Life Beyond the Image

This comes from the comments on, Question and Answer (or Question and Question?) Part Two. (Plus, something new at the end.)

I would like to suggest something and I hope you do not take offense. Perhaps it is right or wrong, my mind continues to evolve and I cannot say. The moment you died, a belief shift occurred. You decided that this moment was perfect, that your thoughts were what was making you suffer. You experience the effects of that belief. That belief creates an experience that is wonderful and joyous and perfect and needs nothing more.

It is true that we can believe something to be joyous and we will indeed experience joy. It is not a difficult thing to get our heads around. Or we can believe something to be horrible and we will live in that horror.

I wanted to find out what is there without belief at all. Not say that it is right or wrong. If I believe it to be right, I have gone nowhere. I would still be inside of thought.

If in the moment of death, a belief shift occurred, then I would question if death actually arrived. If I decide the moment is perfect, then I am sure to see my idea of perfection. But then again, I have to have an idea of what is right, then project it onto reality, then everything I see is perfect. If that is what I do, am I really seeing anything? Or just my idea of what is perfect?

And what happens if someone or something challenges my idea of perfection?

It is a serious thing we should all consider at some point in our lives. If I decide what perfection is, have a conclusion, and live through that, is that living? I am still seeing through thought, although it might be a prettier thought than the last one.

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This was written about nine months ago when I was visiting the United States. I’ll add a few thoughts on the same topic here.

Belief is cumbersome. Very heavy. A massive amount if energy is spent holding up the illusion day after day.

When there was an “I” that believed, HE sank to the bottom from the burden’s heavy weight. But when HE died, the being was free to move, free to fly.

HE is sunk, gone, a shadowy memory. And yet the organism still goes on and on.

HE used to blame others for his stupidity. HE would live in awful situations but never take responsibility. And even with the facts before HIM, it was never clear because of what HE believed.

The ideals, the beliefs, were so comforting yet dangerous. HE could stay there, because that is all HE knew. Even though HE wasn’t living. It was a life lived on referral.

The reference point was always there, you see. Something would happen, and the manual of the mind, the beliefs, the shoulds and should nots, would rise up before HIM, and using that palette of dull color HE would react.

The fact would be before HIM, but all HE could see was the choice. “Based on this, I choose this!”

But after HE died, there were no longer any choices; no longer any grays, charcoals, or ashes on the palette.

All that is left is timelessness.

Being.

Breathe in, breathe out.

It still has friends, but there is really no way to know. People seem to arrive and leave. Then the cycle repeats.

It sees other beings moving gracefully through the streets. Their faces have a timeless quality. So beautiful. They are already enlightened, but why don’t THEY see it?

The answer is in the question.

Last night it felt the rain on its face, but it was never cold.

I know you say there is nothing to search for, nothing to do, nowhere to go, yada-yada, but I want to do it. I have decided to go for it, and thats what I want to devote my energy to. Without telling me not to do it, or that I don’t need to, can you give advice on something I could do to help stick to this path? I’d really appreciate it.

If you are going to do it, then go all out. Let nothing stand in your way.

It may surprise you to hear me say this, but I think it is great that you have made this decision. And it seems that you understand that this takes attention and great energy, which is good.

It is true that I have said most people will be happier if they never search for it, but that does not mean I think people should not do it. (It is true I question the NEED to do it, but that is a different matter.)

People do search, and that is a fact. Who am I to tell them to stop? It would be unfair for me to tell you to do anything, and it would be outright insane for me to hope you will do something different from what you are doing.

Having said that, there is little advice I can give you on this matter. But there is one thing I see happening all the time amongst seekers.

They separate the search from “every day” life.

If you are serious, then this choice you have made will follow you every second of every day. I will not be, “Now I am going to meditate to reach enlightenment, then I will go to the office.” No, No. This wholeness is everywhere. It doesn’t matter where you are, or what you are doing.

I had a conversation recently with someone that told me, “I had to get a sitter for my kids so I could meditate to become peaceful.” I understand the need to get a sitter if you want to do something alone, but do you need to meditate to find peace? Does that also mean that you can not be peaceful around the kids?

It is a useless activity if you think you will go into meditation to find peace, then afterwards return to the “real world”. The real world IS the kids. (Or whatever you happen to be doing.) Find peace with the kids; see the joy in every single moment. There is great love there, and those little guys/gals will be the best teacher you’ll ever have.

In other words, try to see that wholeness is everywhere already. See that there is no separation between activities you may be up to. Every moment of every day holds the greatest teaching you could ever possibly want.

This wholeness is in everything. I don’t care if you are reading a book, arguing with your brother, having sex, or doing a number 2, it is always there.

Start with that, and see what happens. I hope it is helpful to you.

Isn’t self inquiry just another form of seeking?

Someone might consider self-inquiry to be “seeking,” and I can see that. But the emphasis is that there is no reliance on outside authority.

With inquiry you neither accept or reject anything. It is just there. You see it for what it is, but if your thoughts are involved, with your preferences and prejudices, you are still enslaved to an outside authority. (Thought, in this case, is an outside authority disguised as the self. It moves within itself, and its range is limited and outside of awareness.)

Does that make sense?

Things are not rejected because of what you know. Rather, they fall away on their own, when seen as they are.

(Although the “self” in self inquiry is not quite right, I still use the term, but more often than not, I’ll just use inquiry.)