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Who You Really Are

who-are-you-

Consider yourself, a passerby, passing an inn. Upon hearing much noise and merrymaking coming through, you peeped in and found with a little disgust, rowdy rantings with drunkards singing, arguing, fighting and gossiping, with some in torpor or drowned in oblivion gazes.

Affected by what you saw, without much reason to stay on, you moved along your journey – only to find more inns, in almost the same states! After more of this, you no longer have the interest to even peep in. Never once did you find one unoccupied. You became weary. Yet, you still had to move on as you could find no place to rest.

You are just an observer, a mere vagabond, a wanderer with no permanent refuge, looking at the occupants of the inns, finding no peace nor space, where you could finally come to settle. In some ways, you too, are slowly becoming to be like those occupants – restless, irritated, disturbed, tired and at times resentful of what is going on. Nevertheless, you prod on and on, hoping to seek but never to find.

But, what if, you were never a passerby in the first place? Never a weary wanderer, or a vagabond, but once upon a forgotten time, a House-keeper of all the many inns. The rightful Ruler of impeccable order, unperturbed by what is taking place and present to whatever happenings there are, uninvolved and unaffected by the activities. But somehow, one day, there came along one presence, Forgotten was his name, which, upon the first encounter, you fell under his spell. And in a temporary state of forgetfulness trance, it cost you to imagine yourself wandering aimlessly – like a dream, where happenings take place, yet you are tucked comfortably in the bed, never once moved away from it. And seemingly soon, without your care, the inns came to a state of ruin, where strange intruders of many kinds came to inhabit. Being rowdy, chaotic, unbecoming, they took over instead, having the inns as their party places.

Who are you? Who are “you”, really? What have you forgotten that makes you so deeply identified and associated with your mind? The happenings in the inns, like those comedians, drunkards, gossipers, dullards or skeptics are like happenings in your mind. Are you really the mind, the “happenings” that is taking place, where activities come and go like those comedians, drunkards, gossipers, dullards or skeptics? Or are you the ”Awareness”, the weary passerby, who occasionally took a good peep into the mind, only to find as always, desires and aversions, with restless thoughts and worries, at times sloth and torpor, and even doubt, plaguing, never at all any peace within. Sometimes you are totally lost in them; at times forgot to even notice them, and many a times you were seemingly like them.

Or, are you truly the Housekeeper of the mind? Whereby, perfect presence is given to anything that is coming through – seen as mere objects taking place – unmoved, untouched by their appearances. And “Forgotten” is just here to remind you of what has happened in that one ancient moment – of not forgetting to be present to him. That, you were NEVER the imagined traveler, NEVER the dreamer, with the need to travel through imagined time and having the weariness to peep in and out, finding unhappiness. Rather, you are truly in perfect presence and wakefulness to every moment of activity taking place.

Welcome, my friends, of days and years, and probably lifetimes forgotten, that the position of a Housekeeper is always You. The days of a passerby is over. Let not the rowdies, or the slayers, or even the gossipers trouble you. When you take on the Position, the house (mind) will surely be in order. The inns of your mind will be back into shape, glittering clean and bright, with heartfelt delight and loving warmth.

Take charge my friend, take charge, without needing to overturn or to intrude or even to control the mind, except reclaiming back your Reality. It has always been yours, briefly forgotten by a tiny spell, albeit a long forgotten one. A little mistake that only requires your Awakening. And the peek-a-boo game is no longer required. Welcome Home, my dear friend.

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What’s the Problem?

Our moment, sad to say, is a problem-solving moment. It is always about something that has to be resolved. Nevermind whether it can be a happy problem, like hunger and thinking what nice food to eat – it is still a problem solving. The moment we wake up in the morning, open our eyes, the thought of “what to do” and “which to do first” comes into mind. Even if it is a holiday and you are supposed to be light and easy, it is still about something to do, isn’t it? Have you not noticed? “What to do now” is a hallmark of a problem in mind though you may not notice it as a problem yet.

And also, notice that the problem is always to be “solved” in the future, be it a next moment, or a near future. It can never be a situation where the problem and the solution are taking place simultaneously. Obviously not, as that will deem there was never a problem to begin with. To have a problem is to have it solved. Period.

Unless you don’t see the issue as a problem. Yet, that does not resolve the issue, as to find a way to “settle” the issue is already a sure indicative it IS a problem, but not seen as a problem.

Now you would have solved the mystery why you cannot escape but to have a “future”, even when nearing the moment of death, whether you like it or not, believe or not. Rebirth is here to stay so long as your moment is laced with a problem, a “something to solved” – be it a happy, unhappy or a serious problem. When death comes near the door, you are solving the problem of “I-don’t-want-to-die-yet problem” or “I-am-ready to-die-and-wonder-what-is-in-store-for-me-next problem.” It is near to impossible that you do not think at all, at any one moment of time, even now, not to mention near-death.

But the whole real contention is that BEHIND the problem IS ALREADY the Solution, not yet seen. There is no need for a problem-solved-future solution. Problem-solved-future-solution traps you always to yearn for a “better future”. There was none in the first place. Not now, not future, not to even mention in the past. There never was. Simply because each moment IS NEVER devoid of no-problem-to-solve. Each moment is a maintenance issue. To maintain is to solve an outstanding problem. Otherwise, where is there a need to maintain? The moment you don’t maintain, any problem will begin. Not that there is no problem if you maintain it. “Maintain” IS a problem to avoid another impending problem.

Maintain your health, maintain your relationship, maintain your position, maintain your status, maintain your age or life (as if you can), maintain your savings – life is about solving how to maintain. Isn’t life A PROBLEM? Not that life is filled with problems. Rather another word to replace “life” is “a problem-solving-process”. In the dictionary of Realities, “life” will probably be defined or equated with “a problem-solving-process” or “maintenance”. Not the usual definition of “ability to live” or a “sentient being”.

And back to Reality – that in reality, behind the problem is found THE Solution, not a somewhere “future” solution. The “problem” is actually a mental error, a mistaken thought that was not being questioned. The present Solution occurring simultaneously with the error, if noticed, is actually a rectification of that error, showing you the problem was never in existential, likened to one upon waking up from a dream realizes it never was. The present Solution is ALWAYS present, except veiled by the so-called erroneous “problem”, thus creating a strange pursuant of a “future-solved-problem” to arrived at.

Thus, your moment to moment “problem” actually HAS BEEN SOLVED, but not known to you yet. To even try solving any of your so-called problems is NOT to take notice of the ever-present Solution that requires NO time to arrive at. It is already here awaiting your realization. Thus, your “time” is being used or wasted to solve problems ONLY. Time is no longer required once it is being understood that the Solution is already GIVEN, awaiting you. It is a question of finding it in the midst of the present existential problem, not further than the problem, hence “time” is not inferred. If time is not required at all to solved the never-ending erroneous problems, will then rebirth serve its purpose? Will there even be a rebirth to take place?

Time is wrongly used by you used JUST for the sake of solving problems, maintaining problems. The Awakened One, without time, or timelessness, instead uses time only to correctly point to you the pristine Solution that is already here, just for your sake. Other than that, time was never their purpose to pursue. Wherein time, without a problem-solving thought? Where there is timelessness, where then is death, except deathlessness?

In summary, if ever there is a problem to resolve in your mind, you are not seeing correctly what you are supposed to see NOW.

Herein confirms what was scribed in A Course In Miracles, lesson 90:

Lesson 90

(79) Let me recognize the problem so it can be solved.

Let me realize today that the problem is always some form of grievance that I would cherish. Let me also understand that the solution is always a miracle with which I let the grievance be replaced. Today I would remember the simplicity of salvation by reinforcing the lesson that there is one problem and one solution. The problem is a grievance; the solution is a miracle. And I invite the solution to come to me through my forgiveness of the grievance, and my welcome of the miracle that takes its place.

Specific applications of this idea might be in these forms:

This presents a problem to me which I would have resolved.
The miracle behind this grievance will resolve it for me.
The answer to this problem is the miracle that it conceals.

(80) Let me recognize my problems have been solved.

I seem to have problems only because I am misusing time. I believe that the problem comes first, and time must elapse before it can be worked out. I do not see the problem and the answer as simultaneous in their occurrence. That is because I do not yet realize that God has placed the answer together with the problem, so that they cannot be separated by time. The Holy Spirit will teach me this, if I will let Him. And I will understand it is impossible that I could have a problem which has not been solved already.

These forms of the idea will be useful for specific applications:

I need not wait for this to be resolved.
The answer to this problem is already given me, if I will accept it.
Time cannot separate this problem from its solution.

Maintenance is who you are: https://wisefoolpoems.wordpress.com/2014/04/26/537/

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The Little Stories in Your Head

He looks better than me. She is bitchy. Oh! She is so cute. He is darn unfair.
How can he say that to me? Why is the world so hard on me?

Are these all familiar to you? Do you notice they are the little stories which run in your head? You probably have not noticed them as stories; maybe only as thoughts. Even then, highly possible you may not have noticed them as stories or thoughts, but something that may be very true to you. Say, you are looking at someone or something and a meaning arises in your head about that person or thing. Although, I am using the word “about” — which is actually purely a meaningour mind gives to what is being observed, many a time we do not notice that it is just a meaning defining a reality outside. The word “meaning” itself is a definition of a reality that is not entirely true or not exactly what it is. Another word for it is “interpretation”. Our meaning is our own interpreted perception, very different from what is really out there.

But when we experience those meanings, we rarely notice it as just a meaning, a thought, a “story” our mind tells — instead, we take it as real, as the truth to us. Now, if you can notice this clearly in your head, which is actually the mind, then that meaning, as a perceived reality, will be clearly recognized as a “perceived reality” — something that is interpreted or fabricated by your mind. But in actual experience, we seldom or rarely come to that realisation. Most of the time, it is not as simple. We believe entirely that our perceived reality is actually the ultimate reality — expecting others to also see as we do.

That brings us to a differentiation between evaluation and observation. Take for instance, to praise someone’s hairdo as “beautiful”. It is only an evaluation — as it can be a case of one man’s meat is another man’s poison, a proverb to illustrate how each of our perceptions is colouring what we are experiencing in the world. That hairdo can be something disgusting to another. Both experience realness in what they are perceiving and thinking. But is it really real, or just their own mind’s perceived reality?

story-of-me

Actually, we are merely experiencing those passing stories in our minds. It is coming through us, so to speak, and we are not even a doer of it. It has no relevance to what is really happening. They arise out of conditioning when our attention meets with those objects of seeing. In fact, every one of our senses is constantly bringing in a certain mental experience that we cannot stop, except to be experienced, since our senses are constantly contacting objects. If we are able to notice or become aware of them, then those mind-states or thoughts become our objects of awareness instead. Otherwise, they seemingly become real to us in each moment.

To say it again, we are merely experiencing those passing stories in our mind. Somehow, those stories, just because they are not being noticed for what they are, are projected onto the object which we are seeing, making us think they are actually the object. Like a coloured glass, each story colours those objects with amazing meaning, and thus produce an illusionary effect, an optical illusion, so to speak, of what we think it is. That is what the mind is all about, until being seen correctly.

Awareness, or mindfulness, is crucial to the process of direct realisation of what is actually taking place in each of our moments. And the purpose of awareness is simple — knowing the mind is doing the job of projecting and coming into your own direct realisation of it. It is up to you to unravel this baffling mystery. Only then can one say he is self-awakened to the mind, which includes the self itself. It is the case of, to each his/her own. The great seers can only point, each has to walk the Path themself.

(This article was earlier posted in Clove&Clive)