The thing about self-knowledge is that it is meant to be experiential and not just intellectual. In fact I think self-discovery is a better name for waking up to what we really are. That’s because with self-discovery your experience changes in ways that you could not have imagined. Another way of saying this is: self discovery will blow your mind.
Let’s take an example so that you can experience what I am saying right now. Let’s take a fresh look at where the world actually sits. We all know that I’m over here and the world is over there, right?
But the key to self discovery is to examine our everyday experiences with fresh eyes. If we can do this we will find that our actual experience is different and more amazing then it’s supposed to be. So with this for an introduction, let’s look at our experience of the world from several different angles:
What is the world anyway?
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive.
This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center.
Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory.
For more information go to:
Amazon.com
I am sitting here at a cafe in Carmel California looking outside at a lavender flowering bush. First I see a window frame with glass then I see the bush. Now similarly if I was in here and the world was out there, first I should see my eye sockets and then I should see the world, right? But that’s not really my experience, is it? I just see the world without the sense that the world is over there and I am here. I do not really experience any distance between me and the world. So going by my actual experience where does the world begin and the I end? I can’t really say, right?
Is the world really out there?
Ok, let’s look at the world from a different angle that will again defy the common understanding of where we are located and where the world is located. Even though I will use seeing, you can do this experiment with any sense, eyes, ears, touch, smell and taste. What happens when you see the violet flowering bush?
Your eyes act like a camera and the picture goes from your eyes to the optic nerve. From the optic nerve the picture enters your brain and from the brain it enters your mind. Then you see your mind. So when you say, “I am seeing the world,” you are really only seeing your mind, right? So every object that you think is out there is really just in your mind. Is this what the Buddha meant when he said, “There is nothing outside the Buddha Mind?” Did you know that you can experience this as part of your normal everyday experience? That means that you can become a living Buddha.
Look at your experience afresh
The real key to enlightenment is to look at your experience with fresh eyes and with wonder. The whole mystery of the universe is here, right before our eyes. The only barrier that we have for seeing things as they really are is that we assume too much about the world, ourselves and our mind. If we just start to questions some of these assumptions, we will find that even now we are in the place that we want to be. And most important, this place is much more beautiful and amazing than we could have imagined.
Even though everything will be the same, this meditation on Self-discovery will change your experience in ways that you could never have imagined; and you will never be bored.
Feel free to ask questions
Now I want you to experience your true identity in its full glory. So please
feel free to continue asking questions. I’m always glad to hear your
reactions and clarify my answers. Unlike the path of faith, on the path
of Self-Knowledge it is curiosity that destroys limitation and allows
you to abide in your natural freedom.
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 friend
Best Wishes,
Michael Gluckman
