“Making Your Wisdom Come Alive,” is coming along well
as I get it ready to become a real book. Yesterday I took it to an editor for proofreading. In the printed edition there is
much new material based on the questions that you asked. As a book the answers
are more refined and clearer than what I can write for this blog.
Also the chapters are in a step by step order, so you
can get a clear view on how this wisdom progresses from limitation to ultimate
freedom. I also rewrote many of the old chapters in the book to make it even
clearer.
But I am still glad to take time off from the book
cover to answer your questions. One of the most powerful benefits of this
wisdom is that it points to the place where you are free of old age, disease,
and death. Bernard has several comments and questions, based on his experience
in the medical field that will make this clear.
Hallo Michael,
While I understand that all my suffering is the result of thought stimulating emotions and my identification with the thought I am still puzzled at why some physical illness does not just shift, and go away as I move deeper and have greater understanding of the spiritual process .The truth is that while most people think I am at least 10 years younger than I am I know that my body does age and that there are signs of physical breakdown .In addition a skin condition which has been with me since 12 years old has only got worse. Despite 40 years experience in medicine I feel less sure that I know why some people get better and others don’t, and why many get better with my natural treatment despite the fact that they have not made any major spiritual turnaround.
The world of illusion may not be real but it sure can tear us apart and when there is a great deal of pain and suffering it can really dull consciousness and makes awareness very difficult.
Best of light,
Bernard
Hi Bernard,
Thank you for your great questions. I agree that we
should take care of these bodies and treat them like a temple. Especially when
you have the opportunity to wake up by discovering that which lights up the
whole universe. Your desire to live a long life, free from disease and
suffering comes right from your self-nature.
But that being said, the very fate of these bodies is
to be born, live, and in the end to die. Moreover, I’ve never seen a body that
lives forever. Some bodies live longer than others, but on the last day, life
seems too short. And if you are sensitive at all, you can see and feel your
body as it decays and moves towards death.
On the other hand, despite all of this observation
and reasoning, do you still find a place inside of you, where it feels like you
are not decaying, and you are not going to die – where you look in the mirror and
are surprised to see the body getting old, because you don’t feel like you are
getting old?
Where do you stand so that you can see the body
changing and growing old? Starting with what you experience right now, meditate
and find out how you are free of the changes in the body. As awareness you see
these changes. Standing as the seer, you will find your freedom from the
condition of this body. After all you are the stillness the sees change. These
changes occur to the body, not to you.
In the past, I have seen spiritual aspirants who
equate their progress with the health of the body. They feel that if the body
gets sick, it says something about them. But as you observed, the condition of
the body in no way correlates with how spiritual a person is. Bodies have their
inherent weaknesses. Some of them heal better than others. If you are sick, I
advocate making an effort to get well. If there is a connection between the
mind and body, your desire to get well will help line it up.
But you should know for sure that the condition of
the body is not a reflection on you in any way. Otherwise when Ramana Marhashi
got cancer he would have lost his enlightenment. After all he was in pain and
said ouch! Yet Ramana was still free. How could this be?
This is a perfect indicator of how we should
meditate. If there was a state of freedom that is so free, that it remains at
peace even in illness, pain, and death, how would you have to meditate in order
to discover that state?
For instance if you always meditate with a straight
back, and then get so sick that you can’t sit up straight, what would you do? Or
if you practice watching your breath, and you were in so much pain that you could
barely breath, what could you do? Or if you are used to concentrating your mind,
mistaking your thoughts for the witness, and the pain gets so intense that all
you can focus on is pain, then what could you do? In each of these cases if would
feel like the peace that you spent so long cultivating, was ripped out from under you.
Faced with old age, disease, and death, our only hope is to discover that which is free from change. We cannot think about
this state. We have to be limitless awareness, the same awareness that knows if
your mind is dulled by pain or if it is bright. Nothing else will hold up in
these circumstances.
We have to pull our identity out of the objects that
we see, and return to the source of peace. This is our real identity anyway. Abiding
here we will not be disturbed, even as the mind looks intensely for a remedy
for the pain in the body. In good circumstances and in bad circumstances, our
freedom will remain the same. This is the great state of enlightenment. It
turns out to be just who you are. Not one drop more or one drop less.
If you have more questions about this please feel free to ask. I will gladly take time off from the book to answer them. That’s because when you start to get curious, you are getting very close to your freedom. If you run into apparent obstacles know that they are just apparent, and not real. A little questioning and they will fall apart. Then you will stand as unchanging Wisdom and Bliss and nothing else. The waves of pain will be going through space and not through you.
And if you need help, ask here and we can explore and find answers together. If the comment section of this blog doesn't work, please send your questions and comments to michael@ananya.com. To find out where this all leads go to, www.light-up-your-life.com. And finally, if you enjoy these blogs please tell your friends.
Best Wishes,
Michael

















