Catching a Glimpse of Oneness!

“ My question is this -- if Oneness is One and that means I am IT, why do I live such a limited life experiencing fear and separation?”

We are a Human Being and therefore seemingly live in the polarity of both Human and Being. It is this subject and object that have to be seen in their wholeness to get a glimpse of Oneness.
When we take a look at these polarities of Human (object) and Being (subject) we tend to identify with the object rather than the subject and it takes insight, intelligence, sensitivity and a ‘readiness’ to start seeing that the object, which seems tangible, solid and real is nothing more than ‘densified’ thought made real to our perception. In other words we live in mind.

What we call ‘soul’ is really mind and the world that appears so real and solid and material is nothing more than the One Mind making it seem so through the creation of senses.

Subject and object
We may well ask, “What came first, the subject or object?” or again we can ask, “What came first, Spirit or Thought?” and if we say, “It is Spirit that came first then thought followed…” then we are back in the same quandary of creation. When did matter start? When was the world actually created? In fact, when did it all start? Now you see, we are back in time.

Time and thought are synonymous.
When did time start? Could it be that it never started at all but was the creation of perception? How did perception start? Isn’t it mind? We can say that there is only One Mind and everything that seems to exist in time and space emerged from that One Mind, just like the great One big ocean creating waves from itself that seem to be separate, unique and different and yet all the same water. Are there really waves or just a movement emerging from the one big ocean? Do we have a mind that emerged from the One Mind or is it just a movement of this gigantic Mind that is collective and appears as individuals?
What if all this is just one big illusion that appears real? How can we find out and live from what is real? The next question is, “What is real?”

What is real?
Let’s stick to what seems to be obvious. We are here existing and we know it. This ‘knowing’ is in everyone, but who is it that knows this since everyone has that inherent capacity of awareness? Please see the difference between perception as our individual conceptual seeing and knowing from the ‘heart.’ This knowing that you exist is the ‘felt-sense’ of the Mind “I AM” that initially starts from the seeming individual framework. This ‘knowing’ that you exist is not a ho-hum subject but a “Wow! Gee Whiz” recognition. It is collective Mind recognizing its existence just like, as an example, a wave knowing it’s a wave because it is imbued with the ocean’s knowing. This Self-recognition is the wonder and mystery of existence. When we take it for granted then it is known as a state of ‘sleep’ and when we see its grandeur then we can say it is a state of ‘awakenness.’ When we look at the ‘obvious’ we have to arrive at the only conclusion – Oneness!
Oneness is limitless
One can never say, “I realize Oneness fully” simply because that very statement would erase the very one who said it. Oneness is a fact, and no matter how we look at it, or NOT look at it, we eventually awaken to the fact that it is the only ‘thing’ that answers every question and resolves every ‘problem.’
When people complain and say, “I am confused” or “I can’t seem to understand such questions as…
“Do we have free-will?”
“Do we have a choice?”
“Is there purpose to life?”
“What is the meaning behind existence?”
These are questions that every intelligent ‘person’ would ask and will not receive an ‘answer’ because such an ‘answer’ does not exist in mind except in Oneness. As long as you have the slightest belief that you are a separate person then these questions will elude you. The moment you start ‘seeing’ (knowing) that Oneness is Truth and Truth Oneness then here, probably for the first, you will see clearly what free-will, choice, purpose and meaning truly mean.

An ‘awakened’ teacher might say there is no free-ill, no purpose, no destiny and no choice since there is no ‘doer.’ That teacher would be correct. And hearing this we would feel helpless, hopeless and discouraged until we ‘see’ the truth that there has never been a wave to the ocean but the same water appearing in ripples.
There is no individual person separate from Life; there is only Life appearing as human. Therefore, look at the other side of the coin and for just a moment, for just one moment, see how grand you actually are. There are no waves to the ocean but ripples of its expression. There are no separate people in life but humans appearing as expressions of this One Life. Now stop and see that you are LIFE itself and therefore everyone you see is also. Your very awareness by which you experience life is the same, the very same, awareness that everyone else is. The seeming difference lies in perception, which is individually conditioned. And, please do not confuse perception with awareness. Awareness is the knowing of presence whereas perception is individual separate and conditioned seeing. As we recognize that we are pure awareness (Presence) then that very recognition ‘purifies’ or refines our limited perception so that we see a little clearer. And, there is no limit to our clarity. This clarity is known as unconditional love. The more we recognize Oneness, the more love awakens until like Jesus we become pure love.

Cause and Effect
We do not deny our individuality but simply ‘see’ it as our limited perception of what-is. In fact, it is through this acceptance of how things appear to be that we start ‘seeing’ how they truly are.
We start this ‘seeing’ by getting to know the experiencer. That is, who is it that experiences this world but the experiencer of it? If we have the courage we can move even deeper and ask, “How real is it what we perceive and experience?” It takes courage to ask that question sincerely because the very ‘asking’ is challenging to the ego conditioned perception. The ego (the seeming-separate individual) faces his/her conditioned state and is often frightening if not horrifying. The average ‘person’ deals with such confrontation by escaping, ignoring or simply (if intellectual) by finding logical excuses not to do it.

Assuming that you are sincere in your quest for what is real (which is Oneness) then you are faced with this question – who is this experiencer called Burt, Susanne, Karen? None will come to mind and understandably so. However, our honest inquiry will lead us to the obvious statement – we came from a cause. This cause couldn’t have a beginning because if it did then there would be another cause to have caused it. Now we come to the deeper conclusion “This primal cause had to be Causeless (beginningless and, of course, endless).” This automatically brings us to the question of time since the Causeless Cause (from which we came) has no beginning and therefore timeless. So, we have to see here that our natural state is timeless and causeless. Isn’t this enough to blow your perceptual mind away?

This Causeless Cause is the Source. And, since it is the Source of all then it is Oneness. Everything is interdependent, interconnected and interrelated to this One Source. Isn’t it logical to call this Source Oneness or that which is Real? Therefore this Cause produced an Effect, in other words, Spirit became visible as matter. Is matter Spirit then? What would you say? After all, all matter emerged from pure energy, and since all emerged from the same One Source then everything must be the Source in its natural state! Cause and effect are one!

Here’s the big question then – when we look at a form, what is making this effect seem real when it is the result of pure mind energy? Cause (Spirit) and Effect (mind) are One Source or Oneness.
When Einstein came out with the theory of relativity he pointed out how everything is relative to Light (Source). For example, when you walk in the sun your body casts a shadow, and so in this case the body is the source of the shadow? The shadow appears real even though one dimensional because cause and effect are one.
Now if we have seen how cause and effect are one then we also see that the world we see is the result of thought (perception). Just like when you dream at night and it seems real and vivid, yet when you wake up you see it was all a creation of mind. How real is this world you see about you? Isn’t it a creation of mind since in this case your mind created it?

If you have some insights about this then we can move on a little deeper how everything is One and that’s Oneness.

The frustration of human life
The human seeks meaning in life, why? The human seeks purpose and strives towards it. The human believes it has free-will, choice, control. This belief is inborn in the human, why? Look a little deeper into Oneness and you will begin to have insights. Just keep open as you read.
When we seek through the world, which is a creation of mind, we expect to attain our goals and find meaning but unfortunately even after a full lifetime one ends up believing the worst and hardness of heart, cynicism and sadness become one’s lot. It is not whether there is purpose, meaning or free-will but what are they? Why are we all the same? As we mature spiritually and explore as we are doing here we will find that the answer lies in Oneness. The human chases the Being unknowingly thinking it is chasing after some tangible goal in the world of illusion until it finally wakes up and finds it is a dog chasing its own tail. It is Oneness we are missing.

We believe we have many choices and, one after the other we find it is not what we wanted. One day we wake up and discover we never had any choice, and it is then that we discover our true choice – Oneness itself. We pursue goals with the hope of finding some meaning to our life ending up in disillusionment and unhappiness after years of struggle and seeking. Finally, hopefully we wake up and discover that the real meaning we were after was Oneness itself propelling us towards itself.

Polarities are one
Polarities meet in Oneness when you begin to see that everything you made real in this world was nothing. However, the moment you realize that everything is nothing then that nothing becomes everything to you.
We begin to experience oneness when we emphasize the nothingness; the emptiness of everything and see Spirit as the Source. It is in Silence and a tranquil mind that everything is revealed. When we cling to objects or effects rather than Source spirit then we lose everything and end up negatively empty, tired, old and deprived of life. When we go after the Source spirit as the truth of Being then we find we have everything.
The human ego wants everything and will end up empty, frustrated and futile. When, on the other hand, we realize we have no choice then we discover the one true choice which is Oneness and then have everything. Oneness is everything, does everything and appears as everything and yet it is but pure Spirit.

We have a choice between ego mind or spirit. If we choose ego-mind as most people unconsciously do then we live in fear and guilt that will haunt our dreams in both day and night. We’ll feel overwhelmed, confused, frustrated, unhappy and lost. When we choose nothingness (spirit) then we have everything we truly wanted above everything else…we had found ourselves.

The greatest ‘practice’
What is the greatest ‘practice’ for experiencing Oneness? There is only one direct way and it has been called LISTENING to what-is or FORGIVENESS. They are both the same ‘practice.
Please watch the video clip titled “The Great Secret” – here’s the link…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LhuNDbP92dQ

How do we listen? There are two voices inside us. The first voice is of the ego and all reactions, impulses and first words often come from ego. This is the conditioned perception that has seemingly molded our life into thoughts and emotional feelings. We really believe this is who we are. When I receive questioners about emotional suffering there is one thing everyone has in common in asking it – they thoroughly believe that what they are emotionally feeling is real. Statements like…
“Of course my depression is real!”
“How can you say that my emotional drama is not real?”
We do not realize that everything we feel emotionally is what we have bought-into through thought. It was this realization that created the founding of cognitive therapy – “People do not feel negative because they are depressed – they are depressed because they believe their negative perceptions.”
Ego acts like a robot based on its past and its beliefs according to how it feels about the world and itself. This voice believes in ‘wrong’ and often says to itself, “I don’t feel good enough” “I feel I am missing something” “I feel as if I have done something wrong without knowing what” “I feel a sadness without knowing its cause”
This egoic voice often takes over before we have a chance to see what we are telling ourselves. This is the voice of EFFECT. This is the voice of conditioning and brings about fears, anxieties and emotional suffering. And, it is all unreal and unconsciously created.

Then we have a second voice, which is the voice of the Holy Spirit. This is the true voice of Source and it speaks of love, happiness, win/win and balance. It understands your illusory pain and if you listen to it, it will help you to find strength.

We hear this second voice when we first allow our first voice to release itself and see it as simply conditioned automatic response and that we are in truth innocent.

This voice has no words but Silence, warmth, love, joy and harmony. It teaches us through pure feeling and not words. This is the voice of forgiveness.

Here’s how to start listening…
Take time daily to be still and just look at a tree as if for the first time and then listen to it. Sit on a bench or rock watching the sunset and just look and listen. Watch and listen to the break of dawn. In silence listen to a flower, to the moon at night, to the stars, to the bird singing and the rain falling and to the wind…just listen to what words cannot convey but the heart can feel. Then you will begin to feel a connection with all that is YOU…Oneness!! Recognition of Oneness does not happen through words but beyond them. It is in Silence and stillness of mind that our center starts resonating and recognizing its origin.

Why do we seek Truth if it is true and already the case?

“Why do we seek Truth if it is true and therefore already the case?”
That’s the whole point. We keep seeking because we feel inadequate, insecure and incomplete. However, it is through understanding our seeking that we awaken our true nature which is complete, adequate and fulfills our every desire and meaning.

Let’s explore how and why we seek, and then, rising above seeking we see its futility and we find what we have always wanted.
Whether we realize it or not, we are always seeking love since love in its ultimate sense is the Oneness of all life.

The ways we seek love are the ways that guilt is built and have no idea, ordinarily, of this incessant seeking. We seek love through the need for approval; the need to be loved and appreciated; the need to be recognized as important; the need to be powerful; the constant need for attention (and this starts early in childhood); the craving for self-identity; the need to be better; the strategies and manipulations we use to gain advantage financially and socially; the hunger for knowing we are okay, feeling-good, have self-worth and so on – all these are the driving force of the human being towards his true Home called Oneness.

The unconscious drive to seek
The way we seek differ according to the type of sensitivity we have unfolded, for example, a physical-oriented person would seek sexual expression and/or physical contact. A mental-oriented person would seek communication, knowledge, information, being smart. An emotional-oriented person would seek security, warmth, love-relationship. A spiritually-oriented person would seek deeper meaning of love such as oneness, God, True Love and so on.

The paradox of seeking, which is the whole drive of the human being, is often unconscious. This drive is the very essence of being knocking at the door of its true goal – inner fulfillment or Home. While the human being cannot help this seeking, yet, it is this very seeking that creates all our dysfunctions due to the build-up of guilt inherent in the seeking itself. For example, one can’t help seeking love in any of its various ways simply because his/her nature is love knocking fo recognition. However, since the seeker is 95% unconscious to its acts, behavior, moods, emotions and thoughts there is the buildup in the subconscious mind that believes one is lacking love. The subconscious doesn’t know the difference between the real and unreal and produces (materializes) whatever we believe to be true. This means that we are telling our subconscious mind, “I need love because I lack it.” This is, of course, a lie, a great deception since it is our true nature of love (oneness) that seeks itself to bond with itself. Again, due to unawareness of this great truth, we feel we need love because we lack it. This lack-feeling creates a nagging hole in us that keeps saying, “I am not-good-enough” “I am missing something” “I feel incomplete but don’t know how” and so on. This is the guilt that emerges from seeking what we already are in our true nature.

What creates the problem?
What creates this problem? The ‘problem’ of guilt is created because we seek in the world what we already are inside us. Every act, thought, emotion and belief towards this need to fulfill a lack exacerbates our guilt – the feeling of being incomplete and not-good-enough. And, this is why every worthwhile teacher encourages us to look within for the ‘answers’ that can never be found in the world ‘out there.’ Also another reason why we can’t find the answers in the world is because the world is the creation of the mind. What we see in the world is what we have created in our own world.

Look at the world that seems so real and solid and you will see guilt in action – corrupt officials and governments; crime, violence, wars, dictatorships, and man’s inhumanity to man. When we look for answers ‘out there’ we end up frustrated, confused, bewildered, frightened and hopeless. We seek hope and meaning ‘out there’ where none can possibly exist.

Turning inward
When we start to awaken to our own seeking and its futility to bring us what we truly crave, it is then we start turning inward toward ‘answers.’ But then, we look for answers within the same way we did when we sought in the world. This is, of course, an inevitable process of conditioning. We believe that answers come in words and sentences. Our greatest ‘answer’ is One and it is known as the Silence of pure awareness. It is through this pure awareness that we find the meaning we had long overlooked for it is the Oneness itself.

We can’t stop seeking anymore than we can stop breathing, however, our awareness of our futile seeking is itself a pull inward towards the Truth of our Being. Our seeking doesn’t stop altogether but reaches deeper and finer forms of expression until it becomes directed towards the One Love – our true Beloved, which is the Spirit Being. It is all we ver wanted and needed but didn’t know it.

You are a human being
You are a human being. The human is a seeker for the Being. Since you are already a Being, the human part of you is seeking itself without your surface self (human) knowing it. This unawareness or surface self is called ‘ego.’ Ego may seek knowledge, practice and study but it can’t see beyond itself to what is Real. In other words…

The human is the seeker in us but it eludes the human how all it is really seeking is the very Being that is itself appearing as human.

This unawareness of how we seek the Being (which is love) creates the emotional suffering known as unconscious guilt. There are nine ways how we seek the Being known as love or Oneness (one and the same thing). We will discuss these in a moment, but first let’s explore the most essential knowing, which is this –

We do not seek or learn spirituality since it is already who we are – we unlearn the unconscious guilt built through the seeking ‘out there.’ It is through the healing of guilt that we find the Truth.

There’s nothing to do but SEE!
When Gurus and Teachers tell their students to study or practice or do many various things to attain true spirituality, they are merely giving the student something ‘to do’ because it is the ego that believes in ‘doing’ rather than ‘being.’ When a student is ‘ready’ (and any teacher knows and sees that in a student) then there is no longer ‘doing’ but inquiry into the nature of why we have to do anything to unfold that which we already are. It is this inquiry that awakens the inner LOVE we already are and leads to the recognition of Oneness.
The best Inquiry I have ever seen was advocated by Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi, by Byron Katie and by the Course Workbook lessons. They ‘force’ you to look at what is obvious here and now and thus wake up from the guilt through knowing one’s true nature as innocence.

What is the unconscious belief that compels guilt?
What you are about to discover is so unconscious that you might have never even considered it, and it is this – it is the belief in wrong! It is so subtle and devious that the guilt in us forces us to pretend and deceive ourselves into believing there is no wrong so that we can indulge in it. Here’s one example, a woman asked me, “Sometimes I feel sad and I want to cry, there’s nothing wrong in that, right?”
My reply was, “Of course not, there’s nothing wrong in anything. However, the fact that you are sad and want to cry, although in itself is not wrong, yet it is a clear indication that you believe in wrong”. In other words, The need to cry is itself coming from the belief that something is wrong.

The belief that something is wrong or could be wrong is the lurking unconscious guilt that is always ready to deceive us and trick us. Another instance is the great power of forgiveness, which is the most effective way to rise above guilt, and then guilt uses forgiveness to keep itself feeling guilty – How? By going through the motion of forgiveness so that one can indulge in self-concern, self-pity or sadness and crying spells.
In hearing about this belief in wrong a woman asked during a session, “Now whenever I feel sad or want to cry I will feel even more guilty because I feel I shouldn’t!”
Another devious deception of guilt is this continual need to keep feeling wrong – there are no ‘shoulds’ in reality. There is only what you are feeling in the moment and then to look at it without going unconscious into its story or conditioned response. Guilt will try to force us to feel guilty for feeling our feelings. There is no wrong in anything! To repeat, there is no wrong in anything but the belief in it. Therefore, if the feeling to cry arises, do not stop it or think anything about it but simply take a deep breath and LOOK at it. See what is propelling it into its existence.

The story of the Garden of Eden is a tremendous good story about guilt when both Adam and Eve were naked (innocent) and the snake (guilt) compelled them to eat from the fruit of good and evil and thus they were thrown into suffering. It is a story how the ‘devil’ is guilt and engorges us with its influence to the point of believing we are it.

Meaning of forgiveness
The true meaning of forgiveness is this – seeing clearly that there’s nothing to forgive since the nature of life is innocence. It is the subtle unconscious belief in wrong that sustains our egoic preoccupation.
Guilt is the unconscious belief in wrong. This is a hard one for the human to fully comprehend because when it looks at the world and sees what is going on, it convinces itself in wrong, and this conviction happens because of the unconscious guilt itself. So you see here how devious and cunning unconscious guilt is! The world is as it is because of guilt.
If we looked with innocence and clarity we would see that the world is a mess because it is motivated, directed and propelled by guilt.
The greatest healing is learning the true art of forgiveness, which is the undaunted drive for the truth. Truth is innocence; it is the ‘now’ without a past or future just like the sweet child who sees only goodness. In Reality goodness, love, joy and happiness are the truth itself. This sounds like polyanna to the human ego but to the Being in you it is Heaven itself. Forgiveness is the only sanity because it sees only the true spiritual essence behind the appearance of evil. The word ‘evil’ is the reverse of ‘live’ and there is no life as long as there is the belief in wrong.

Byron Katie, one of the purest spiritual teachers in our world wrote, “Happiness is the natural state for someone who knows that there’s nothing to know and that we already have everything we need, right here and now.”

Another subtle deception of the spiritual seeker is the belief that they think they know Truth, as if Truth was ‘something.’ Truth is Spirit-essence; it is not information from a book but an inner peace that our true essence is Oneness. Truth is emptiness, Silence, peace, love, happiness. In an nutshell it is innocence.

The question arises, “Okay, I have read this before but what can I do if Oneness is the Truth—there is no individual doer?”
That’s it! There’s nothing to do but to allow yourself to see that you are guiltless and innocent despite the sadness and emotional turmoil that still takes over. There’s nothing to do but see the momentary deception as it happens, to look at it with innocence and say, “It is forgiven because it is not the truth of who I AM!”
This continual vigil arises from your sincerity and honesty and with repeated affirmations of forgiveness when guilt is experienced, it will eventually become such a part of you that grace will bring you the awakening of your Being.

The nine ways we seek
The following are the nine ways in which unconscious guilt builds. Do not under-estimate guilt. When someone commits suicide it is always the overwhelming guilt that finally commits that act. It leads to insanity, dysfunction and criminal behavior when guilt reaches its summit. It is important to note here that your true nature is guiltless. Guilt builds by believing that there is something wrong with you. It projects this guilt outwardly into the world and blames ‘others’ for this deep feeling of unworthiness. The love sought becomes self-hate and reaches for its own self-sabotage. We awaken when we see this grand delusion of humankind. This is the only human suffering.

The nine ways we seek love and bring guilt:

1. We seek to be good and right in what we do. This need to be right becomes more important than happiness itself. It leads to perfectionism and the feeling that we are never satisfied. The Course asks us, “Would you rather be right or happy.”

2. We seek love from others by loving them hoping to get approval and confirmation of our sweet nature. It never works and this need for approval becomes an overwhelming need for self-identity that haunts us incessantly.

3. We seek to achieve, accomplish and success becomes important to us. We have believed as children that getting straight ‘A’ in school guaranteed love of our parents and teachers. This brings shallow values and attachment to body and image.

4. We seek emotional affection and attention for our authentic nature. We want to be real and believe we are special. This brings bitchy behavior for not being understood.

5. We seek knowledge through information and we are proud of our basic intelligence. We also seek privacy and aloneness but suffer identity problems such as inferiority or inadequacy.

6. We seek security and are very loyal. We make everything either black or white, right or wrong and do not see the in-between. We usually develop paranoia. Many policemen, firemen, government officials belong to this level.

7. We seek optimism and have future hope and dream a lot. These people are often shallow dreamers and can often resort to drink or indulgence.

8. We seek power and control. These people are often aggressive and extrovert. They can be in your face and they seek control over others.

9. We seek peace and harmony. This seeking brings fear of conflict and thus often escape facing the truth if it entails facing anger in others and oneself.

All humanity belongs to one of the above ‘seeking-modes’. This seeking becomes our natural way of being in the world to the point of believing it is the way to be.
When we start challenging our needs and desires without any attempt to control them or even overcome them (which is NOT necessary) then they start to fall away by themselves through the light of ‘seeing.’
To discover what has been troubling you is a great step. To discover that it is all an illusion is an even greater step, but to start seeing how beautiful and innocent you really are despite the thoughts and emotions, then you have taken a giant leap towards your true nature.

“Happiness is the natural state for someone who knows that there’s nothing to know and that we already have everything we need, right here and now.” ~~ Byron Katie ~~

Note: If you have questions or need guidance then email me for a face-to-face Skype interview and to arrange the time and fee required.
With love, Burt

The Three phases of Spiritual Seekers

This article is dedicated to the sincere spiritual seeker who have not yet awakened to peace and inner-knowing enough to live the truth of their Being. In other words, if you still feel that you are confused, uncertain, frustrated or still get caught in your egoic world then you are in phase one.

Phase one is not only common but most seekers do not know anything else despite the fact that they think they know. Paradoxically, it is this belief in thinking one knows that blocks further inner experience.
Phase one usually lasts several years to a whole lifetime simply because he/she is intellectually driven (trying to figure out; make sense of what you read or hear; looking for answers where none exist.
Spiritual answers only exist in Silence, in utter emptiness and deep listening.

There are three phases:

1. The information gathering phase (which often lasts).
2. Application.
3. Direct experience of Source.

1. Information gathering: Actually many of these seekers in phase one already know all the words; have been or still are with many teachers; they have traveled the road to different teachings, teachers, ashrams and applied methods and techniques. The worst part of this phase is the belief that one knows truth and, it is this very belief that keeps phase one unchanged for many years.
I keep getting email questions of this nature, “I know the truth but I still don’t feel at peace.” The belief that information can change your life is so strong and unyielding that even intelligence is not enough to make you aware of it. Here’s a fact – there’s nothing to know about truth – Truth is Being!! If you are NOT living the truth in daily life then you do not know truth.

A true teacher does not talk about Truth simply because there is nothing to say, there’s only to teach what blocks you from truth and, that’s the belief that there’s someone separate who knows. It is only in inner Silence that we can live in innocence (Truth).

This phase is a difficult one because there is a lust for knowledge but at the same time one can’t settle for any teaching enough to commit oneself to it fully. There is restlessness, uncertainty, often depression, frustration and confusion. Words in reading are taken literarily and when teachers make contradictory statements or simply seem to conflict from teacher to teacher they end up confused and even bewildered. In other words there is no happiness nor peace yet and the ego is strong in wanting, needing, craving and searching.
Another paradox is that even though they find genuine teachings, there is no listening yet…just more information.
These three phases are really phases of learning to listen…not to words but to their heart-meaning. If they are honest with themselves they will at least realize (which is a big step) that their theology, metaphysics and including Advaita teachings has not given them peace or true lasting joy in life.

A beautiful statement from ‘A Course in Miracles” states “You are at Home in God, dreaming of exile but perfectly capable of awakening to reality.”
This statement, if truly listened to, can break the first phase but chances are it won’t because the gathered information says, “There is no doer.” And so after reading it there is the intellectual thought of believing that one has no choice. The truth is that there is no individual separate person but there is the interpretation which takes place all the time. When one suffers, it is simply because one is following his/her own conditioned interpretation of what seems to be happening. In a way it is an unconscious choice to suffer. This is the delusion of the separate phase one. They can’t seem to apply the heart of listening which is often confused with making sense or figuring out.

Breaking free from phase one
Breaking free from phase one is simpler than imagined simply because there is no doing but the choice of interpretation. Phase one people love to debate even argue as if truth consists of words. Truth is love, period. You can’t make sense of truth because it is whole, complete and timeless. It can’t be understood by the linear brain because it is an experience of the heart. In other words, truth is Oneness.
You start to break free from phase one by the following reminders…
1. There are no answers to life; there is only love and forgiveness.
2. There is nothing to figure out; to understand; there is only the Silence of the heart at any given moment.
3. Choose one teaching that resonates with you and makes you feel good until you are convinced this is the road for you. Then commit yourself to it.
4. Whenever you feel confused, uncertain, frustrated or anxious just stop for a moment, take a deep breath and forgive it. Forgiveness is a term often misunderstood but for now it suffices to use it as you know it.
5. Remind yourself that whenever you are unclear or confused then you are using your intellect which can only complicate things. If ever you are not happy with anything then you are not in your heart, simply forgive it. It takes courage to let go but moving to phase two requires breaking free from the addiction of seeking.

2. Application: This is the most important phase because it will make phase three almost direct and effortless. This means that you take everything you have learned intellectually in phase one and apply it. Application means LISTENING to it even if you have to repeat it often until you actually hear it. This is a form of subconscious deprogramming from the past conditioned hypnotic beliefs in limitation. You had taken words like Love, Joy, Oneness, Silence, glory, beauty, Heaven, meaning, Peace as separate words and gave them your meaning. Now look at them again and with closed eyes LISTEN to their ‘feeling’ in your heart. When you discover that all of them mean the same thing then you will start opening to oneness. All is One. There is no individual doer but there is interpretation. There are two interpretations in life. One is from ego conditioned belief systems and the other is the Oneness interpretation which the Course calls the Holy Spirit’s interpretation.
Ego judges, intellectualizes, fears, suspicious, holds on to beliefs, prone to reaction and negativity and pain. We interpret through the ego every time we are faced with something we don’t like. The Holy Spirit interprets anything we don’t like as something that-simply-IS! The Holy Spirit does not judge, does not condemn or blame nor tries to negate anything. It is ready to love, forgive and be at peace with whatever is. We can ‘choose’ either the ego or the Holy Spirit in any situation – we have that option. When we indulge in judgment or pain then we have gone back to phase one conditioning.
When we make use of phase two here then we are ready for the direct experience of Oneness.

3. Feeling one with Source: All debates and arguments and harsh judgments and self-abuse and self-sabotage including anxiety are now a form of history. You have opened your heart to the moment to the point of LISTENING direct to the Holy Spirit. The Holy Spirit is the eternal “I AM” of you and is One with all. It is who you are.
You enter this phase by asking “who am I?” and realize happily that you have no idea who you are simply because the mind can never know what is beyond itself. This becomes your ‘answer’ as being the vast space, a clearing, a borderless being, pure awareness which is unconditional love. This is also experienced directly in daily life as Presence. It is at this point that you feel complete, at peace and unafraid of life or death.

NOTE: If you have inner conflicts and want to move beyond them then email Burt for a possible face-to-face Skype session. You can agree on a payment before the session.

How do I apply inquiry in daily life?

Someone wrote:
“You have written a booklet that touched me deeply entitled, ‘The Way of Clarity’ which is about Inquiry. I have been applying it but have met with snags. Would it be possible to write a booklet as part two giving practical examples of inquiry to daily disturbing questions? Thank you for your writings.”


It was a wonderful suggestion and what I have done was to pick the theme of the day’s email questions that people all over the world have sent me that day and briefly INQUIRE into each theme.

Here are a list of themes received today:

“I don’t like the way I am.”
“I can’t figure it out and I’m confused”
“I keep falling back into negative thinking”
“I suffer from anxiety-attacks”
“I guess I don’t love myself enough”
“I don’t believe in anything anymore.”
“I’m so skeptical that nothing can convince me.”
“I’m emotional and changeable”
“What can I do to overcome my fear”
“How can I change myself”
“You talk about forgiveness, but how do you forgive someone who betrayed you?”


What do all these questions have in common? Isn’t it the need to control, resist, overcome or an attempt to improve? Have these ever worked?
What makes us balk under these ‘living-questions’ and what is it that we are after? We feel a lack propelled by unconscious guilt. And, here is a fact that many people refuse to look at – everyone who has not realized their true nature of Being suffers unconscious guilt. When we get fed up easily, feel bored, lonely, restless and afraid it is the unconscious guilt behind it. Here is a shocking fact – unconscious guilt that feels like inner emptiness or the feeling of ‘not-being-good-enough’ wants us to fail at life. This unconscious guilt has been labeled ego or the ‘devil’ in us, but behind it all it is an aching drive for our true Home -- Our Being or Spiritual essence.

Inquiry is the fastest way to our true-Being-nature because it is the simplest way to forgive our unconscious guilt. Forgiveness is not something we do but something we see clearly – seeing our innocence. We do not forgive ourselves or another but simply fore-give (give forth) our narrow view for the greater expanded innocent view.

Depression, apathy, indifference, lack of drive and ho-hum thinking are the symptoms of unconscious guilt. Unconscious guilt looks at the question “Who am I?” with the attitude of “well, what’s the big deal?” whereas innocence says, “Wow! Gee Whizz! How grand!!” Sincere inquiry helps us to confront our biggest fears and see their innocence. It is through innocence that we awaken our Being-Nature.

As you read the following ask yourself this question, “Am I willing to see how my unconscious guilt is running my life in reactive thinking, negativity, anxiety and fears?” If your answer is an honest ‘yes’ then you are on your way to the truth of you. If you answered ‘No’ then that’s okay, just leave this booklet.

This booklet is divided into four parts…

1. The Truth about Innocence.
2. How the mind creates what we think about.
3. Unconscious guilt and why we have it.
4. Inquiry into our questions.


1. The Truth about Innocence
The spiritual life is the truth of you. The spiritual life is honesty and innocence.
What is Being? It is ‘to be’ with what-is! ‘To be’ is your innocence, your wisdom, your compassion and truth. Therefore to forgive means to ‘fore-give’ (give forth) into Being. Being is this moment without a story, without judgment or interpretation and to see what-is as it actually IS!

What is the mark of a truly spiritual being? It is innocence. Innocence has been said to be the highest wisdom because it sees no wrong but equality, oneness and love.
In order to understand what innocence is, we have to rise above our concepts of it. Some people think of it as gullibility, weakness and Pollyanna-mentality. It is strange that what we think of innocence is ordinarily quite the opposite of what it is.

The best way to grasp this most beautiful quality is through the recognition of what it transcends, which is the unconscious guilt that is part of every human being who hasn’t realized their true nature. Unconscious guilt has been covered up and misunderstood by using the word ego to explain it. Unconscious guilt is so unconscious that there is no immediate awareness of it except self-consciousness and a form of constant unease about oneself. All stress, anxiety, unhappiness, fear, bodily concern, worry and the feeling-of-wrong are symptoms of this unconscious guilt. Unconscious guilt reacts in self-defense, in talking too much or a continual feeling of self-concern. In brief, unconscious guilt is a pre-occupation with the body whether about its health or image. Underneath this self-concern or even self-absorption lies the nagging fear, “I don’t feel good enough” or the belief in somehow being wrong or have done something wrong or something going to go wrong.

When Jesus walked the earth 2,000 years ago he was the epitome of innocence and his teachings were focused on love and forgiveness, yet a religion was built around him that focused on sin and punishment. Could that have been helped? I don’t think so. The teachings were more focused on his example and were never meant to create a dogma. Yet a religion was created and inevitably so because unconscious guilt survives through control. It focuses on its own feeling of guilt by controlling others. Early Christianity was based on this focus of overcoming evil even though Jesus’ teachings focused on love and forgiveness to undo evil. Yet the attention on sin brought the very thing into greater focus and thus the vicious circle of control and punishment replaced the sweet innocence of love. What is fascinating about unconscious guilt is that the very people who condemn sin are the ones that suffer most from it and thus the religion of abolishing sin became the sin itself.

2. How the mind creates our illusion
The mind creates what it focuses on because its very attention on it manifests it. Our subconscious mind does not know the difference between the real and unreal. It simply creates whatever the conscious mind focuses on. I remember in the seventies there were two nutrition experts who wrote books on the prevention of cancer through proper eating habits. Both these experts died of the very thing they wrote against because their focus was on the very thing they warned against. The subconscious always manifests what we think about most. Just like the president who wanted to control and overcome terrorism and focused on it so much that he created acts of terrorism himself.

Here is an important rule of unconscious guilt – anything we try to overcome or resist will manifest in our life. Just like the man and woman who complain that people are mostly bad exhibit these very qualities themselves. Just like the policeman who is resolved to stamp out crime ends up destroying himself eventually. The suicide rate among policemen is not often talked about but it’s one of the highest.
“What you see is what you get” is a precise rule to live by. Therefore it is through what we pay attention to that either kills us or renews us and it is that simple. The true spirit of the human being is sweetness, light, goodness, love and forgiveness. These qualities are not assumed but a natural outcome from focus on spirit. Yet, despite the fact that we want what we already are, namely, love and happiness, we keep missing the boat due to the unawareness of unconscious guilt.

Innocence is one’s greatest strength and power simply because it is without fear. Innocence is utterly fearless.
Those who got to know the transformation of Byron Katie received healing through her innocence. There were cases of holocaust survivors who were able to forgive the Nazis through the grace pf Byron Katie and healed years of suffering and pain.
Innocence heals through its power to rise above fear and guilt and thus create a heaven on earth.

Just as the world teaches us about shrewdness, manipulation, clever tactics and ways to gain control and power, it fails to bring happiness and peace but encourages greater suspicion, ulterior motives, shallowness and inability to feel the inner beauty of joy. Why? The world is the dream of the mind that is devoid of spiritual-knowing.

3. Unconscious Guilt and why we have it!
Someone asked me, “Why do so many spiritual seekers suffer from guilt?”
You are a human being. The human is a seeker and appears real because of the Being. However, the Being itself is forgotten and so the human, focused on his seeking of the ideal state, forgets the true state of Being. In other words, things become as ‘they should be’ rather than the way they are.

Did you know if we accept the way things are we return to innocence?
It is our attempt to control, resist, overcome, change and try to improve that creates emotional problems and suffering.

The unconscious guilt is always pushing us towards self-protection and self-improvement because of this inner feeling of emptiness that is trying to fill. It is this very attempt at trying to fill this emptiness that hides the Being. Therefore, the unconscious guilt will ask, “If we do not try to improve or overcome our faults we will get worse.” This is the belief that GUILT places upon you. Ask yourself, “Has your resistance and attempts at overcoming or changing your fears worked?” Such attempts validate the guilt, which is the culprit in the first place.
Look at the list of statements and questions at the beginning of this article that people are controlled by, and, do you know what you see? Unconscious guilt had taken over.

In our attempt to be spiritual we lose the point. One time Gary Renard, who is the well-known author of the “Disappearance of the universe” quoted how so many Acim teachers miss the point by trying to understand the Course text and even allow arguments in their meetings. He emphasized that the major theme of the Course is forgiveness (which is innocence) and if they happen to argue than there is no happiness, no forgiveness and love.

In Advaita teachings it is emphasized that all is Oneness and therefore there is no ego as such. In this context many seekers attempt to squelch the ego so that they can experience the oneness and thus the opposite happens.

It is true that in every human being there resides an “I” felt-sense and we acquaint our name with it plus our conditioning. This is not wrong or bad but simply a natural result of unawareness. There is no need to look upon this felt-sense of “I” as something wrong but rather as something right. This “I” is what-is and therefore by knowing sincerely and openly what it really IS then we find that there aren’t “I” and Oneness but only Oneness appearing as an “I.”

Through inquiry we learn to shift from effect into cause. By taking everything as it is, exactly as it is and, accepting it as it is then we can expand it and find the truth of Being. It is in control, resistance, manipulation, by believing “how-things-should-be’ rather than how they are that we stumble and fall into a precipice.

The whole journey on earth has one purpose and that’s the return to innocence, which is true love and joy of Being.

A common question by many seekers is this, “I know the Truth but can’t seem to live from it.”
This question is an example of self-deception. In Truth there is nothing to know for it is this moment itself as it is. Living truth is how you live with what-is! If you try to alter it, improve it or change it then you are creating problems known as the seven deadly sins.

The key question is – why do we resist what-is? Isn’t it because we want to change it, improve it or control it and fail to LISTEN to what it is telling us at the moment (which we can only hear when we listen to it as it is). And the next question is, “why do we try to improve what-is or control it? Isn’t it because there is a deep dissatisfaction within us that believes change can bring greater happiness or peace or meaning? Has it ever? Now you get the picture of what unconscious guilt is – a deep feeling of void within. This void within is the result of not recognizing the truth of our Being. What is the Truth? It is this – the “I” that you believe is yourself is in truth Oneness.

4. Inquiry into our questions
Here are the questions again as given and addressed briefly and directly, but before we tackle each one remember that asking “why” or “how” is the guilt’s way to avoid the directness of it. The “why” is an escape from looking at the truth directly as it happens and “how” is our escape from responsibility. In ‘Being’ there is no ‘how’ but only ‘what-is.’

“I don’t like the way I am.”
What is the way you really are? Right now without your story or such labels as ‘like or dislike’ what and who are you? It is all a story that you have made real. Ask yourself how real that statement is. If it still appears real to you then you are holding on to it. What do you hope to gain from holding on to this belief? What would you be without that belief?
(see how unconscious guilt wants you to dislike yourself).

“I can’t figure it out and I’m confused”
What is there to figure out. Be clear. What is confusion other than two opposing sides…the truth and your interpretation?
What is the reason for holding on to it? What would you be without confusion? (guilt wants confusion)

“I keep falling back into negative thinking”
What falls back into negative thinking other than guilt? What is negative thinking. Take a good look at it next time it happens. Find out where it is happening and who is making it happen?
What is the reason for holding on?

“I suffer from anxiety-attacks”
What is an anxiety other than the question “What-if?” And, what happens as you keep resist it (hoping it goes away)? Sit with it because you have resisted it long enough it has become an attack. Look at the sensation of it without its story or label ‘anxiety-attack’ but just something that is happening. Take a deep breath and watch it as it takes place in your body.
Guilt has a field-day with anxiety.

“I guess I don’t love myself enough”
Who is the person you call ‘myself’ and who is the “I” that says ‘myself’? Sit with this feeling without its story or label and feel what is taking place. Where is the self that you don’t like? The moment you see the absurdness of this statement you are healed.
Also remember, guilt won’t like it when you look directly at it because then it dissolves.

“I don’t believe in anything anymore.”
What is a belief? Why do you need to believe anything? Either something is real or it’s not. What difference does it make whether you believe a truth or not, either it is true or it isn’t. Truth is not a belief – it just IS true!! (guilt likes to discourage you from looking deeply).

“I’m so skeptical that nothing can convince me.”
The same goes here as the above. Skepticism is not bad when you want the truth but if it closes your heart then guilt has won another round.

“I’m emotional and changeable”
Emotion is change itself. Emotion is ‘motion of energy.’ When we believe a thought it becomes an emotion (motion of sensation in the body). The more we make emotions real, the greater becomes our instability, changeability and weakness of character. Strength emerges from looking directly at our inner discomfort known as unconscious guilt. Emotions are not wrong when they are fully accepted as what-is.
Learn to put aside the stories that emotions carry and simply allow the feeling to be what it is.

“What can I do to overcome my fear”
What is fear? It is guilt thrown into the future bringing worry, anxiety, concern, what-ifs, problems etc. Experience the fear sensation when it arises without its story or label ‘fear’ and then as you look at it see what happens. Remember that guilt will try to prevent you from looking. Once you know this then it’s your choice.

“How can I change myself?”
What is change? Who is it that changes? Your thoughts change, your emotions change, your interpretations and judgments change but the truth of you never changes and it is always happy, loving and innocent. Instead of changing yourself BE AS YOU REALLY ARE and that will be an enormous change. Guilt wants you to be other than what you are and that’s why we get confused.

“You talk about forgiveness, but how do you forgive someone who betrayed you?”
You love the story don’t you? Guilt likes to dwell on past stories of pain because it gives a sick feeling of meaning. You don’t forgive your ‘betrayer’ – you simply allow yourself to see that only guilt has brought you into this distressful feeling of an ‘enemy’ who in truth is part of you (as spirit). See this person’s innocence beyond the act and that’s forgiveness of yourself and the guilt.

Take a moment NOW!
Take a moment right now and sit still, close your eyes and honestly ask yourself, “What am I right this moment?” and you might get shocked at the obvious answer of not knowing…because all you are this moment is a clearing, an open space, an awareness of Being and anything else is a conditioned thought about it. This is it! Once you get over the shock and fully acknowledge and accept these obvious observations then you start seeing in a whole new way – your infinite greatness, the infinite possibilities and limitless nature. In this oneness-intuitive-knowing you awaken your natural innocence.

Next time you are troubled by a problem, situation or happening, take a deep breath and do nothing about it. For a moment witness how the story about it is the deception. It is the story that we are telling ourselves because the unconscious guilt is at it again. The unconscious guilt is vicious – it wants you to feel guilty and wants to punish you for not being good enough. It wants you to be ashamed of yourself. At this point uttering the word ‘forgiveness’ reminds us that we are not guilty but merely pawns of a conditioned ego known as unconscious guilt. Through uttering the word ‘forgiveness’ we remind ourselves that our true nature is innocence and we abide as that with no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts.’ If we succeed in looking at ‘what-is’ as simply what-is without a story and forgive it then we have taken a giant leap in consciousness.
With this new understanding (after a couple of months) you will see in retrospect the giant leap you had taken!

The Two Choices!!

THE TWO CHOICE (Life or Death)

One of the most common questions spiritual seekers ask is:
“When I listen to the satsang videos I feel clear but the moment something negative happens I am back to square one. How can I keep stable in my awareness of the Truth?”

You are a human being and therefore convinced that you are living in duality. Since the human and the Being are opposites in values and interpretation of life we get ‘caught’ in a quandary between the two. Thus, there seem to be two choices. The human choice is so conditioned that before we even have a chance to see what is happening, out of habit and familiarity, we keep choosing it unconsciously. To top it all, we are also convinced unconsciously (and might not want to admit it) that we are this human part more than the Being part.

Illusory Duality
In Truth, there aren’t two separate parts of us but only Being. It is like looking at ourselves in a mirror and believing that we are that reflection rather than the One looking into it. In other words, we have identified with the human so much that whether it is real is not even ever challenged. The human is only a reflection of Being that has taken on the characteristics of the conditioned mind.

The Conditioned Mind
The conditioned mind is so-called because it is the product of our induction into the physical life. Our parents brought us with values inherited from their parents, schooled and educated in their limited tradition, nationality and religion plus whatever values of their inner life according to the ways in which their inner life was viewed. This is not wrong but simply a conditioned viewpoint like hypnosis. Hypnosis refers to the unconscious values that lie unchallenged (unquestioned) in our subconscious mind. We are hypnotized in their belief. Beliefs are NOT reality because they can be shaken whereas Truth cannot be shaken. Here are some belief systems and their result -- Muslims believe that anyone outside their belief-system is an infidel. Christians believe that theirs is the truth yet both religions have created great division from Oneness. Besides these limiting beliefs, we are conditioned by cultural differences that have caused wars and inhuman cruelty. What is being said here is this – we are not criticizing beliefs per se but saying that anything that separates us from Oneness takes us away from Oneness.

You are NOT this conditioning
If you have traveled the world then you have broadened your mind enough to see how each culture in the world holds different value systems. They are conditioned values that narrow our view of our Being nature. We do not reject these values but expand them to include even opposing beliefs.

When you start awakening to your true Being nature you start seeing how limited your conditioning is and it is both shocking and frightening. It is shocking because we never challenged our values before we started seeking a broader perspective, and frightening because we see that we are NOT who we thought we were at all. Yet something intuitive inside us (our Being) beckons us to follow this broader path and when we listen to satsang videos we resonate with this Truth since it is already known by our Being nature. However, the familiarity of our conditioning will draw us back, almost instantly, the moment we forget what we just heard at satsang.

Ego is conditioned suffering
It is these conditioned beliefs that create the back-and-forth swing from stabilizing into Truth of Being. This back and forth between human and Being will continue until we are ready to commit our human values to forgiveness. The word ‘forgiveness’ is a term abhorrent to the ego. Once we start recognizing the truth about forgiveness, we will see that it takes much less energy to forgive than to indulge in our lower values.
When we indulge in self-defense of our ego system of thinking we suffer. Yet this suffering is so familiar to us that we might prefer it to Being at the moment of being hurt. For instance, suppose in childhood you did not experience much warmth and approval, then as an adult you feel a deep gnawing lack inside you. This lack or low self-worth had become so much a part of your value system (habit of thinking) that even your self-image has become hypnotized into your viewpoint of life and self.

Ego creates unconscious guilt
This self-image of lack (separation from Oneness) which we have taken to be who we are creates an unconscious guilt that seeks self-punishment because it doesn’t deserve love. Love, being Oneness itself, does not reside on the level of our immediate awareness and that’s why it is called unconscious guilt. It is an itch that can’t be scratched and so whenever we are confronted by some lack either in communication or thinking, we react without realizing the extent of that reaction.
Our reactions from resentment to violence are triggered by this unconscious guilt image of ourselves. It resides as a frozen center within us. We often ‘lose it’ emotionally and even become violent and bitchy. However again, because it is so familiar to us and because we feel we deserve punishment we hold-on to this melodrama rather than forgive it. Somehow this melodrama justifies our value system of who we believe we are.

Spiritual seeking as an escape
Now here’s another devious way of conditioning called ‘spiritual distraction.’ Spiritual distraction’ among seekers is so common that it escapes awareness entirely. For an example of spiritual distraction – Mary has now become totally well-versed in the words of spirituality namely the terms ‘Oneness’ or ‘egolessness’ or ‘pure awareness’ or Truth and believes she knows the Truth. This distraction is a common strategy of the conditioned human not to look at its own escapes from Truth. It is a way to pat itself on the back as being spiritual while still indulging in self-defensive tactics and ego thinking. When it sees that it is getting caught then it feels guilty rather than inquire “who is it that is feeling guilty?” In other words, these escapes from truth are so common that the simple knowing of forgiveness, commitment to truth and abiding as the Truth are elusive and avoided.

Tug-of-war between human & Being
Our life becomes a tug-of-war between human and Being. At this point we keep choosing ‘death’ rather than Life. This appears to be so because at this ‘stage’ there seems to be two choices (which in Truth do not exist at all). We are actually choosing death every time we indulge in ego rather than Life.

It is all a choice between Life or Death
Why is it called ‘death’? Death is that which kills the spirit in us. It makes us heavy, tense, stressed out, mentally tired, bored, doubtful, guilty, fearful and incredibly frightened of the future.
On the other hand we have Life. Life is radiance, aliveness, Nowness, ISness, Truth, happiness, forgiveness and allowing with full acceptance. Life is innocent and does not dwell on the idea of sin, wrong or that which is not-good. In fact…

True Life is so innocent that it can be likened to a child or kitten and puppy in their innocence. This ‘Life’ value system doesn’t see wrong or sin but love everywhere.

So initially the spiritual seeker is torn between life and death. Again, why do we call it Life and Death? The terms are so appropriate that they hit the mark just by seeing the words. The ego believes in death and in fact he/she is frightened of dying and won’t even think about it. The innocent Life, on the other hand, loves Life so much that death is not frightening simply because there is no death ever. The innocent can see this clearly that death happens only to the individual and there isn’t one.

How do we forgive ‘death-thinking?’

How do we forgive death-thinking? Forgiveness is also known as quantum forgiveness which means that there is no action taken to forgive. Forgiveness (fore-giveness) is giving forth the belief in death to allow Life to take its place with no ‘buts’ ‘what-ifs’ or any holding on to death.
Death is that which has an end to it; it deteriorates, it hides, it fears, it destroys itself, it rots and finally disappears or gets lost in darkness.
Life, on the other hand, sees clearly through its innocence that such limitation are only the creation of the ego-mind.

Forgiveness is seeing that there is nothing to forgive simply because death is an ego-creation.
Life is ever flowing and has no beginning or end. It is our true Home. Jesus called it “The Kingdom of God.” It is all that is beautiful, pure, innocent, loving, open, trusting, unworldly and joyous. Life is eternal and knows no limitations, no boundaries and has infinite possibilities. It looks at everyone with pure innocent love and trust and even though it sees the world of darkness and death it is still untouched without denying its illusory existence.

Innocence does not deny this illusory world of pain but looks beyond it.
So, how does one forgive?
Let’s take it step-by-step -- say that your conditioned self is confronted with a challenge whether it is financial, work-related, relationship-related or self-related.

First step:
The immediate response of the ego-self is worry, anger, irritation, rage or depression and escape. This immediate response is immediately seen for what it is and that’s the first step. In our conditioned human state, death always speaks first.

Second step:
Once we become aware of this ‘death’ experience we acknowledge how the body is experiencing that death through churning stomach, heart palpitations, maybe hot and cold shivers, trembling, heat building up to a pitch as if ready to explode in violence or anger or simply holding-it-in and becomes depression or apathy or indifference (all different forms of death).

Third step:
Now having become aware of this ‘death’ feeling experienced as sensation in the body, simply acknowledge it to yourself and allow yourself to see your reaction and how you indulge in it. This is something you can do if you have understood the two choices of human and Being.

Fourth and final step:
At this point there’s not much you can do but sit down for a moment, take a few deep breaths and say, “I choose Life because I am Life and it is forgiven.” Then go in front of a mirror and reflect this Life in your face. The face of death is morose, sunken, heavy and avoids direct eye-contact. The face of Life, on the other hand, is willing to smile and even brighten the eyes. This becomes fore-giveness and it alters the conditioned aspects of death into Life. When we awaken fully then it is simply that we keep choosing Life and not death. It is a choice between Truth and falsehood. It is this simple, and there is no ‘doing’ per se but an awareness of love and giving forth that love.

What would be the results of this ‘practice’?
This might not alter your sensations of fear and pain but having gone through the steps with sincerity you have actually erased any future karmic consequences from your emotional trigger (which inevitably follow when no awareness is allowed). As you continue asking the Holy Spirit (“I AM” essence of you) for help then this ‘practice’ becomes a fast way to inner freedom.
The gradual transformation from worldly harshness and crudeness to innocence and sweetness is a joy to behold.

The Way to Clarity (Inquiry)

“I have read that Ramana Maharshi advocated using the mind to go beyond it. Also ‘A Course n Miracles’ is a Course in mind training which brings one to the clarity of non-duality. Can you explain to me how this works?”

This ‘method’ is called ‘Inquiry.’ It has been used by the Masters such as Bhagavan, Byron Katie, “A Course in Miracles” through its workbook and effective satsang teachers. It is the most direct and ego-transcending method of all. It takes both willingness and an open heart to apply it. If you have this drive for what is real then inquiry is the way to go.

Before we get to know what is inquiry and how to apply it there are three things to understand first.

First -- All ego seeking and emotional pain are made up of questions. The term ‘question’ means a quest. It is a need from the hungry human to find its way back Home to Essence. Most people do not know that all emotional pain and including seeking spiritual awakening are the ‘living-questions’ of the soul for its redemption.

Questions have different stages of ‘growth’ and move from the ego-me to the deeper aspects of us and finally to Oneness. For example, the initial stage of the seeking novice is something like this, “Why me?”
“People do not like me!”
“It seems the world is against me.”
“People do not listen to me.”
“I feel misunderstood.”

Then with greater maturity and understanding the questions move to ‘us.’ Here are some of them…
“Why are people so dense?”
“The world seems closed to the spiritual life.”
“Why do religions divide themselves instead of unite?”
“How can I help the world?”
“Why do bad things happen to good people?”

Finally with greater seeing, sensitivity and maturity the questions move into Oneness or the Whole. Here are some…
“If there is no doer then who is it that acts through me?”
“I am not clear about linear time and holographic timelessness?”
“I feel clear at times but still find myself losing what I know!”
“I have had glimpses but I still do not live the life!”
“I realized that my knowledge of spiritual reality was a distraction to make me feel good about myself and that’s why I never felt really pure!”

How to apply inquiry

Second -- The way to inquiry is simple but it requires some form of earnestness to conduct it. For instance, let’s say you find yourself reacting to some statement or to some thought. In that instant write down or express in a digital recorder what you are really asking. For instance, someone says you are being dumb and you react to that statement with anger, offence, defense, outrage, hurt and so on. This reaction happened NOT because of what was said since we are never upset for the reason we think. The statement felt like a threat that must have reminded us of some personal lack (as a child for example.) Maybe you felt misunderstood or ignored or less-than and that term ‘dumb’ triggered that memory and feeling. Therefore you are asking a question in your subconscious mind such as, “What is wrong with me?” “Maybe I don’t feel good enough?” or “I probably feel so separate from others!”
The point is this – that all emotional reactions are unresolved questions…
Anxiety is a question asking, “I wonder what’s going to happen next?” “What if I don’t make it?” “What if I fail?” “What if people laugh at me?”
Fear is a question with a “what-if…” in it. Most fears are future-oriented.
Sudden anger reaction is a question that is seeing a threat to the ego and reacting in defense of itself without knowing what or whom it is defending.
Deep disappointment is a question dealing with expectations of an ego boost nature. “How could I be so wrong about that person?”
Suffice to say that all emotional pain, melodrama, hurt, depression and including indifference and apathy are unresolved questions.

Third -- The next step, once we have acquired the skill to formulate the question is to understand the question itself. Here’s is the most important part of inquiry – do not reach for an answer!! All answers come from the conditioned mind and are merely words that mean very little. The true answers have no words but a deep feeling of inner knowing and satisfaction. Therefore it is imperative that we do not seek an answer to the question but to keep it open.

I remember reading my first book on inquiry from Bhagavan Ramana Maharshi who advocated asking, “Who am I?” and I must have asked it several hundred times and never received an answer. However I kept it up throughout the years waiting for grace to descend upon me with an answer. One day it dawned on me that the answer was given from the heart the first time I asked it but I didn’t hear it because I wasn’t ready to listen.
What was the answer that I didn’t hear? It was the Silence that emerged from asking, the deep space of unknowing of who I was simply because I was far greater than words could tell, and besides, if the answer came in words who would give it - It would have been my ego or conditioned memory from reading so much. It was the silent peaceful ‘not-knowing’ that unfolded the mystery of my inner knowing.

The question now is, “If I don’t get an answer, how do I listen?”
Listening is what all awakening is about. People do not ‘get it’ or ‘awaken’ or feel at peace is because they do not LISTEN! They hear the words; they intellectualize the words; they know the answers to questions but there is no inner clarity because one hasn’t gone beyond the thinking mind. As long as you are thinking about a truth you cannot know it. You will only ‘know’ the words about it, not ‘IT!’

The Truth is Oneness or how every human is a wave from the One ocean of Life. Yet, the wave is one with the ocean. This ocean is One and therefore known as LOVE.
Love is not emotional except in its initial understanding. Love is seeing another in oneself. Love is ‘knowing’ that there is no separation in anything – everything is interconnected, interdependent and interrelated. If I judge you I am judging myself. If I hurt you I hurt myself and this boomerang is known as guilt.
Boomerang is that which always returns to us what we give out. What we give returns to us. If we give love, we get love. If we give resentment, judgment or fear then we get it back in the form of guilt. Guilt is always present initially as unconscious-discomfort as if missing something or feeling a lack without knowing what it actually IS! Guilt is the result of feeling separate and thus incomplete. Guilt is what causes all loneliness, fear, unrest, hatred, separation and distorted thinking. Guilt always seeks self-punishment known as self-sabotage.
Therefore LISTENING is this…

The major point of inquiry is to NEVER seek an answer as there are no satisfying answers to life. There is only the clarity that awakens when we understand fully the question we are really asking.

Listening is ‘understanding-the-question’ that your heart is asking deep down within you. This asking is a seeking, and a seeking is always in the form of pain or discomfort. Thus, if you are troubled, confused, uncertain, perplexed, frustrated then do not attempt to figure it out; avoid all intellectual attempts at trying to understand it. Do these steps…

a. Write down the question you are really asking. Keep it simple.
b. Understand the question by its emotional feeling.
c. Look at the story created by that question and its reactions.
d. What is it that you’re telling yourself?
e. How will it be if there was no such story in you?
f. Are you willing to forgive it?
g. If not, why is it essential to hold on to it? (what are you hoping to gain from holding on?)
(Would I rather be right or happy?)

These questions will uncover what is truly eating at you and releases deep unconscious guilt and awaken clarity.

Why do we get negative? Negative feelings are human feelings and they emerge from feeling a lack in you (result of separation). ‘Negatives’ are the soul seeking redemption (answers).

The real answers are NOT words (verbal or written) but the feeling of joy and love in the heart.

The way to clarity (awakening) is inquiry (listening). To inquire (investigate or explore) is to put a thought or a story up against questions such as given on this page 5.
Inquiry is to end confusion and experience inner peace, love, joy and innocence, even in a world torn by worldly values and chaos. Above all else, inquiry is about realizing that all true answers we ever need are always available inside us (in our Being).
See the video clip “Awakening Insights’ found in this link…
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HVEZmJWjM7s

Inquire is not just a technique: it brings to life, from deep within us, an innate aspect of our Being. When practiced for a while, inquiry takes on its own life within you. It becomes alive in you. It appears wherever thoughts appear. This partnership with the Holy Spirit in you (which is the ‘I AM’) awakens in you to abide fulltime. This partnership leaves you free to live as a kind, fluid, fearless, amused listener…joyful partner. In this partnership loneliness, desolation, separation become an unknown quantity, a realized unreality that only existed in unconsciousness.

Your inner guide is your best friend forever that can be trusted, relied upon in an emergency and experienced as a way of life bringing fullness of Being. Peace and joy inevitably make their way into every corner of your mind, into every relationship and experience. The process is so subtle that you may not even have a conscious awareness of it. You just know such happiness now that you wonder how you could have lived before without your real partner.

The Act of Waking up spiritually!

"You mention the word 'awakening' often, can you explain what you mean by it, are you referring to enlightenment?"

The word 'waking up' is meant literally waking up by choosing life instead of death. Most people believe they are just a body and identify with thoughts and emotions as reality, that's unconscious living and a form of death. Waking up is seeing that you have infinite possibilities because you are a human being. There are literally no boundaries to you. Being is the sky and the human are the clouds. When the clouds cover up the sky's light and darkness descends then the Being becomes clouded over and forgotten.

Clouds come and go but the sky is ever present and its Light is never dimmed despite the clouds. Thus it is a matter of identification. When the day seems cloudy and dark isn't that merely the covering of the Light that is always present? We have the choice to identify with the Light that is always the case rather than with the temporary clouds.

You are a Human Being. Through the understanding of both these aspects we wake up through choice. Let's see how each affects us.
The Human is a seeker and it is always seeking a better life for itself. It believes it is individual and separate because it identifies with the body as its reality. Therefore it has FOUR strong drives which are the culprits for much suffering.
These FOUR DRIVES are...

1. The drive for control.
The need to have one's way based on one's view of life. This is also the need to be right at all costs to assert its individuality and gets hurt if this is not so.

2. The drive for security.
This is a strong need especially among more emotional people. This drive for emotional security automatically brings the fear of insecurity which haunts one's life.

3. The drive for approval.
This need for approval is also the need to be accepted, recognized, respected and looked-up-to. This applies to both the emotional and the intellectual. When there is no approval then one suffers low self-esteem and equates this to low self-worth.

4. The drive for separation.
This is a strong one even among spiritual seekers who supposedly seek Oneness. This is the need for feeling special, better-than, important or stand-out and feel different. This creates loneliness feelings and moments of negative emptiness.

The question is this -- why is there such opposition between Human and Being? This duality is part of creation. Creation cannot happen without opposites. For instance, to have an 'up' there must be a 'down.' To have 'white' we must have 'black.' To have 'front' we must have a 'back.' Similarly with emotions. Emotions are thoughts that are believed to be real and become strong beliefs. Thus since our true nature is love (Oneness) then we seek it 'outside' ourselves to join, to belong, to possess, to have, to own and so on. This need creates the fear of not having enough or being enough. So, with love comes fear in the human expression. When we love someone we start feeling the fear of loss, fear of rejection, fear of not being good enough and fear of abandonment. Since this fear often takes over while having the drive for being right then we create self-sabotage of the very things we want. This is called human suffering -- self-betrayal or choosing darkness instead of Light. We see the clouds instead of the ever-present Light of the sun.

The next question is -- when we seek the need for control, approval, security and separation, what is making us seek these things? Believe it or not, it is our Being nature which IS the very things we seek. In other words, we are seeking what we already are but don't know it. It is this 'knowing' that will bring awakening to our true nature.

What is our Being like? Being is our true nature. However, Being is not personal and that's the crux of the matter. There are over 6 billion humans on this earth but there is only One Being...that One Being is YOU! Please read this again and again until you feel its incredible impact because by itself it can bring awakening!
You are a Being playing the human role!!
So, what is Being? Let me put it this way -- do you like going on vacation? Why? Isn't it because you love to relax, be free, happy and enjoy yourself. And, what is it in you that wants this? My dear friend, it is your very Being that is this relaxation and aliveness itself. We can FEEL this as who we are but since it happens through the FOUR HUMAN DRIVES we equate it with a need instead of who we ALREADY are! Please read this again.

'Being' is 'BE-ing' -- it is to be happy, comfortable, relaxed, alive, spontaneous, creative, energetic, enthusiastic, joyous and fulfilled. The reason we want these things is because we do not recognize them as qualities already inside us, we believe they need to be attained and so we seek them and thus destroy them.

When we seek what we already are believing it is something to be attained then we automatically block it from immediate expression. This seeking becomes our lust for the world making the world real in our mind. The human believes that the world is real instead of a dream of the mind. When the Being expresses itself through acceptance of its true nature then one sees clearly that the world cannot be real. Physicists know that matter is energy and only appears solid to our senses.

Every time we choose the human part of us, which means we choose unconsciously by identifying and indulging in our negative thoughts and emotions we die a little. Therefore we keep choosing death instead of life. Now listen to this great simple truth -- it takes more effort and stress to be unconscious and suffer then to choose consciously our true nature. It all comes down to this choice -- if we don't choose aliveness then we are unconsciously choosing death.

The unawakened human believes in death and, in fact, so much so that it frightens them to even think that they will soon die physically. Human life is fragile at best and its life-span is so short yet it hides from even seeing the physical for what it truly is. The awakened knows, beyond any doubt, that death is impossible because Being (who you really are) cannot die because it was never born. Being JUST IS!! Being is Oneness. Some seekers ask, "How do I realize Oneness? Oneness is not attained or 'realized' but seen when we are devoted to the Truth of our Being nature. Being is Truth -- Truth means that you are eternal, ever-alive and always YOU!! Jesus said, "The greatest mystery is how Christ lives in each heart." We are NOT separate individuals but One in Spirit. The moment we ALLOW ourselves to see this fact the we are awake. Wakefulness is like waking up from a nightmare and then rubbing your eyes and saying, "WOW! It was just a dream!"
Waking up is seeing the infinite possibilities of your true Being nature. It is the knowing that there are no boundaries toBeing. You are glorious and boundless and to even feel this minutely is to fill you with gratitude and joy. This is who you are RIGHT NOW!!


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