Knowledge and Religion

Finding God in Haiti and Natural Disasters

2010-02-03T21:27:55-08:00

When we read about and hear about natural disasters like the earthquake in Haiti, we can rightfully ask: “Why would God do such a thing to a poor country like Haiti? Where is justice anyway?” Here is a country that is really poor and now they lost just about everything they had.

And of course if your aim in life is Self-Knowledge, this would provide a challenge. How could a person find peace and happiness when they lose everything: their family, friends, house and all of there possessions. That many nations in the world have come together to help is definitely a good thing, as it reflects the oneness and compassion that comes right from our own being.

Can we find an answer for this much suffering?
But in order to meditate and find a real resolve for this situation, we would have to put ourselves in the place of the people in Haiti. The question is: Can we find a place in our meditation that is deep enough to resolve this much suffering?

Our answer would have to be deeper than the person who is hungry, homeless, and in pain; and deeper than the reaction of the mind, saying ouch! That is a shift of identity from the limitations of the mind and body, to the ever-present Consciousness, which is at our core.

By resting in our being we find what is true about the world
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Give the gift of enlightenment to yourself or others when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory.

For more information go to: Amazon.com

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From here we would not have to the change the person going through the crisis. All we would have to do is rest in the still reference point that sees change. In that way we would see clearly that the “me” who lived in Haiti was not me at all, and the lost everything was never really mine. The person and the mine were just objects that I saw and not my real identity.

But the thing that made this nightmare seem so real was our own Consciousness, and by returning our Consciousness to its source, we return reality to its source, which is our being. That resolves the suffering completely.

The illustration of night's dream will make this clearer. The real resolve for the tragedy that happened was to find the reality behind the dream, which is the mind of the waking one. Working in the dream would only provide temporary relief for the suffering. But when you wake up the relief is permanent. The same is true for this waking state.

Even in death the stillness of our being does not change
And if we were crushed under one of the houses that collapsed and died, all of these objects would pass away; but our identity would remain the same as the still Consciousness that was never born and will never die.

So we can use this destruction as a reminder that if we connect our peace to objects in the world, then as the objects change, our peace and happiness will seem to disappear. But if we look within and find peace at its source, our real identity, we will find that which can never be destroyed.

So the lesson here is rather then getting enamored in the things that we see, to continue our search until we find that which is free from limitation. It is the source of Consciousness and Bliss which, found at our center, is the truth of the universe. The real lesson of change and destruction is that we should continue our search until we find the changeless background. That is, “The peace that passes all understanding.”

Feel free to ask questions
Now I want you to experience your true identity in its full glory. So please feel free to continue asking questions. I’m always glad to hear your reactions and clarify my answers. Unlike the path of faith, on the path of Self-Knowledge it is curiosity that destroys limitation and allows you to abide in your natural freedom.

If the comment section of this blog doesn't work, please send your questions and comments to michael@ananya.com. To find out where this all leads go to, www.light-up-your-life.com. And finally, if you enjoy these blogs please tell your friend

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Do you have a problem with anger?

2010-01-28T20:32:07-08:00

If you have problems with your emotions and find yourself swinging between spiritual experiences and emotions that seem to bring you back into suffering, you should read this blog. That’s because struggling with your emotions will keep you centered in limitation, while your real nature, which is space-like Awareness transcends all limitations.

This is an email conversation between Ross and Michael:

Ross:
I am enjoying your book. As a student of A course in Miracles Jesus tells us anger is never justified. It is a misperception. Your insights are very similar to the course presented in a different way but with the same ultimate conclusion as truth must always be. I am awareness you say. The course says “I am as God created me". Same conclusion.
Thank you Michael

Michael:

Hi Ross
As for anger it does have a place. If anger was always bad Jesus would have lost his sage hood when he got angry at the money lenders in the temple.

In fact all of your emotions have a place in life. For a sage they are like tools in his tool chest. You use the right tool for the right job, right? The time when you have to examine yourself is when you attempt to use a sledge hammer to drive in a finishing nail.

When you emotions get out-of-whack
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When your emotions are not appropriate for the situation, it is a sure sign that you are feeling limited by some conceptual framework and reacting off of it. For instance if you find yourself constantly getting angry with your wife, the person that you are supposed to love, it is time to look and see what you are taking to be true.

Here are some questions that you can ask yourself in order to unfurl these concepts: do you think she has the ability to give you your innate happiness, and then to destroy it? Did you learn certain behaviors from your parents that you just repeat without looking at them to see if they are really the best way to have a relationship?

To get to the very root of anger just inquire: How are you viewing the world, yourself, and your mind? If you find a limiting or negative view of these, you will have found the root of your concept. Then you can rejoice because as a spiritual seeker, what you can see you are free of.

You can find your freedom and struggle no more
If you just attempt to control anger, you are in for a struggle. That’s because you are taking the anger to be real with the ability to take you over at any moment. So you have the impossible job of being constantly on guard. However if you can root out the conceptual frameworks that make the anger seem so real, it will magically disappear without you having to do anything except abide in your natural state.

If you find yourself having to control your emotions, know that you can go one step further and find your freedom. The only thing I can say is when you become aware of limiting concepts, the next time the situation that is supposed to limit you comes up, you will be surprised by how much freedom you feel, and even your response may be different than you could have anticipated.

I agree with the conclusion: it is very relaxing to just be yourself without the need for any image. That's the way God meant you to be.

Best Wishes

Ross:

Thank you again. Still progressing with book, incidentally I have a book called "Divine healing of mind and body" through Dr Murdo McDonald- Bayne in which Jesus gave 14 talks through a transfiguration in 1948. In it he says about the turning of the tables in the temple was an extreme teaching example but that he wasn't angry. It is interesting but I do not mean it to be controversial. All that matters is the love we are as you state in your book.
Blessings.

Ross

- We walk with God in perfect holiness

Hi Ross,

Love is the deepest emotion
What you may notice about anger is that it is not the opposite of love. For instance when you stop your child who is about to bolt across a busy street, you may get angry, but your real motivation is loving protection.

Love is deeper than any other emotion. That's because it comes from our innate oneness, which is our real identity. It is also the one emotion that needs no cause, as love just is.

If fact, none of our emotions are powerful enough to block this innate oneness. If anger seems to block love, it is time to meditate so that you can again stand as the source of love.

Jesus used anger; it did not use him
Jesus was using anger as a tool to show the moneylenders that the temple was a symbol for something that was greater than materialism. He was just standing up for what was right, but of course he didn't lose his identity, God which is our real identity too.

You should know that here you are always free to ask questions. After all, this is the path for the curious. So how can I be insulted by your great questions and comments?

Nothing in the mind can block your Being
As you contemplate more on Self-Knowledge you will find that nothing in the mind can block that which you really are. In fact not even birth and death can obscure your being. When you wake up you really do die before you die, and then you never die again.

Remember, you are the witness to the passing of the body and the changes to your mind. You are not the one caught in them.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

How to reclaim your deepest spiritual experiences

2010-01-25T21:01:01-08:00

If you ever wondered why your spiritual experience came to an end, and how you can get back to those wonderful heights, pay attention to Bree’s question. It is a very perceptive question on coming down after a high experience. Then we will discuss how to cut the strings of limitation so that you never come down again.

Hello there Michael,

There was a time when i saw the intensity of truth in every one and everything. I saw the essence of god and divinity in all i encountered, leading me on a journey in embracing the unification of all the people, places and ideals

i came in contact with. i could stare at a wall, talk to a flower and hear the grace of Truth speaking to me and through me. i would fall into the eyes of a stranger with the sacred divine intimacy surrounding us. They would pour out their hearts to me; speaking of all the fears they work so hard to keep hidden.

i knew in those precious instances what their souls were thirsty for, they would say to me "i felt compelled to tell you all of this i am not usually like this...." i understood. i could hear the message of our souls in a clear communication, i knew my purpose loud and clear. my disciplines and spiritual practices reflected the trust i had with god, in which became a reflection to all my surroundings.

so i understand that the seasons change, sometimes its a rebirth with spring or its chaos with winter, and how they reflect the essence of our experiences, how ever as time passed i started to feel used and saw how others put me on a pedestal. i saw my ego feeding the image of enlightenment, and i saw it creating a separation between myself and others.

its funny because the first trial for me in creating the sacred intimacy in communicating the "truth", at fist i had a fear of them not wanting to be around me because i reflect what i am most passionate about, and that is facing ones self, in order to see the ego and not react to it, so you’re not lost underneath its spell, i chose to feel the hunger of my soul instead, and in that choice some hesitate to be in my life while others do not want to let go at all.

i could keep going because the stories never end, and that’s the best part. i love living. i love being. And i love loving! i am very grateful for this wonderful experience that we call life. My question for you Michael is what insight do you receive when you read this? Thank you for your time!

With love Bree!

Here was our response:
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Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory.

For more information go to:
Amazon.com

___________________________________________________________________

Hi Bree,

Thank you for your important question. I know very few people who have the kind of self awareness that your question reflects. I think this came from your deep spiritual experience of oneness and connection with everyone.

In my practice too I had experience where everyone and everything was just my own being, where I felt the deepest sense of oneness. And from within my experience it seemed as if it would last forever. When it came to an end I was really puzzled and surprised.

What do you take to be your home?
Then it occurred to me to examine what I was coming back to, because that was what I was taking to be my real home. No matter how nice and how long my vacation in Hawaii was, in the end I would come back to my home in California.

In the same way no matter how amazing my experiences were, in the end I came back to what I considered to be just me or "This is just the way I am." Think of it this way. If you were alone in a room, without the need for an image, what would you rest in? That is what you are taking to be home or just the way I am.

Seeing a hostile world is not conducive to oneness
In my case I was coming back to my fears based on an inimical world that was out to get me so I always had to be on guard. This is the same reason that I took up martial arts. As I'm sure you can see, this idea is not conducive to feelings of oneness.

Now here's the good news. Your real home is undying Consciousness and Bliss. Once you see a limitation as limitation and not as reality you are free from that limitation. That’s because you are the Consciousness that sees limitation; not the one stuck in it.

You know when you identify with limitation
If you identify with something less than you really are, it will feel uncomfortable and too limited like a shoe that doesn't fit. So if you feel, "I'm the enlightened teacher and they are the students stuck in limitation,” you will find yourself a step down from your experience of oneness. The trick here is not to judge yourself as bad. Look at yourself as if you were someone else reading a novel about you.

Seeing your limiting concepts is a skill that you can develop
I found this a little like riding a bicycle. At first it was very difficult for me to see my limitations. But once I got my balance, destroying limiting frameworks became the mainstay of my practice. Long before I destroyed them all I found the root concept of taking myself to be limited to the thought I.

Now what I would suggest is poke around a little and ask: when you first had the feelings of divinity in all, the perfection that is in and through everything, there wasn’t the need to lead anybody to anything, as perfection was already there. Then your communication was God talking with God and nothing else.

When did this start to switch?
Then came the feeling that you were leading people to divine wisdom; what were you taking these people to be anyway? Is that where separation started? Then you started craving their acceptance and fearing rejection from these people. Why was this? Was their rejection powerful enough to pull you out of your innate oneness? Why were you running after their acceptance and fearing their rejection anyway? If they want to be with you there would be a natural connection; if not then not.

Use these questions as a guide to help you see the limitations that you take to be true. Then you can ask, “What am I taking the world and my mind to be anyway? Is this their natural state?” Since you had the experience of oneness you already know what they really are, right? So when you become aware of the views that seem to limit you, they will disappear into the place where they first came from. Where do assumptions come from anyway?

You will cut the strings that pull you back into limitation
This will be like cutting the strings that seem to pull you back into limitation. Finally your experiences will be your natural state and there will be nothing left to come back to.

Of course you will help people, and you will have the ability to cut lifetimes off their spiritual practice, and end their suffering for good. But you will know that they are in the hands of God, and so free to accept or reject what you say. In the same way you see clearly what held you back in limitation, you will see clearly what keeps people in the grip of limitation. But you will allow them to grow so that they can see this too.

And you will know that there is nothing wrong in last night's dream. Perfection has not been destroyed in any way. Please feel free to ask questions and ask me to clarify this answer.

Best Wishes for Your Practice,

Michael Gluckman

What is the key to enlightenment?

2010-01-22T20:38:21-08:00

What is the key to enlightenment?
The thing about self-knowledge is that it is meant to be experiential and not just intellectual. In fact I think self-discovery is a better name for waking up to what we really are. That’s because with self-discovery your experience changes in ways that you could not have imagined. Another way of saying this is: self discovery will blow your mind.

Let’s take an example so that you can experience what I am saying right now. Let’s take a fresh look at where the world actually sits. We all know that I’m over here and the world is over there, right?

But the key to self discovery is to examine our everyday experiences with fresh eyes. If we can do this we will find that our actual experience is different and more amazing then it’s supposed to be. So with this for an introduction, let’s look at our experience of the world from several different angles:

What is the world anyway?
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I am sitting here at a cafe in Carmel California looking outside at a lavender flowering bush. First I see a window frame with glass then I see the bush. Now similarly if I was in here and the world was out there, first I should see my eye sockets and then I should see the world, right? But that’s not really my experience, is it? I just see the world without the sense that the world is over there and I am here. I do not really experience any distance between me and the world. So going by my actual experience where does the world begin and the I end? I can’t really say, right?

Is the world really out there?
Ok, let’s look at the world from a different angle that will again defy the common understanding of where we are located and where the world is located. Even though I will use seeing, you can do this experiment with any sense, eyes, ears, touch, smell and taste. What happens when you see the violet flowering bush?

Your eyes act like a camera and the picture goes from your eyes to the optic nerve. From the optic nerve the picture enters your brain and from the brain it enters your mind. Then you see your mind. So when you say, “I am seeing the world,” you are really only seeing your mind, right? So every object that you think is out there is really just in your mind. Is this what the Buddha meant when he said, “There is nothing outside the Buddha Mind?” Did you know that you can experience this as part of your normal everyday experience? That means that you can become a living Buddha.

Look at your experience afresh
The real key to enlightenment is to look at your experience with fresh eyes and with wonder. The whole mystery of the universe is here, right before our eyes. The only barrier that we have for seeing things as they really are is that we assume too much about the world, ourselves and our mind. If we just start to questions some of these assumptions, we will find that even now we are in the place that we want to be. And most important, this place is much more beautiful and amazing than we could have imagined.

Even though everything will be the same, this meditation on Self-discovery will change your experience in ways that you could never have imagined; and you will never be bored.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Enlightenment is Freedom from Death!

2010-01-17T12:46:19-08:00

Ruth has the following reply to Kirk about where we go when we die. Did you know when you trace your Awareness back to its source you find that you were never born and will never die?

Hello Michael,
I wanted to reply to this Kirk person about where we go when we die.

1) We are pure light energy
2) Energy never dies
3) We are here to collect more information, to learn and return back home to our true essence of being ness with more knowledge
4) Those who have finished their learning cycle through many incarnations do ascend, their learning is complete
5) Then there are ascended beings who choose to return to help a multitude of other beings, they are here as teachers and leaders of humanity

Thanks and lots of light, Ruth

Hi Ruth,

Yes you are right; energy is a path to God, which is the essence of the universe. But you should know that it is a very difficult path, ripe for the multi-lifetime approach. That’s because energy often gets mixed up with the one who seems to have it or transmit it. That “I” is just another thought in your mind and not really you.

You may have heard of this sense of "I" called the ego. What this ego does is take you original identity, which is greater than any container that you see, like the body and mind and limits it down to one thought "I". You know: “Look what I can do,” or “I have more energy than you,” or “I have a higher degree black belt than you.”

The ego emphasizes the container, not pure energy
All of these statements reinforce the container of the energy so that you never get to experience energy in its original unbridled state. Now you may have heard of God described as not just omnipotent (total energy) but omnipresent (everywhere), and omniscient (all-knowing consciousness) too.

The easiest way to God is to trace Awareness back to its source

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For me the easiest way to God is to trace Awareness back to its source. You do this by noticing that you are not limited by anything that you see. Taking this practice through, you will discover the real essence of the universe, not by standing separate and looking at it. Rather you will know God because that’s what you really are: omniscient, undying, and ever present Awareness. And this is the thing that most people overlook.

That’s because they cannot see Awareness, the ultimate subject, like they see an object. And so they look right past their expansive freedom and take themselves to be an object that they see like a body, mind, or the thought "I".

So Self-Knowledge is the practice of looking within to find that which is not bound by limitation. Remember, you do not know this Awareness as a separate thing. You know it because you are it. When you rest here, you will know that which has always been free of birth and will never die. Can you believe that if you know who you truly are you will be free of death?

Everything is really just Awareness
On this path, it is not that you get more knowledge until you finally know enough to get enlightened. Rather as Awareness you are already omniscient (universal knowledge). This is like knowing that the essence of a movie is the screen. When you reach out to touch the movie you find that it was only the screen. Similarly you may not know every detail in the world. But you will know that it is your Awareness that makes it seem so real. Did you know that the world is really just your Awareness?

Beings, who hold themselves separate are not the best help
As for these ascended beings that are there to help you at a certain stage, they may be saintly but they still hold themselves as separate from you, and being separate they have not seen the essence of there being. Remember God is omnipresent. That means that nothing can stand separate from God.

If these ascended beings think they are separate from you or higher than you they have not yet seen the glorious oneness which is the essence of your being. The best help on the path of Self-Knowledge is to rest as Awareness and Bliss, the essence of your being and let that do the teaching.

I hope that this brings clarity for you. If you have any questions or more comments please feel free to ask or write. I will be glad to put your comments on the blog.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Why do we have bodies at all?

2010-01-13T21:00:21-08:00

Based on my first answer in the last blog (Do we die when the body passes away?), Kirk had some further questions:

Since awareness is all there is I am wondering why we even have bodies at all?
Also why are we being conditioned from day one to believe in separate selves and that the mind is us?
Where did we go wrong in this search?

Kirk

Hi Kirk,

Thanks for your questions. As to why we have bodies, assuming that we do, there are many different explanations depending on which religion you believe in. But I have two favorites:

So we can enjoy finding our innate freedom
First so that we can have the joy of discovering that we are not limited to the body at all, because our identity actually encompasses the whole universe and does not change in any state that we find ourselves in, including life and death.

Out of ignorance
And second we have bodies because of ignorance. We assume that we are located in a body and then we desire the people and things that we perceive as separate from us, in order to find completion. We are also afraid of some people and things, because we fear that they will block and snatch away our happiness. And thus we are here out of desire and fear, which you might know as karma.

But ignorance is an odd creature. Although it is beginning-less it has an end. Here is an example: when did you become ignorant of the fact that we have a blog? You can't say, right? But in an instant when you found out about this blog, your ignorance about it ended. In the same way, when you discover your real identity, at that instant you are no longer limited by the body or thoughts in the mind.

Questioning destroys conditioning

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As for conditioning, it assumes that we will not reevaluate the ideas that we take to be true. That’s why I encourage your questioning. In the same way that curiosity killed the cat, it also kills limitation. The root of limitation is what we believe about the world, our self, and our mind. When we stop assuming that these beliefs are true and start questioning them, they vanish into thin air.

Again and again these beliefs seem to lead to the same suffering. You may notice that when you are in certain situations, the same feelings of limitation and suffering come up. This may be accompanied by inappropriate responses to that situation. You may be able to predict your responses with, “Here we go again!”

Here is a simple example. If you think, “I can't do math,” and believe it, you may find yourself struggling with math. Notice the belief in this thought created a conceptual framework that seemed to limit you, not the thought itself.

But when you notice that “I can't” is just a thought and not necessarily true, you leave a space where you once felt limited, and then, who knows, you might find that you are perfectly capable of doing math.

The light of awareness will destroy conditioning
Notice that a moment of shining light on this belief is enough to destroy it. No matter how long you took this thought to be true, an honest look at it can destroy it in a second. Another way of saying this is that in a second you destroyed your conditioning.

Destroying our conditioning is a one-step process
Now here’s the most interesting thing about destroying your frameworks. It is a one step process and not two. Most people think, “First I have to see my beliefs and then I have to correct them.” But this is not true and will just lead to struggling with your mind.

Rather Self-Knowledge is a one step process. Remember, you are the ultimate subject; what you see you are not. When you see a limiting belief that you took to be true, you are automatically free from it. The proof of this type of inquiry is that the next time a situation comes up that seemed to cause suffering, you will find a big surprise. You will feel free. This will not be a controlled feeling; it will be the natural feeling of freedom that comes right from your being.

A suggestion for finding limiting beliefs
If you want to know where you can find limiting beliefs in play, just check out your human relationships. If you are like I was, that will be fertile ground for discovering limiting beliefs that you take to be true. And most importantly by shining the light of Awareness on these beliefs, you will find that your conditioning will be destroyed in an instant. Then your life will change in ways you could not have anticipated.

The only thing we did wrong was look to the world for our sense of reality, when reality comes from our true identity. That's why this teaching was pasted down from eternity. To point people in the direction that will lead to the real fulfillment of their lives. I hope that this raises more questions for you in your quest for freedom. Please feel free to ask here.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Do we die when the body passes away?

2010-01-10T14:14:14-08:00

Kirk had the following question on life and death. This will show the real value of discovering your Self-Nature.

Say we become aware then the body dies-what happens to our awareness that we discovered while alive?

thank you I can never get anyone to answer this

Kirk

Hi Kirk,

This is an important question. When you discover the answer to this, you will not taste death. The key to finding this is to discover your real identity, to find what you really are.

Awareness is not an object
For instance when you say we become aware you are talking as if you are separate from awareness. And thus you are assuming that awareness is an object that you see. And of course when you die objects disappear.

But awareness is not an object, it is what you are; it is the still vantage point from which you recognize all that changes. It is also the thing that makes everything that you perceive seem so real.

What is Kirk anyway?
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This may seem hard to comprehend with your mind. But here is an illustration that may help. There were three people in your dream last night. The first person, Kirk Gates, was a very rich man and everyone admired him for doing so much and having so much money.

The second person, Kirk Yogi, had learned how to levitate in the dream. Everyone was amazed when during his talks he could float off the platform and to the ceiling.

The third person was Kirk Sage. He sat quietly in the background and people hardly noticed him. But he had discovered that he was not limited by the body or mind. Rather he was the mind of the waking one. When the body dies he knew that he would remain exactly the same as the real substance of the dream, which of course is just the mind of the dreamer.

The Self is the only thing that lasts
In the short run it may seem as though the pursuit of wealth, pleasure, and yogic powers might bring the real satisfaction in life. But Self realization is the thing that lasts. That's because you get to discover the real substance of the universe. Also you get to abide at the source of peace and joy, unaffected by the changing condition of the body and mind.

When the body passes away, many people are in for a big surprise. That's because the place where most people think they stand, the body and certain frameworks in the mind, gets swept out from underneath them.

When you die to limitation you will never die again
That's when they get to see the real conceptual beliefs that drove their life. As you can imagine, this can be very disconcerting. But if your identity is awareness, as the body and mind changes, nothing really changes. You remain just as you always are. That's because you have already died to limitation. And when you die to limitation, you will never die again.

I hope this raises lots of questions for you because when you question what you take to be normal, that's when you start to grow. Please feel free to continue asking questions.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

How do I get to the real depth of meditation?

2010-01-07T19:55:09-08:00

Here is a question that points to the difference between purely intellectual knowledge and the experiential knowledge that we call “Self-Knowledge:”

I’ve been studying Self-Knowledge (nonduality) for many years. But I don’t feel happier and I don’t feel that my life and my experiences are changing. So I feel stuck in the same place that I was when I started my study. So how do I proceed from here?

Many people consider spirituality as a way of changing their thoughts from what they consider bad and distracting, to good and peaceful, or to no thoughts at all. There are many techniques for doing this including walking meditations, watching your breathing, starring at a candle, and repeating a mantra.

When people start their study of Self-Knowledge they often have experience with these meditation techniques and so they continue with the old techniques, even while taking up this new exploration. And so they consider Self-Knowledge as another way to change their mind.

You can’t fix your thoughts
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The problem with this is that the mind is always changing. Even if you can fix it in a favorable state for a few moments in time, when your attention changes, your mind will change too and it will go back to the state that you think is natural for it. For instance if you consider distraction to be your natural state then you mind will revert to distraction; if you think that fear is its natural state then your thoughts will revert to your fears.

Moreover, there are many things that can affect the state of your mind. As an example the tiniest change in the chemical balance of your body can affect your mind. Diseases like Alzheimer’s as well as conceptual frameworks that you learned from your parents and friends, or you just made up by yourself, can also affect the state of your mind.

The more you focus on your thoughts the more imposing they become
Although it is possible to free yourself from limiting conceptual frameworks, as you can see, it is next to impossible to control your thoughts or still them completely. Stilling your mind is like trying to still the waves in a lake; the more you try to stop them the bigger the waves get. Similarly the more you focus on your thoughts the bigger and more imposing they become.

So you may ask, “If I can’t control and still my mind how can I find the peace and joy that all sages promise?" The answer is that this peace is not a state of mind; it is a state of being.

Rather than attempting to control your mind, in Self-Knowledge you have to discover what you really are. Your mind is just a tiny object that you see, it isn’t you. But here’s the thing that’s even more amazing. The “my” in “My mind” is not you either. What you think is the subject is really just another thought in your mind. It is not you at all. The proof is that you see this thought. It is an object that you see and not the real subject.

Ramana Maharshi called this “My” the “I” thought. He described it as a thief dressing up like a policeman and then attempting to catch the thief. What do you think will happen? You have the same problem when you take yourself to be the limited “I” thought, and from there attempting to control or still the mind. What you have is a jumble of thoughts attempting to control other thoughts. So when you think, “I am going to control my anger,” the thought I is in motion as well as the anger. Is it any wonder that you never get anywhere?

The purpose of Self-Knowledge is to find your real identity
The purpose of Self-Knowledge is not to control your mind. Rather it is to assume your real identity as ever-present consciousness; to return to your rightful place, free from every limitation that you see including thoughts.

So what then is the problem? You do not see Consciousness, you see from Consciousness. So it is easy to overlook what you are and take yourself to be an object that you see. If you can untangle yourself from the limited objects that you see like the body and thoughts in the mind, you will find a freedom that is not defined by your thoughts. You will find that you were always centered right in the thing that you were looking for.

You will then be the “Kingdom of heaven that’s within you,” “The peace that passes all understanding.” You will not know this as a separate object. You will know this because that’s what you are. In the next blog I will give some suggestions so that you can step beyond the limiting concepts that seem to bother you.

Feel free to ask questions
Now I want you to experience your true identity in its full glory. So please feel free to continue asking questions. I’m always glad to hear your reactions and clarify my answers. Unlike the path of faith, on the path of Self-Knowledge it is curiosity that destroys limitation and allows you to abide in your natural freedom.

If the comment section of this blog doesn't work, please send your questions and comments to michael@ananya.com. To find out where this all leads go to, www.light-up-your-life.com. And finally, if you enjoy these blogs please tell your friend



                                                                        Best Wishes,

                                                                        Michael Gluckman

What is Renunciation Anyway?

2009-12-10T20:43:35-08:00

Recently a person asked if he really has to give up the good things in life in order to get enlightenment. The problem is that most people conceive of renunciation as renouncing happiness, and no one wants to renounce happiness. So let’s put an end to this misunderstanding now.

Many monks and spiritual aspirants in their search for God attempt to renounce the world. The problem is that they still think about and long for the things that they give up. This is intensified when they attempt to give up biological desires. These desires include the desire for food, air, and sex.

When biological desires are in balance they are not a problem. But like a pendulum, the more you push these desires to one side, the more they want to swing to the other. That’s why when monks give up food they think about and long for food. And when Catholic priests give up sex they think about sex and long for it even more. And that’s why the alleged problems that Catholic priests are having with sex and children. Is this a sign from God that priests should get married? I think that a loving relationship is much closer to God than a priest struggling with repression and indulgence.

With this being said, I should remind you that sages such as Shankara, Buddha, and Christ have said that if you want to find God or your own Self-Nature you have to renounce the world. So if renunciation gives so many people so much trouble, what could they mean by renunciation?

Happiness comes from what you are

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They meant giving up the notion that happiness comes from what you see or what you do. Fortunately this is easy because when you examine your actual experience of happiness you find that happiness comes from what you are.

Happiness is so close that we overlook it
But here’s the real mystery. Happiness is so close that it is easy to overlook. We are so busy looking to things in the world to provide our happiness that few people ever look to the source of happiness, which turns out to be the place where they actually experience it.

As an example, when we finally build the house of our dreams, and everything is cleaned up, at that point we look at our new house with a sense of great satisfaction. Where do we feel the happiness? Surely we don’t feel it at the upstairs bathroom, in the master bedroom or in the shiny new windows.

Similarly, when we get married, we don’t feel the happiness in our spouse’s face or in his or her hair. That place where we actually feel the happiness, the sense of peace and fulfillment — that is the source of happiness — the Kingdom of Heaven within.

Nothing can obstruct the happiness that is at our core
This place of happiness is so close to us that it is before anything that can obstruct our happiness, like our thoughts. So we can let our thoughts flow like a river flows. We can let the good ones and the bad ones flow on through. In fact, this state of bliss that comes from the source of our experience is so powerful and so real that we can give up doing anything with our thoughts.

We don’t have to get rid of the bad thoughts or try to think the good ones. People who are constantly trying to manipulate or control their thoughts have never taken a direct unbiased look into the source of happiness. When we look right into our own heart, we see that thoughts or lack of thoughts can never produce the happiness we wanted anyway. So we can stop struggling with our mind and drink directly from the well, the actual place where we experience happiness and peace.

We can now let happiness return to its rightful place
Before these thoughts ever came to our attention, peace was there; when they arose, peace was there; when they seemed to snatch away happiness, peace was still there, and when they dissolved back into the place where they came from, peace remained. So if we gave our thoughts the power to take away our happiness, we can now let happiness return to its rightful place.

Once we get a sense of where happiness comes from we can explore this: when the house burns down or the spouse goes away, is there a place of peace inside that’s so deep and so steady that it doesn’t go away?

Now, of course when our house gets destroyed, we will not be jumping for joy. However, there is a place underneath the emotions like the depth of the ocean, or rooted deep in the ground, which is still and at peace — no matter how big the storm above.

Living from this place of happiness is finding a live center that cannot be shaken no matter what the ups and downs of life may bring. Living from this place, the mind naturally tends to release back into its natural state — a state of peace and happiness.

Swami Dyananda used to tell this story:
One day two acquaintances got on a train to take a long trip across the country. As a matter of fact, the trip was so long that it would take three days and three nights. So they decided to share a room. One of these men was a very rich man and the other was a thief. When the thief entered the room, the rich man was counting his money. The thief then went to wash up and when he got back the rich man was fast asleep.

The thief tore the room apart, but could not find the money. The next morning when the thief woke up, he saw the rich man counting his money. Again, on the second night the same thing happened. The thief was getting more exhausted as he searched harder and harder. By the time the third morning rolled around, the thief was so exhausted and so frustrated that he blurted out: “Where did you keep your money!” — The rich man answered, “Under your pillow.”

If you want happiness look under your own pillow
In the same manner, we are so busy in our attempt to find lasting happiness in the world that we never look under our own pillows —the very place where we experience of happiness. So as for renunciation, I don’t recommend forcefully giving up objects. In the long run repression will just lead to indulgence. Rather when you get what you think you wanted, just notice where you actually experience the happiness. Is it in the object that you see or is it in the core of your being?

If you meditate like this you will find that in time the world will come just to the right balance and you will be able to look within and find God, which turns out to be your own Self-Nature.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Five reasons to be thankful:

2009-11-26T12:00:08-08:00

Since in the United States we are celebrating Thanksgiving I thought I would list the things that we can be thankful for. Although they are not physical, they put the world that we see in its proper perspective.

First, that our real identity is the unbounded Self that was not born and will not die.

Second, that we are Aware of what we are and do not look past this perfection, which is found on the inside.

Third, that we do not mix up our identity with that which is limited to a body or a few thoughts in the mind.

Fourth, we know where to find the happiness that most people look for in many different places. They do not notice that happiness comes from their own Self-Nature, the place where they actually experience it.

And fifth, with this knowledge, everything else in our life falls into its proper perspective.

With this I wish you a very joyous Thanksgiving.

Michael Gluckman