Atmamun

(The mind as prison and controller)

There is pain and risk in asking real questions. Intellectualization is risk-free.

Atmamun is a process of transcending the mind altogether. What the mind really is. What gives rise to it. What excites it. What its patterns are. And how it controls our lives. And control is the correct word. All of us are controlled by the mind. Although most people in the world do not realize this. They believe that the decisions that they make are the result of their own conscious logic and reasoning. They believe that their “personality” is an intrinsic part of their fundamental nature. They believe that they are in control of their own lives. This is an illusion. Please understand this: Man’s greatest dilemma is that he lives in a prison and he believes that he is free.

No. For it is his mind that likes one thing and dislikes another. You see, the mind cannot live within a state of like or within a state of dislike. It must have both! This is part of the scaffolding upon which it rests. Indeed, the very fact that a preference exists means that mind is doing the “preferring.”

Please understand this: When you have likes and dislikes, you have a desire for one thing and an aversion for another.

He has a thought that is generated by his mind. The thought may be true or untrue, logical or illogical, pleasant or unpleasant. This thought produces an emotion within him. It makes him feel a certain way. He then expresses this feeling in the form of a particular reaction or a behavior. That behavior produces a certain tangible consequence. This consequence then produces another thought. And this thought another emotion. Which leads to another feeling. And another behavior. With another consequence.

KG: Anyone that you go to for help with such problems will attempt to “improve” your condition by attempting to change the mind and alleviate the effect. They will attempt to help you “deal with” the problems created by your mind. But you cannot “deal with” cancer. You must find a way to become completely free of it.

KG: Imagine that you are fighting a war. And that you have found a way to spy on your enemy so that you can see his every move. Wouldn’t this allow you to escape him? Q: Yes.

(The leash of identification — belief that you are the mind)

KG: So what would be the solution to this latter problem? Q: To cut the leash. KG: Precisely. The dog running around doesn’t bother you because you know that you are not the dog. The mind running around does bother you because you are tied to it by a leash.

Q: What’s the leash that ties me to the mind? KG: The belief that you are your mind!

The mind can go anywhere it wishes. You need not go With It. The mind can entertain any thoughts that it wishes. They have nothing to do with you. For you are not the mind.

Man will take any opportunity to avoid that which is most immediate in his life. He will do anything but the task at hand. He will look at anything besides that which stands inches from his face.

(Freedom to pursue any road without guilt or should)

If you seek riches, chase them. If you seek fame, cultivate it. If you seek to be a holy man, become one. If you seek success for your children, help them attain it. If you seek to help the needy, do it. Do whatever you wish, freely and completely. Without the guilt of morality. Or the burden of should’s and shouldn’ts.

Are some of these roads a dead-end? Most certainly. But that does not mean that any man or any God should stop you from exercising your will.

The Path To Atmamun Do whatever you like. Live in accordance with your sensibilities. Live and work in accordance with your own inspirations. This is your day-to-day existence. This is Your Life. What does God have to do with it?

KG: I can perhaps count on one hand the number of people in this world who want what God has. Q: Why? KG: Because they consider it “bold” as you do. Perhaps even sacrilegious.

KG: The leaf that gives itself whole to the river, Becomes the river.

You would not look for a “how-to” manual or a “self-help” book. You would take matters into your own hands. And you would survive! And the reason that you would survive is because the WHAT would be clearly before you. That WHAT is your life. And because you chose Life, because the What was crystal clear, you would create the HOW for yourself.

(Clarity of the What as prerequisite for God and freedom)

KG: We must, therefore, establish your What. How clear is this What? How intense is your desire for this What? Does it mean any less to you than surviving from drowning? Is this What a matter of life and death for you?

KG: Because people are clever. They play ingenious little games with God. They offer a nickel and ask for a fortune. God is simply an insurance policy for them. They have no desire to know him or become him. They seek only to fortify their meager little lives with a few pleasant distractions and a modest sack of wealth and comfort. The kingdom of God is for the rarest man in the world. Millions speak of it. Only One pursues it.

KG: The human being who is consumed with a particular vision does not allow “possibility” to stand in his or her way.

KG: If you want the kingdom of God more than anything else in your life, you will have it. And the reason that you will have it is because you will not stop until you attain it.

They enjoy the “idea” of following such a path. The spiritual order is no different than any other worldly institution. There are the common. And there are the elite. And what separates the two is a Sincere and Heartfelt Desire.

KG: Very well. If you wish to taste the nectar of life and live in complete bliss, there is no room for You AND God. There is only room for one. Q: That’s a provocative statement. Can you please discuss this further? KG: He who chases two rabbits catches neither. He who has one foot in both worlds relinquishes both.

KG: To give yourself whole means to have nothing left for yourself, does it not?

Q: I’d want to drink it, of course. KG: So what you are saying is that you could forfeit the knowledge about the water. But you couldn’t forfeit the drinking of it. Is that right? Q: Absolutely. KG: Animals large and small know nothing of the chemical nature of water, but drinking it sustains their lives, does it not? Q: Yes. KG: My dear friend, is it not the same with God? Q: I’m not sure I understand. KG: Knowledge is a cop out. It is a token demonstration of passing interest. It is a clever little game. For while it may fill the head, it leaves the heart empty. The one and only thing that a thirsty man seeks is to quench his thirst. Unless his thirst is quenched, it is all useless small talk. Is it not?

KG: Knowledge is a cop out. It is a token demonstration of passing interest. It is a clever little game. For while it may fill the head, it leaves the heart empty. The one and only thing that a thirsty man seeks is to quench his thirst. Unless his thirst is quenched, it is all useless small talk. Is it not?

KG: Fear not. You need not sell your home and retreat into a cave. You need not give away your personal possessions. But in order to make room for him, you must cleanse yourself of the NEED for anything else. All your ideas about life, your attachments to your ideologies, your thoughts about the way things “should be,” your preferences, your prejudices. All of it must be on the cutting table. Q: You really do mean that it’s either me or it’s him and not both, don’t you. KG: Absolutely. There can be no half way. There is no “partial enlightenment.” I asked you to make certain that you were willing to pay the price. The price is your particular understanding of life. The price is all that you consider to be “yours.” The price is yourself. And it is non-negotiable!

The price is your particular understanding of life. The price is all that you consider to be “yours.” The price is yourself. And it is non-negotiable!

KG: The reason that people are not blissful is because they depend upon Events to make them happy.

KG: You asked me earlier that if you surrender yourself to the kingdom of God, who will be left to experience the joy. Q: I did. KG: My dear friend, if you surrender yourself to the kingdom of God, who will be left to feel the misery?

Your Manufactured Self When you look into the mirror, it shows you an image of the person you have habitually come to regard as “yourself.” Because you believe this to be “yourself,” you have spent your entire life attempting to adorn him, fortify him, protect him, and guide him. If someone says anything against this person, you retaliate. If someone tries to harm this person, you rush to protect him. If he is hungry, you feed him. If he is tired, you allow him to rest. His every little wish is your command. His mundane desires, his need for approval, his hope for success, these are all your life’s work. You work incessantly for him. And you never question it. Even the thought of questioning it puzzles you.

Imagine that I came to you and said that I would take care of this person in the mirror for you. Imagine that I gave you a week’s rest. For one full week, I would take care of his needs and attend to all his concerns. From his disappointments about his career to his hope for becoming a success. From his conflict in his family life to his desire for happiness. His hunger, his sleep, his thirst, his sense of peace, you would be free of it all for one week. What would that week be like? There would be no worry, for there would be no one to worry about. There would be no hope, as there would be no one to hope for. There would be no boss to impress. Or family member to apologize to. What would you do with your time? How would you spend the day? I want you to go there now, within yourself. Fear not, I will not give you the luxury of one week. For man has learned to shun such guilty pleasures. I will only give you a few minutes. For the next few minutes, this person in the mirror is not your concern.…

Now that you have done so, I will not ask you how you feel. I will not ask you to tell me what I want to hear. For there is nothing that I want to hear. Insights are achieved in silence. When they are spoken of, they are poisoned. Feelings are feelings. And, in many ways, to speak is to lie…

For your entire life, you have lived as a slave to this person in the mirror. And it has destroyed your life. This is always the case with slaves. For there is no state that is…

Your life is in turmoil. And you attempt with all your might to Organize the turmoil into a semblance of acceptability. You beautify the face that you show to others. So that the…

The life that you are currently living is not your real life. Because you are living through the Sheath known as Mind. The mind desires, and you believe that it is you who is desiring. The mind craves one success after another. And you believe that it is you who craves. The mind creates your turmoils, and you set off in a frenzy to clean up its messes, believing that it is you who…

The Ego is Not that which says that you are great. It is that which says…

The idea that you…

STAR. She will spend Naomi’s entire life doing these things. And for the entirety of this life, she will live in abject misery. Why? Because Naomi Johnson doesn’t really exist. The mind that is within Naomi has created this persona that her parents named Naomi Johnson. And the creation of this persona is the genesis of all of Naomi’s problems. How? Because whatever happens in Naomi’s life does not “just happen.” It happens To Her. The breakups, the disappointments, the conflicts, and all of life’s endless upheavals happen To Naomi. As a result, she is simply doomed to a life as a piñata, battered by circumstance. And all the psychotherapy, and meditation, and yoga, and counseling in the world cannot help her.

The beautiful human beings that I counsel have the world at their feet. They have great wealth and notoriety and all that the material world can offer. Yet what they seek is the Experience of Bliss. And Peace. And Unbridled Freedom. And this the material world cannot give them. Here is the Ultimate Truth Of Your Life: Naomi Johnson is not the person she thinks she is. She is the Being That Knows that a persona called Naomi Johnson has been created.

Aren’t you tired of looking at yourself? Of the sound of your voice? Of knowing what you are going to say before you say it? Of thinking the same things? Of living with the same opinions?

You try to preserve yourself in front of others. But you run from yourself in private. You make your opinions known to those around you. And you question them in the quiet of your room.

Wouldn’t you like to see through new eyes? Eyes that see what is actually in front of them. Eyes that seek reality instead of confirmation. Wouldn’t you like to think less? Wouldn’t you like to care less?

They will adore this aimless, opinion-less, transparent You. The non-You. And the most beautiful thing of all is that it will be evergreen. This non-You will require no maintenance. No care. No adornment.

May you never be Yourself again.

KG: When you don’t have the answers, a new possibility is on the horizon. When the mind thinks that it knows, it creates a story. And it makes the person believe the fairy tale. But when it is confused, it has no story to tell you. So you are, for a brief moment, free to learn the truth. Independent of the mind.

KG: This is the problem with us human beings. Receiving something is not enough. Becoming something is not enough. Feeling something is not enough. No matter how grand or majestic that thing may be, we must spoil it with reason. We must graffiti our logic across its sacred presence.

KG: Nothing means anything unless it is in one’s own experience. Do you agree?

KG: I am leading you on a journey away from your manufactured self. And in order to do this, my goal is not to help you escape, but to see. Advisors across the world, be it in the world of psychology or otherwise, are far too interested in treatments and solutions. Treatments and solutions are simply a balm that temporarily soothes the pain. They cure nothing. The only thing that cures is Understanding. The only thing that cures is Clarity. The thing that cures is Not the solution. It is a clear and unflinching examination of the Problem.

KG: Because you constantly seek to satisfy its every wish, you live in constant anticipation. Because you seek to wipe away its sorrows, you seek desperately for its happiness. Because you seek to maintain its reputation, you are acutely sensitive to the sharp opinions of others. Everything that you do is done in the interest of its welfare. It has made you a slave.

KG: Who is the person who seeks to be happy? The person that you call You. And who is this You? Your manufactured self. Do you not see? Even the need for happiness is a great burden. You would not have this need if you had no manufactured self.

KG: That is correct. When the manufactured self is created, problems are as well. The manufactured self is nothing more than one gigantic problem. And man lives his entire life trying to untangle a mess, when all he needs to do is to step out of it. When YOU are born, misery is born. When YOU are born, burden is born.

(Walking away from the manufactured self into bliss)

The greatest freedom that we have is the freedom to walk away from ourselves.

The day that you walk away from yourself, you no longer feel the need for happiness. For bliss has become yours. Why? Because there is no longer any burden to carry. There is no great master to take care of. You are absolved of your responsibilities. You are now officially off duty. You are free to dance in the fields. And roam in the hills. In becoming nothing, you have gained everything.

The single greatest obstacle to Atmamun is the presence of your manufactured self. The person that you call “myself” is the source of all your miseries. Remove this manufactured self, and you will be as free as a living God.

(The Somebody trap — chasing status while losing the soul)

The man who cannot stand being a Nobody will strive to become a Somebody. But as he chases this status, he finds that this Somebody he hopes to create never seems to sustain itself. Therefore, he must keep creating and re-creating this person. But try as he might, he can never make flesh and bone out of it. It remains forever a shadow on the surface of the water. And if he looks back at his life, he wonders what it all amounts to? What do his accomplishments really mean? What have they done for him besides afford him a certain level of comfort and a smattering of applause? To be the best in the world at one’s craft is largely a journey into the recesses of one’s self, rather than a journey toward a stage. To arrive at one’s goal broken and battered and soul-less, no matter how grand the achievement, is to have arrived nowhere. As it is put so beautifully in the bible, What good does it do a man to gain the world and lose his soul?

man’s greatest prize is his own Life. Not the life he creates. Not the life he hopes for. Not the life he manufactures. Not the life he adorns. Not the life he strives for. But the life he was born with. That deep, nameless, pulsating vibration that spawns breath in his lungs and consciousness within his being. The life that existed before the life he attempted to create.

Imagine for a moment what it would feel like to Want For Nothing! To live your days invested completely in that which you love to do. Your art, your passion … But Without A Single Iota Of Hope. To live your life as someone who had no need to attain anything else for the remainder of his life. Whatever comes, let it come. And whatever does not, isn’t even noticed. For it was never Hoped For in the first place.

Hope Destroys! If who you are today is not enough, it is because you don’t know who you truly are. And trying to make yourself into Someone will take you even further away from who you fundamentally are. To live a Hope-less life is simply the most glorious life of all. To live as nothing. To hope for nothing. To strive for nothing. The man who lives in this way gains accolades without wanting them. And he becomes a Prince of Mankind.

(Bliss in the mundane — living this moment without hope or event)

And do not make the mistake of believing that happiness and turmoil, and pain and pleasure are opposites. For I assure you they are not. They are very much two sides of the same coin.

When he encounters something troubling, he will feel his heart drop. But he will immediately recognize that this too is from the mind. And his disappointment will simply vanish.

What this human being will begin to understand is that Life has nothing to offer him. That nature has structured life in such a way that bliss is only available in the most mundane of places: This Very Moment.

But the Living can only happen if we live as a lonely traveler passing through. Rather than one who builds his home and settles down within it.

Leave everything as you found it. For none of it belongs to you.

Let the events happen around you, knowing that none of them are happening TO You. And you will live an equanimous life.

Nor should you. For a man should not allow “belief” to be his guide, lest he lose himself in the darkness.

One of the most useful qualities of human beings is also their poison. And this is the quality of Adaptability.

If a man suffers, he becomes accustomed to the suffering. Suffering becomes his companion. And thus he spends the whole of his life looking for minor nuggets of joy within this ocean of suffering. The reason that human beings do not live a life of bliss is because this is not what they hold most dear. Their eyes are fixed upon the twinkles on the horizon. Their hearts are fixed upon the drug of achievement. Their attention is fixed upon the search for happiness. They recognize that such things are fleeting. And thus they feel that they must have them in bulk. What they cannot create in quality, they must make up for in volume. They are hooked by the occasional reward. And this keeps them bound to the world.

They are hooked by the occasional reward.

If there is one truth that I have learned, it is that unless you find it inside of Today, you will never find it inside of Tomorrow.

A man who pursues his passions and experiences his life with complete boldness has no need to search. He simply lives. He walks toward no horizon. For he has already seen beyond it. This, my friend, is the benediction. To abandon the world. And gain the universe.

The one who asks the question is the one who has not tasted life. The one who asks this question is the one who looks at life as a means to a particular end. For meaning is an intellectual concept. Intellect affords a sense of survival in the modern world. But survival is survival. And living is living.

Certainly, man will ascribe meaning to them. Man will slice it this way and that and look at it from all angles in order to Reduce It into a meaning. But this is only because man is not interested in what IS. He is only interested in what he can Make Out Of It.

And this is why the bulk of humanity lives a Clinical existence. It reeks of antiseptic and medicines, rather than undefined aromas. You can create anything you wish In your life. But you will never make anything Out Of life. For life will always be life. Meaningless. Innocent. And Indefinable.

Some will read my words and assume that I am condemning the pursuit of success or the procurement of wealth. I would argue that my words are, in fact, providing even more freedom to do so.

What do the monks do after the mandala is complete? Do they cherish it? Do they put it into a frame? Or save it as a gallery piece with the other mandalas? No. They destroy it. This is their way of teaching themselves impermanence. And as strange as it may sound, there is joy in freeing oneself from the attachment to his own creation. For attachment is the greatest bondage in existence. Climb the greatest mountain. Achieve all the accolades in the world. Become the greatest in your field. Achieve fame. Earn millions. And you will enjoy every bit of the journey, if and only if you understand that none of it means anything. When something has meaning, it becomes work. When something is meaningless, it becomes play. The joy that you experience in honing your craft is the greatest reward. Spending your life exactly the way you wish to spend it is a wonderful liberation. This is what sinks into the heart. This is the true experience. And understand this: life’s nectar lies in experience, rather than reward. Rewards fade from memory. Experiences remain forever.

A life of wild abandon is the greatest life. Leave purpose to the wind. Give yourself to your life. Surrender yourself to your inspirations. Achieve all the greatness in the world. And be willing to drop it without hesitation. This is a life of joy. This is a life of freedom.

(Life as wild beast — meaningless, innocent, indefinable)

Life is a wild beast. It is as it is. For all human beings. At once, ugly and beautiful. It has never been tamed. It will never be tamed. The messages that surround us say that we deserve happiness. That life is good. That life will give us what we ask if we are willing to work for it. My friend, life will not give you anything. Not because it is evil or cruel. But because it has not the capacity to give. It is simply there. It can be experienced. It can be drank. It can be explored. But it is not a wishing well. It is simply there to do with as you please. It is a tempest that we all travel through. The problems arise when we think of it as our friend. Or when we believe that it should be gentle. Life is as raw as all forces of nature. And what we perhaps must realize is that our suffering comes from expecting it to be that which it can never be. Each moment breathed is a moment lived. To experience life in every breath. Just as it is. Knowing this, perhaps we can move forward.

Life is simply a joke. An absurdity. A non-linear, haphazard, and unpredictable trail that is fertile for the imagination of hallucinatory human beings.

Life is a Rorschach. You can see in it what you wish. It is a mirage. Always tempting us to see some glimmering landscape on the horizon. If you deconstruct life, and break apart all of the pieces and look at it, bit by bit, you realize that it is not what you thought it was. Instead of pages of prophecy and significance and biography, you find the intelligible gibberish of an infant tapping on the keys of a typewriter.

There is no grand plan. And there never was one. There is just an open field upon which to play.

By all means, build your house. But understand that it will be a house of cards. By all means, make your mark. But understand that someone will one day erase it. By all means, change the world. But understand that after you die, it will change back.

Life is not a series of events. Rather it is the substrate in which the events take place.

But events do not color life any more than smoke colors the sky. Perhaps the greatest realization we can have is that we are free to do whatever we wish. But in order to remain in this freedom, we must discard the notion of significance.

My friend, there was a day that you were not here. And there will soon be a day when you are no longer here. And once you realize this, you will understand that all there is left to do is play.

Play with your work. Play with your kids. Play with your wife. Play with your surroundings. Play with your happiness. Play with your sorrows. Play with all of those things that you consider to be your miseries and misfortunes. There is no linear path. There is no destination on the horizon. If you wish to create one, play with that as well. If you attempt to Make A Life, you will miss it. If you attempt to Create Significance, you will lose your freedom. And if you lose your freedom, what life is there left to live?

To intellectualize life is to miss it completely. If you understand that life has no meaning, the events of your life will not affect you. You will move through the world with ease. For you will have acquired the wisdom to live life as a poetry, rather than a stale and confining prose.

have. You believe that your life is supposed to be filled with joy. And with satisfaction. And with peace. And with freedom. And because you believe this, you look here and there. You enter into this relationship and that relationship. You move from one city to another. You transfer from one job to the next.

Because you live Within this construct known as your Mind, you look at things through The Mind’s Eye. And since the mind, by its very nature, cannot be satisfied, achievement only leads to the Need for more achievement.

In such an existence there is no such thing as contentment. For contentment is mind’s kryptonite.

The Mind lives for Tomorrow. For it simply cannot live today. Your entire life, no matter how deep and significant you may think it to be, is essentially a frenzied rush toward Peace.

You will begin to live inside this very moment. Not because of silly little prescriptions such as “mindfulness” but because you fundamentally will have understood that to live anywhere else is simply a lie.

(Work as art — living in accordance with one’s own inspirations)

We have lost our way. And have taken comfort in the company of sheep. And the time has come for us to look at our own reflection. The man who is in love with his trade is not a worker. He is an artist. Whether he makes a million dollars or a thousand, he is living in accordance with his nature. And thus his days are filled with joy.

You may tell me your sentimental story of the family that you must support and the children that you must feed. But it will fall on deaf ears. For the greatest nourishment that you can give your children is an inspirational role model who sets the stage for their own future.

Food is overrated. Man is hungry for inspiration. Man is hungry for inner abundance. Man is hungry for the realization of his true potential.

Your “job” may indeed earn you a living, but it will not earn you a life. It may put food on your table, but it will not nourish you. It may provide you with drink, but it will not quench your thirst.

I will tell you to do precisely what the religions and the holy men forbid. I will tell you to achieve. I will tell you to find your talents. I will tell you to explore your abilities. I will tell you to make a name for yourself. I will tell you to make millions. I will tell you to live in luxury.

Because you are a King!

You see, it seems to be a trend in the world of spirituality to discount a life of comfort and settle for a life of poverty. There is a long tradition in spirituality to demonize wealth. I believe that this philosophy is misguided. And the reason that I believe this is because it speaks only a partial truth. Money is Not the root of all evil. Firstly, it has nothing to do with good versus evil. For it is not a question of good or evil. It is a question of joy and misery. There are just as many miserable people on the spiritual path as there are on the worldly path. If we are going to discuss wealth and success and its relation to bliss, let us use the honest truth, rather than judgment and condemnation. What is the unbiased honest truth?

The unbiased honest truth is this: Wealth, success, and luxury do not harm a man. What harms a man is the Attachment to these things.

Attachment is poison. Attachment is the source of all misery. Attachment to money, fame, ego, success, spirituality. Even attachment to family and friends.

Man is a king. But he believes that he is a beggar who must work toward becoming a king. And because he believes this, he lives his entire life as a beggar.

A king is not a king Because of his riches. A king is a king Despite his riches.

Is there “pride” in this? Does this show a “responsibility” toward one’s own Self? On the airplane, we are told to secure our oxygen masks before we help another with their oxygen mask. This is beautifully symbolic. For the world teaches us exactly the opposite. And it is for this reason that man suffocates in a world filled with oxygen.

Unless a man first helps himself, he cannot really help another. As Shakespeare said, To Thine Own Self Be True. Unless you are true to yourself, you cannot possibly be true to another. Unless you first help yourself, you cannot possibly help another.

I have written about this often. And I will say that when a man asks me such a question, he is being disingenuous with me, and dishonest with himself. If I set your house on fire, you would not sit amidst the inferno and ask me what to do. You would surrender to your instincts and do anything and everything to save yourself.

The person who asks me How to do something is not serious. He is simply looking for solace. He is looking for someone to sympathize with his plight. He is looking for someone to tell him that it is Okay that he did not spend his life exploring and discovering the talents that nature bestowed upon him. If I gave this man advice on How to become a success, I would become an accomplice. And in becoming an accomplice, I would serve to keep him exactly where he is. For each “answer” that I would give him would only embolden him to ask more questions. And he would ask and ask and ask, all the while remaining exactly where he is. This is, in fact, his clever game. To ask as many questions and How’s as possible so as to free himself from the guilt of doing nothing, and grant himself the luxury of staying exactly where he is.

The Path To Atmamun Nature created you as an original. Originals are invested with glorious talents. Discover the talent within yourself that nature has been waiting for you to show to the world. You are a creator. And you always have been. Give yourself the permission to create. For if you do not, the world will take advantage of you being ignorant to this fact. And it will put you to “work!”

(Becoming a legend — breaking the spell of mediocrity and environment)

Become A Legend In Your Field Man is addicted to mediocrity. It is in the water that he drinks. And in the words that he hears. It is in the faces of those around him. And on the lips of those who surround him. He is taught to get a “job.” And to “improve.” And to “make a living.” And to “survive.” These sentiments are representative of living at the lowest rung on the ladder of human possibility. They are a scraping of the bottom of the barrel of human existence. It is so incredibly difficult to think of yourself as a legend, isn’t it? The mind doesn’t easily give in to this idea. It fights it every step of the way. But it doesn’t need to fight much. For few ever entertain this idea about themselves. And most of those who do, end up dropping it altogether. If you look at any industry you will see that they all do things the same way. If you look at any profession you will notice that they all get similar results. All of them follow each other. And while following each other, they hope to differentiate themselves from one another. Is this not a direct contradiction?

It is so incredibly difficult to think of yourself as a legend, isn’t it? The mind doesn’t easily give in to this idea. It fights it every step of the way. But it doesn’t need to fight much. For few ever entertain this idea about themselves. And most of those who do, end up dropping it altogether.

The fact that few even ask such a question is further evidence of man’s adaptability. No matter how outrageous a result or situation is, if he is exposed to it enough times, he accepts it as the norm. He Adapts to it and files it in his brain as “normal.”

Human beings tend to become the norm that they are exposed to. This is the astonishing power of environment. You become your surroundings!

Here is the crux of the matter: When the mind desires winning, its fear of losing far exceeds the desire for winning. As a result, there is intense anxiety. Which, in turn, sabotages the individual’s performance. And often results in the very thing that the mind feared all along: Losing.

The interesting thing is that the reason individuals wish to win is because of the feeling that it gives them. But in order to procure this “good” feeling, they spend the overwhelming majority of their time simmering in “painful” feelings. Are three pounds of anxiety worth an ounce of peace? Some individuals will say yes. And the reason that they will say yes is because they have been taught by society to be masochistic. That one must endure pain. That one must be “mentally tough.” That the road to victory is paved with blood, sweat, and tears. I would argue that victory is something one experiences everyday, if he immerses himself in the joy of his craft, and in his sincere quest for learning it. Blood, sweat, and tears are fine. But rather than bleeding from wounds, is it not better to bleed from passion? Rather than sweating from a maniacal adherence to “hard work,” is it not better to sweat from an innocent immersion in one’s craft? Rather than tears of pain, is it not better to have tears of joy? If the individual would explore his mind and learn its propensities for desire and aversion, he would actually be victorious more often, precisely because the need to win would not sabotage his efforts. And the talent that he spent years amassing would be available to him when he needed it. The same applies to all things in life. If we enter into any situation as a blank slate, we are able to deftly handle the situation. But if we enter the situation with likes and dislikes, fears and aversions, we become rigid and tense. And thus our speech and our actions lack wisdom. If our aim remains fixed upon cultivating Atmamun, we will become observers of our feelings rather than “fixers” of them. We will be constantly vigilant of our observation and documentation of what feelings are arising within us, rather than allowing ourselves to react. Thus neither controlling the reaction nor refining it.

Some individuals will say yes. And the reason that they will say yes is because they have been taught by society to be masochistic. That one must endure pain. That one must be “mentally tough.” That the road to victory is paved with blood, sweat, and tears.

I would argue that victory is something one experiences everyday, if he immerses himself in the joy of his craft, and in his sincere quest for learning it.

But if we enter the situation with likes and dislikes, fears and aversions, we become rigid and tense. And thus our speech and our actions lack wisdom. If our aim remains fixed upon cultivating Atmamun, we will become observers of our feelings rather than “fixers” of them. We will be constantly vigilant of our observation and documentation of what feelings are arising within us, rather than allowing ourselves to react. Thus neither controlling the reaction nor refining it.

It has often been the case throughout history that those who became legends in their fields were often recluses, loners, and misfits. They did not feel comfortable in crowds. They lived an almost hermetic existence. It is not coincidental that such a personality often achieves brilliance. For he is not Colored by the contagious mediocrity of a peer group.

(Success from innocence or knowing — devotion before hard work)

Success arises from innocence or from a sort of knowing. It arises from innocence when an individual is so devoted to his craft that he gives himself to it, day and night. Not because he wishes to make himself a success. But because the craft is quite literally a part of him. He simply cannot imagine doing anything else with his life. He feels that he is born to do it. He feels that this is what he was made for. And because of this intimacy with his craft and the innocence with which he approaches it, his skill level soars. And success comes running to him. Then there are those who just know that they will be a success in their field. They can feel it. It is in their bones. They can see it. They can taste it. Not making it is simply not possible. Not because they talk themselves into it. Or because they think “positively.” They genuinely scoff at the idea of not making it. This is not artificial. They truly feel this way in their heart of hearts.

Opponents of this claim will state that it is because they didn’t work “smart.” Or that they didn’t “practice with a purpose.” I myself was given to such ideas years ago. But life and my own experiences have taught me the truth. Knowing comes first. Devotion and love come first. Hard work MAY come later. And for some people it never really comes at all.

The man who knows that he will be a success makes “hard work” work for him. To him it is a tool in his arsenal. The man who does not know Works For hard work. He Relies upon hard work as the engine and the vehicle to get him there. And this latter instance rarely works.

The one who knows just knows. The one who doesn’t know looks at “the odds.”

The one who hopes for success creates backup plans, “just in case.” The one who knows has no need for a backup plan. Because he simply cannot imagine doing anything else with his life, he simply has no choice but to succeed.

KG: To be truly great, you must understand that the human body does not respond very well to goals or hopes or expectations. It responds to Perceptions. And the more clear cut your perceptions, the more consistent your results will be. Therefore, your entire training plan must be centered upon a foundation of perception rather than technique. Technique training is like a bullock cart. Perception training is like a Ferrari.

Rather than finding the thing that you can imagine yourself becoming, find the thing that you simply cannot imagine yourself Not Becoming.

If you are truly sincere about achieving Freedom and Bliss, you will look directly at that which is preventing you from realizing them.

(Transcending the mind — understanding over technique, no-mind over meditation)

And the trick is so fantastic, so brilliant, so ingenious, that it enslaves a man whilst giving him the impression that he is free. Our addictions and our vices are an example of our enslavement to the mind. It is the mind that is addicted to things. And rather than challenge the addiction and refuse to do the mind’s bidding, we ascribe the addiction to ourselves! We internalize it as a part of our “personality.” You have never been addicted to anything in your life. You have never had a single preference. You have never had any ideal. You have never had a single prejudice. You have never in your life had a single opinion. About anything!

The ultimate teaching for any child would be to understand that fundamentally he is life itself. To teach him that his thoughts do not belong to him. The things that he becomes attracted to are not his attractions. The things that he craves are not his cravings. And that this is the only way to Freedom.

And when you reach this point you will discover who you are. When your thoughts feel like imposters. And your ideas seem like noise. And your preferences fail to move you. And your pride is easily dropped. You will experience the state of No-Mind.

Very well. Here is the truth: The Mind Cannot Be Calmed Or Tamed. It Can Only Be Transcended! And it is transcended Not through activities. It is transcended through Understanding.

The Path To Atmamun Once you get a taste of No-Mind, your personality will begin to deconstruct. The baggage that you have been carrying for decades will drop away. And you will be see the world anew. You will soon be immersed in the Mind of the Spirit (Atmamun). You will live in Clarity. There will no longer be a veil or a filter between yourself and that which you see. You will think when thoughts are needed. And you will use the mind when you need to use it for your own purposes. You will Experience Life. You will be Free. You will be invested in Atmamun.

If you are serious about truly accomplishing something in this domain, understand this: Meditation Will Get You Nowhere. Meditativeness Will Give You The Keys To Your Inner Kingdom. The unserious man puts in his obligatory twenty minutes of meditation in order to fulfill his daily quota. But the one who is truly serious transforms every single thing that he does into a meditation. In short, he becomes Meditative.

The greatest thing that you can give to the world is peace in your very own life. If you wish to play games, by all means play them. But at least be honest enough to admit this to yourself. Admit to yourself that it is simply too painful to work through the conflicts and the disappointments that pepper your daily existence. Admit to yourself that you don’t have the appetite for the arduous work of attaining inner peace. Then you will be free to pick up your picket signs in protest of this and that. Man loves nothing more than to avoid the immediate. He loves nothing more than to abandon the practical in exchange for the romantic. He continually flows toward the path of least resistance. And it is for this reason that he achieves nothing worthwhile in his life.