Here is an important insight that Bernard reported:
Hello Michael,Hi Bernard,
Last night my wife fell asleep at the fire (it is the middle of winter right now) and I took out your book and read through the first half again. You said something about the mind and awareness that suddenly struck a real note of understanding. I know that in retrospect you have said this to me already but something in the way you wrote it this time helped me to realize a small/major error I was allowing to happen.
I have been practicing awareness for so long that I have taught the mind to be aware as it were. The mind and the ‘I’ have created a nice cosy relationship and kept me from just being. I realize now that the I and the awareness are operating from mind. What a trick of the mind!!
This has left me in a bit of a predicament. If I try too hard to be aware I sense that it shifts into the ‘mind being aware’ with an ‘I’ just another part of the mind.
So just letting go after 30 years of trying hard to be aware is suddenly not so easy. Today on my walk in the forest I realized that in letting go of awareness it did not just disappear and that awareness is just the way I am and I no longer need to try be aware. I see also that the mind goes on playing its games and this new realization allows me to just let it be. It feels like I have a beast running around trying to be noticed and I don’t need to do anything because awareness is enough and as you say is my true self.
Decision making does seem to need mind but it feels more like I am using the mind as I would a computer.
If its okay with you I would like to keep this conversation going as it is enormously helpful to have you comment on my journey. Please don’t feel obliged to be nice to me.
Warm greetings,
Bernard
This is a good insight. It means that I and Awareness are one and the same. Awareness is your real identity, your natural state. The “I” that tries to become aware is just another thought in your mind. It is not your real identity. The proof is that you are Aware of this “I” thought too.
Ramana Maharshi called this “I” thought a thief dressing up as a policeman and then struggling to catch the thief. Can you see why it never succeeds? So the practice is not to struggle to become aware. It is not even to stop the tricks that the mind plays. These tricks are just the mind’s attempt to do something that it just can’t do; to define who you are. Your knowledge of what you are is much deeper than just thoughts in your mind.
There is no need to cleanse your mind
_____________________________________________________________________________________
Give the gift
of enlightenment to yourself and to others when you get 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.
Right
now we have 8 copies on sale for $9.65 plus shipping. To get a copy
call us at Ananya Systems
(408) 353-3000.
For
more information go to: Amazon.com
___________________________________________________________________
Rather the practice is to notice that you are already Aware. When the mind attempts to play tricks you are aware of these tricks too, aren’t you? When the mind attempts to split itself up, where one side is supposed to be awareness and the other side is your thoughts, you are aware of both sides of this split.The aim of this practice is not to cleanse your mind and get rid of the bad thoughts either; rather you want to return to your natural state of Awareness, which is free of any thought that might pass through your mind. Then these “tricky” thoughts will become your friends. They will remind you of this simple truth: just because you think a thought, doesn’t make it true. A good example of this is the thought, “I can’t.” Just because you think the thought, “I can’t” doesn’t mean you can’t, right?
Awareness stands on its own
If you stop your attempts to cleanse your mind and just notice that you are Aware, you will quickly eliminate thirty years of bad habits. Then out of relief you may find your mind becoming your friend. It is a great help in organizing this essay and weighing the factors necessary to make a decision. But you drive the mind crazy when you ask it to do the impossible and define who you are.It might try, but like a computer, its garbage in and garbage out.
So you want to know Awareness by Awareness without the use of any external signs. Remember the quote from Jesus, “Why do you look for signs where there are no signs.” Yes, you might notice that the nature of the universe is different than you think too. After all, the world is not a separate thing. But this is just optional fun. The essence of realization is to abide as you are. Standing here, everyday life is a walk in a beautiful forest.
Of course we can keep this conversation going. For a sage, the greatest enjoyment in the world comes from watching someone grow and wake up to the beauty of his (or her) own being. It is here in your natural state that you find lasting peace and the cure for old age, disease, and death.
Feel
free to ask questions
Right now we are redesigning Making Your Wisdom Come Alive, a
book that provides a step by step approach so that you can find your
natural freedom. It also gives you plenty of inspiration for your
practice. Because we are doing a publicity campaign, there is a good
possibility that I will have some radio and TV interviews. So look for
them, and if you are allowed to, call in and ask questions. Remember,
inner development is for the curious and this may be your opportunity to
practice curiosity.
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.
Best Wishes for Your Practice,
Michael Gluckman
