for love to fully experience itself. We did not cause this to happen, and nor can we claim credit for any accomplishments we might experience in life. We are here so that the unknown can experience the inexplicable in greater depth. So that life itself can be surprised, awed, and marveled at over and over again.
Our life is like a painter who creates painting after painting after painting to no end. How many possibilities are there in a blank canvas? Does this amount ever truly diminish throughout a painter’s life? Will there ever come a time when a blank canvas has no option? Why does the painter continuously paint? For love. For nothing but love does anyone act. Even acts of fear, hatred, and violence are misconstrued attempts to regain or heal a love that is seemingly gone or damaged.
Love is the first cause of every action. At a glance, this is an intellectual paradox. How can all the faults, evils, and mistakes of the world be initiated by love? Because all life comes from and returns to love. How do mammals procreate but through some loving exchange? How does anything in nature survive but through some symbiotic relationship to something else? How infinitely perfect do all the conditions have to be for even the simplest of processes to take place? This absolute perfection is divine love and it is completely present throughout the entire living cosmos. In a word, the entire living cosmos is love itself. It is the eternal living Word of God. The Logos.
I can only hear this perfect word within the silence of my true heart. In fact, my heart knows no other word but this one. I cannot speak this word because all of my complex intellectual language is contained within it. I can only point…and even that is insufficient because I cannot point to the middle, when I am standing in the center.
Consider human beings in all of our physical, intellectual, and emotional complexity. How perfect is the brain? The lungs? The eyes? How real and layered is anger, beauty, or even boredom? How far can math, science, and physics reach? How deep are relationships, society, and politics? All of these aspects of the human race are not bound within the perfection of physics. Rather, they are bound solely within the perfection of divine love.
We have evolved from basic matter into advanced social human beings as an apparatus for love to fully experience itself. We did not cause this to happen, and nor can we claim credit for any accomplishments we might experience in life. We are here so that the unknown can experience the inexplicable in greater depth. So that life itself can be surprised, awed, and marveled at over and over again.
Our life is like a painter who creates painting after painting after painting to no end. How many possibilities are there in a blank canvas? Does this amount ever truly diminish throughout a painter’s life? Will there ever come a time when a blank canvas has no option? Why does the painter continuously paint? For love. For nothing but love does anyone act. Even acts of fear, hatred, and violence are misconstrued attempts to regain or heal a love that is seemingly gone or damaged.
Love is the first cause of every action. At a glance, this is an intellectual paradox. How can all the faults, evils, and mistakes of the world be initiated by love? Because all life comes from and returns to love. How do mammals procreate but through some loving exchange? How does anything in nature survive but through some symbiotic relationship to something else? How infinitely perfect do all the conditions have to be for even the simplest of processes to take place? This absolute perfection is divine love and it is completely present throughout the entire living cosmos. In a word, the entire living cosmos is love itself. It is the eternal living Word of God. The Logos.
I can only hear this perfect word within the silence of my true heart. In fact, my heart knows no other word but this one. I cannot speak this word because all of my complex intellectual language is contained within it. I can only point…and even that is insufficient because I cannot point to the middle, when I am standing in the center.
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