(The self as what remains when all beliefs about self are stripped away)
That I am that which remains after I have removed all the things I believe myself to be.
(Attachment, its consequences, and the pain it generates)
The Truth is that attachment is the greatest bondage in the life of man. The problem that you are experiencing is not that you do not know how to be unattached. The problem is that you do not realize the consequences of attachment.
Attachment gives birth to hope and need. If you are attached to them, you will need them to do certain things, achieve certain things, be a certain way, and behave toward you in a certain way. When they do not, it will cause you pain. When you experience pain, you will behave toward them in a way that pain compels you to behave. And they
will behave toward you in a way that their need for freedom compels them to behave. And this will continue for the rest of your lives.
A: The need to be listened to will sabotage your efforts.
(The man who has stopped chasing: equanimity and completion)
A: He would live a life of equanimity. He would be content and complete in each moment. Though he may involve himself in lofty pursuits, his contentedness and completeness would go with him. He would have abandoned the ceaseless chase. And when a man no longer feels the need to chase, life begins to chase him.
A: If by “unabashedly wealthy” you mean that he lords his wealth over others, this is neither wrong or right. It is just that this lording of wealth is a reaction to an internal feeling of inadequacy.
Q: I understand perfectly. Do you think the wealthy have a responsibility to give to the poor? A: A man is responsible only to himself. Q: And what would you say to those who condemn those who don’t give to the poor? A: I wouldn’t say anything to them. Q: What I mean to ask is if they have a point. A: They have no point.
(The critique of institutional spirituality and prescribed paths)
A: Spirituality is a concoction of prescriptions and half-truths. It is a circus of orange robes, incense, and ineffective jargon such as love and mindfulness. It is a maze of silent retreats and men with pony tails and yoga pants spouting spiritual psychobabble to those who enjoy the psychobabble. It is the unserious leading the unserious in concentric circles that lead only to more circles.
A: Not if it was done by way of prescription. If a desire for the Truth is in someone’s bones, then he will not stop until he finds it. Not because he should. But because he has no choice.
That which does not happen
naturally, is neither effective or sustainable.
Q: But mindfulness originated in Buddhism, didn’t it? A: The Buddha was not mindful. He was mindless. Q: Mindless? A: Yes. He arrived at the state of No-Mind. He arrived at the state of No-Self. This is ultimate liberation. If Buddha had practiced mindfulness, there would be no Buddha.
(Meditativeness as a way of life, not a sitting practice)
A: Meditation is an independent activity. Meditativeness is to make your entire life a meditative experience.
That which one pursues as a goal never arrives. Any prescription that one pursues, he becomes imprisoned to.
(Pure desire versus the game of discipline)
A: It is far more fruitful to evaluate the desires for achievement, than it is to force discipline. If one’s desire for achievement is pure, he will be sufficiently motivated to do all that needs to be done in order to achieve. If it is not, he will play clever and ineffective games such as discipline.
(Devotion and total self-giving as the door to freedom)
So long as it provides man with the intoxication of losing himself. St. Francis of Assisi devoted his life to god. As did Meera. They lived in complete freedom. I did not say pray. I did not say worship. I did not say preach. I did not say follow. I did not say scriptures. I did not say prescriptions. But to devote the whole of oneself to god or to any other endeavor takes one away from oneself. And this is the door to freedom. The door to becoming life itself.
(Training toward a vision versus practicing habits)
A: Practice leads to meager and incremental improvement. It is essentially repetition. It becomes work. Over time, it saps one’s inspiration. It maintains more than it transforms. One must train in order to become who one seeks to be.
A: It begins with a vision. A precise determination of who one seeks to become.
A: The questions that have forever been asked relate to “doing things in order to perform better.” Performance is traditionally pursued as a goal. As a result, it is viewed from the standpoint of activities, rituals, behaviors, and do’s and don’ts. This is not where consistent, world class performance comes from. For performance cannot be viewed as a goal. One must not be interested in how to “improve” performance. One must be genuinely interested in where it lives, how it
moves, and what causes it to emerge. This allows one to become dominant in his field. It allows him to own his performance. It allows him to become a Master.
(Identity, victimhood, and the cost of self-pity)
A: That the successful identify themselves as successes. While those who struggle identify themselves as unfortunate failures. The successful view themselves as conquerors. While those who struggle view themselves as victims of circumstance.
Q: Why would an individual view himself as a victim of circumstance, rather than become a conqueror? A: The fear of having to leave behind the comfort of his identity. The fear of loss. Q: The fear of loss? He already loses. What more could he lose? A: The luxury of self-pity. The sympathies of victimhood. Such things are not easily sacrificed.
(The mind as world, and the impossibility of having both mind and moment)
A: You live inside your mind. The mind is the world. It is a place of endless torment. It is a place which requires you to put out fires that never end. It is a place of recurring bouts of conflict.
A: This must be understood. One may have the mind or he may have the moment. He cannot have both.
Q: Why? A: Because happiness cannot satisfy any human being. Q: Why not? A: Because it does not exist.
(No-self as the precondition for availability to everything)
And the turmoil that was once his life begins to completely fall away. Once he has reached this stage, he becomes the Creator of his life. By a simple wave of his hand, he controls all things. And becomes a god.
A: Because where there is no self, there is no interference. Where there is no self, there is no confusion. Where there is no self, there is no complications, upheavals, conflicts, or turmoils. There is nothing. And where there is nothing, one is available to everything.
A: All things that are not a part of your innate nature. All things that you have picked up from the world. All stains that society has tarnished you with, and called “normal.” In cleansing oneself of all such impurities, a peace and a freedom begins to dawn in a man’s life. The likes of which he has never known.
(Inspiration over habit: the light that cleans its own house)
Q: Is it a matter of changing habits? A: No. It is a matter of being inspired by a possibility. Habits will change by themselves.
A: By turning the light that shines upon the people of the world, until it shines upon yourself. Illuminating the cobwebs and the broken pieces of your humanity. A human must be willing to clean his own house, before he attempts to clean that of another. The greatest change arises from inspiration.
If one truly wishes to pursue something, then he will only be content in pursuing it to its ultimate possibility. Give time and money. And give it freely. But before giving it to another, give it to yourself. Spend lavishly, with your time and your money, on perfecting Yourself. Spend lavishly, with your time and money, on conquering Your mind. So that you may become a light to your loved ones, and the world.
(Gravitational pull as the mechanism of influence and attraction)
A: The modulation of the people and the events in our lives is done by way of gravitational pull, than by direct manipulation. In fine tuning our gravitational pull, we attract what we want in our lives, and repel what we do not. In delicately titrating this gravitational pull, we keep our children on a correct path, without controlling them. Without direct manipulation through speech or through action.
There is a human playing the role of such things. In perfecting this human, all things that arise from him, become perfect.
For humans will most readily bring their genius to the place which helps them uncover this genius. They will readily bring their loyalties to the place which values their humanity.