Wednesday, February 25, 2009

Meditation


Meditation is a matter of life or death. It is the difference between happiness and unhappiness, neuroses and clear thinking, health and disease, being and sleepwalking through life. At least it is for me.

When we meditate, we realize that our thoughts are primarily a mixtore of repressed fears, irrelevant, mundane and unnecessary thoughts, and nonsensical gibberish. This realization helps us to stop identifying with our thoughts.

If we do not have the time to meditate, we do not have the time to live.

Let's sit down and let go of our thoughts and our stale beliefs, and surrender.

Friday, February 20, 2009

Who We Really Are

Waihihi Bay, Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

Who we think we are

We believe that we are our physical bodies plus our beliefs about who we are that we have constructed through our lifetimes. These beliefs consist of our gender, our birthplace, where we were raised, the schools that we went to, the religious beliefs of our families and those around us, our socio-economic status, and so on. This complex system of beliefs is constantly reinforced by what we experience because what we experience is filtered by our belief systems.

Who we really are

Pay attention. This is important. Who we really are is pure awareness. What is pure awareness? It is our attention without the belief system of who we think we are. What is our "attention"? If someone who is behind us calls our name, our attention immediately goes to the sound. If someone touches our arm, our attention goes to the touch. That "attention" without any judgments or beliefs is what we are. If we think that the person who called our name is a jerk or someone we admire, or we think that the touch is hard or wonder why this person is touching us, the pure awareness is altered by our thoughts, our judgments or our labels. We are not our thoughts and beliefs. We are pure presence.

Let's be who we really are.

Thursday, February 12, 2009

Courage

Bridge near Glenorchy, New Zealand

Do we have the courage to surrender?

Sometimes when we let go, painful memories arise. We would rather not face those thoughts than acknowledge them. We believe that we are safe keeping our fears locked away in our subconscious. However, by not acknowledging them, they affect our lives in subtle and obvious ways. By allowing these unacknowledged memories to enter our awareness, their power is diminished.

We also fear the unknown. We are afraid of letting go of our deepest beliefs. We are afraid that we will be nothing without the comfort of the belief structures which tie us to various social groups. The opposite is true. When we surrender our stale belief systems, we become who we truly are.

There is nothing to fear. Our fears hold power over us only if we refuse to acknowledge them. Once we look at them, without judgment, their grip on us is released.

Let's have the courage to see things as they are.

Friday, February 6, 2009

Discipline

Sunset near Russell, Bay of Islands, New Zealand

There are three things necessary to become self-realized: desire, technique and discipline. If we do not have a very strong desire to become integrated, we will never overcome the present and historic pull of our compulsive thinking. The material world is designed to keep us from realizing who we really are. Our desire must be strong, sincere and consistent.
Once we have the desire, we need to utilize the simple tools to achieve oneness. When we become aware that our attention is lost in thought, we can bring our attention back to the present. Awareness is simply our attention without judgment. Actions such as meditation, yoga, being in nature can help us remain present.

Because the pull of compulsive thinking is so strong, we need discipline to continuously utilize the tools that we have every day.
Let's be present.