It sounds unusual but us as temporary humans have this emotional love that is overwhelming and dependent, and entirely our own. The majority of people think this is the real love, it is an extreme representation of love, however it’s a human version or a conditional response. In the pure meaning of the word, love is not this, its simple and natural state is unconditional in humans. The morphed conditioned version resulted from the ego laying claim “I” and “Mine,” which the mind confuses as love. And, true unconditional love is the love that the sages find through Self-realization, although they may still show signs of feelings that resemble I and mine, however it’s naturally extinguished in short order. Because in comparison to real love without boundaries, it wasn’t factual, it’s an intense drama in the theater of life. I know that I’m in the theater watching the drama unfold, like you would know you were in the movie theater, temporally caught up in the drama like an empath, but soon to file it away as a movie when going home. This detached love doesn’t sound like love but it is the highest form of love, which knows no boundaries and knows all is not lost for nothing was really gained. It may look distant like tough love, and it won’t tally with the attached version of personal love that’s dependent, so it’ll be hardly noticeable and understood. But it’s in you, in one and all, this will be realized by most in the afterlife however for right now only the Realized or the serious aspirant hot on the path will know. The purity in all of life can not be forgotten once Realized, this charade of plots and tragedies can be captivating and entertaining at times, even heart wrenching. That which is purer and impossible to hurt is still unaffected, that’s hard for me not to forget. Only the ugly part dies and real love continues and is always there. Isn’t it nice to know that freedom from the ugly (the world, body and mind) is our final outcome and true love our effortless existence. Real love doesn’t have boundaries or restrictions that the mind habitually uses, it sees no differences that are real and binding to natural love.

All those years of people riding
Up natures track of dreams
Countless generations in one gene
But the train is running out of rail and steam

All those imprints, all those Souls
All the good, and all the mean
All those miles of trials
All those pieces made me

They are the reason
They delivered me
Away from my blood
They made me see

I am their child
With none to come
Their last son on
The family tree

The last setting sun
The tree is done
The bud has bloomed
It all ends with me

I will end the code
Throw away the key
No more tears or cheers
I will happily set them free

For the line is done
But my day not gone
I will enjoy this last run
A complete life was meant to be

I’m honored by your sacrifice
Rest assured it was not in vain
Contentment dissolves the stain
Which delivers us from anymore pain

Everyone is familiar with prayer, and it’s one of the more popular attributes of today’s religions. Out of a sense of belonging to big groups and ideologies we gather concepts that suit our personal needs, to make us feel better. Unfortunately, this act usually boosts our egos when prayer is meant to humble us in the face of uncertainty. Causing an avoidance to prayer for many people. God is leveraged out in so many different directions for personal use, displaying out loud: I will pray for you.

Prayer looses its power or purpose when judgments or personal ideologies surface in the process, which negate any good use that comes from them. Selfless prayer quietly done in private is rare today, few understand the value of the humble servant. True selfless prayer does help in life, when it’s done with sincerity and in private, not waiting for a thank you. Passing on good thoughts might not help much either, however empathy with sincerity is the best you can this in most situations. Thoughts have a subtle power to them, although they may not change anything on the outside, they can help you and people deal with the tragedy on the inside.

My teacher used Blessings as a replacement to prayer, and I think its benefits help the one who is blessing besides the blessed, helps us to see things differently.

The idea behind blessings is that sometimes shit happens, and there’s not much you can do about it, besides sending some good blessings their way, to help them and yourself in dealing with this crisis.

I’ve added a few words to the blessings, but for the most part they are the words of Vethathiri Maharishi.

Picture the people in your mind and say silently and in private, “ you are blessed by God’s Divine power, you are blessed in all your activities day and night in all places. You will live a long life, good health, prosperity, happiness, wisdom and peace, by the grace of the Divine. Or repeat: you are blessed by the Divine, as often as you think is necessary, and notice that it is done by the first person, the ultimate power within the Soul, instead of asking for an external favor from another source which shows a misunderstanding, so one is directly delivering the blessing from within. At the point of blessing focus on the warm or tingling sensation within you. Picture a white light engulfing the one you are helping. We forget about the Divine that is within us, this reaffirms this fact, that we are that, an extension of that, so we should act accordingly. It forces us to stop thinking of God as something external that we need to shore down, when in fact the Soul is what you need to shore down.

Back it up with a global blessing:

“May the rains fall timely and sufficiently along all parts of the world, so that good grains, fruits, and vegetables grow abundantly to the satisfaction of all living beings, by the grace of the Divine.”

“May the leaders of all nations enjoy spiritual progress and do good services for humanity.”

“The whole world may enjoy prosperity, happiness, wisdom and peace, by the grace of the Divine.”

Backing it up with these blessings is an ego neutralizer.

Earnestness leads to Enlightenment like it dose to any skill in life. The earnestness is intense interest in research, understanding and the determination it takes to get there. It’s the effort applied when reaching for a goal. When most people think of enlightenment they think it’s too hard and unreachable, or it happens naturally without much effort. This is a confusing point for some, because of the nature of Self-realization. Which happens during a state of surrendering everything you are not through an undying earnestness. Everyone will have different time frames due to the varying degrees of interest and ingrained dogmas that stagnate growth. Nonetheless, by giving you an idea of how much earnestness is needed you get an idea for what it takes. You may have a similar experience in earnestness, that sustained desire to understand something or mastering a trade.

Enlightenment talk here is returning home to Eternity, and realizing your true identity first hand. You’re really going in full circle, back through the same direction or door from whence you came.

How much effort is necessary to realize your true identity? Well, how much effort do you need in order to become an expert at something like a trade, craft or profession. Do you play a sport or instrument with ease, like the instrument or equipment was a pure extension of your intention, on a good day you fall into a zone and get as close to perfection as you can. To be able to get to that level takes plenty of earnestness, and at that level the same feelings hold true of effortlessly doing it, without employing the mind. This is a state of “Witnessing” which is based in knowledge and matures with practice, produces your best performance. When you get extremely interested and determined to be good at something, you really can’t leave it alone until you master it. And, once you arrive at that easy stage of a master, then you’re so confident in your skill that it that happens naturally and spontaneously without thinking, never doubting your ability. Similarly, mastering the art of spirituality takes this type of seriousness until it becomes effortless and a natural part of your daily existence. Always working on yourself until you don’t know anything else, or any other way of living. It’s a natural part of you, making it an on going process that eventually dominates everything else, deeming them nonproductive to your pursuit. You don’t have to think about purposely doing it anymore, since you live and breath it now, and if you have no intention of stopping, then only one thing can happen, you find and see Eternal PERFECTION.

Waiting for Enlightenment without making the effort just doesn’t work. Some will stumble around and get a spiritual experience through meltdowns, drugs, epiphanies, or near death experiences. These are unusual circumstances do provide some help, however doesn’t it bring about the complete Self-realization that we’re looking for, it can help in keeping you on the path.. Nothing in life comes easy, as you know and this is no different, all the failures and successes on the path are a necessary part of the journey. Obviously no one can do that for you, so you have to find your own inner desire, your leader, your teacher, and let pure reasoning guide you through.

Spiritual contemplation and meditation seems to be the path for all. Introspection and meditating by surrendering control turns out to be the sincere earnestness that’s required. Waiting in thoughtlessness for the metaphorical door to open, is the waiting area for all, and we all end up knocking at the same door. The Source has but one door, which is in consciousness, and all paths are united when approaching that door, your persistence at remaining there, opens it. How much do you want it? Are you willing to sacrifice everything, including your personal life for that goal? If you are earnest and steadfast to your goal, it won’t take that long, but few will be, most will wander off, enticed by the world of senses. If you are 100% committed on all fronts, it will be similar to getting a degree, in about two to four years, after reaching your peak commitment.

The Witness is the thoughtless observer in us, a singular state of being conscious, witnessing life without thinking as in active meditation. Actions and reactions can be there but not with forethought otherwise you’re not in a Witness State. Any thoughts rising during an active and inactive meditation takes you away from living in the moment, meditating and the Witness State which makes it hard to master.

The Soul’s first contact with the universe is through consciousness, the birth place of Being. Stay in that realm while meditating you will find enlightenment, when the seer can’t see, can’t dream or think it pushes the door open to a deeper realm, your view reverses course, The Witness is now seeing its Source, it actually looks back on its Self with a piece of Its Self, a new entity from being humanized, realizing It is That!

The Witness wasn’t a watcher until the birth of consciousness, and then it turns into the seer and the doer.

Cultivating the pure Witness back through meditation slowly releases the binds that restrict it, an important step for the Spiritual Seeker.

Reclaiming that universal witness that exists in all living creatures, can be done during active times and inactive times. These different states of witnessing are both relatively hard to master, however well worth the effort, the inactive Witness is the most important part of spirituality. Meditation techniques are geared towards different states of witnessing, and the experiences that follow are milestones on the spiritual path. Any activity in life can be done by remaining in the moment as the Witness, this is a good step in garnering control over the mind by keep falling back into the Witness, keep redirecting mind away from thoughts is like doing reps. There are different types of mind decoys available for meditating, which help in keeping the mind targeted on witnessing something repetitious as you slip into deeper states. Many spiritual experiences happen within these different layers, but experiences in the “Samadhi State” are on a deeper level yet, which can change your outlook or your understanding on life and God. In all cases, besides the finale awakening, the experiences are an indication of transitional periods in spiritually, which can be good or even scary for loosing all control, surrendering to the unknown.

The spiritual process through meditation delivers emotional stability and balance into your life, it can also help you control the direction of your mind. The constant redirection towards spiritual techniques or being the Witness, strengthens your control over the mind, allowing you to find the advance stages of thoughtless meditating. The pure Witness of this basic formless life force (consciousness) within, is the last meditating stage before one slips into the “Samadhi State”, which is meld of the observer and observed. It can be a long process, depending on your determination, but keeping the mind in silent repose is the key cornerstone to Enlightenment or Self-realization. For then, there is no way to go but further in, now that the world and mind is rendered useless, discarded as the primary attention getter you cast your moorings aside for a new focus on the Eternal God.

This is a state of being, in consciousness, is similar to your most natural state of existence when you were born, which means it’s a refection on your Eternal state of being. This state of being can be considered the waiting room before Self-realization. Your ability to spend some time here will be determined by your dedication, mind control, and surrendering powers. Mind strength is your ability to keep the mind in silent repose, surrendering the world and all your predispositions as a human is a huge part of staying there. To arrive in the Samadhi state takes a high level of surrendering, sincere earnestness, and a lot of practice, because the “Witnessing state” with eyes closed is difficult, but a necessary stage.

The characteristics of the Samadhi state are beyond meditation techniques, because most techniques are designed to get you to the Witness state. However, taking the next step in is done by abandoning any links to the mind and body, all the meditation techniques and thinking is gone. In a transition zone your perceiving (Witnessing) nothing but consciousness, life force, or internal energy. This zone is more or less another waiting area, or stage before you slip into Samadhi, which is the merging or union of the perceiver and the perceived. Altogether, I see four levels or stages of spiritual progression: The Doer state, the Witness state (Active and Inactive), the Samadhi state, and the Eternal state.

Surrendering all concepts that are related to appearances, and ideas of a separate God are part of the transitioning into this divine state. Letting go, releasing your grip, looking away from all personal and conditioned responses of the mind, for one thoughtless and primordial state of being in consciousness. When sitting and waiting in the transition zone of formless meditating witnessing the life force energy it produces an unnoticeable, feelingless merge between the states, before you know it you’re in Samadhi. When consciousness falls in sync with Awareness they sit as one in the Samadhi state, without movement or reason. This thoughtless state of being is characterized as a lost of perceiving of anything external or internal, nothing outside or inside of you is perceivable nor preventing you from just being like this. The Samadhi state is the supreme state of surrendering, and your ability to stay like this for extended periods, determines your ability to surrender and go with it, which is releasing limited identity for the Eternal One. Eventually your fortitude and determination at acquiring this state of being when meditating will release you from your imaginary bondage, once liberated from the universe, death and afterlife, contentment for what is will reign supreme.

This Samadhi state, which is the closest representation of your Eternal state of being while embodied will be last step you can take before Self-realization, the ultimate step will be beyond all. To go beyond, entrainment will happen between the Samadhi state and Eternity (God) Awareness, between consciousness and Awareness, which will deliver you. It’s almost like you’re spreading out consciousness thinly until a tear in the fabric takes exposes the Eternal realm, our real Home.

In a lot of spiritual books consciousness is divided into groups: The universal or super-consciousness, and regular consciousness. This change in consciousness happens when experiencing the Source, our local consciousness changes as well when going into an unconscious state, and consciousness in the afterlife, but super-consciousness doesn’t change. It’s eternal and being eternal is Godly, I call it Awareness.

I classify Awareness as God, Eternity, Soul, Absolute Space and Self, our Eternal identity. While local consciousnesses relationship to energy is needing a form to perceive matter. Awareness is without changing and opposing particles of energy that forms need to exist. Consciousness is the child of Awareness, activated for a tour of duty, is a blessing in disguise.

Awareness’s first point of contact in the universe is in this bio-consciousness mass, referred to as “The Witness” in spiritual books. Consciousness in the body and mind is a moving form of consciousness prone to external forces creating different states of being, however Awareness is always consistent. The watcher perceiving the flow of images through consciousness until it becomes Awareness when the watcher sees Reality. Awareness can’t see the universe or even understand duality until birth. Spiritual experiences in consciousness are all over the charts, but the ultimate experience of Self-realization is the same for one and all, it happens in Awareness only, no moving visuals, no sounds, no forms, no color, no movement. Birth turns on the display of sensory enjoyment when the love affair takes off with energy and the flow of opposites. Lost in the thrill of consciousness our Eternal identity is glossed over by this temporary heightened sense of existence, which is outside the norm.

Consciousness is a product of the universe, and consequently must stay with the universe after death and the afterlife . Awareness sits in its own dimension of pure Space, is unaffected by the unfolding drama of its new attached organism. Awareness is the most subtle form of consciousness, comprised of a Still Eternal Light, the common denominator in all things, which is like a foundation behind movement of life. It seems like Awareness radiated consciousness causing a spreading wave or “Akasha field” of energy seeping out creating the universal expansion we see today. And, even though this subtle movement eventually turned life into the universe, it is still a moving part, reflection of Awareness, not the real You.

You are the still Source that supports the universe, all that appears in the universe is linked to You, but an imperfect link or an imperfect reflection of You. You are perfect at the core and a crucial piece in the puzzle of life and Eternity. Just by existing in your true identity is all you have to do, the best you can do, because by not identifying with this mass of vapors parading around as reality you turn into a beacon of truth for Awareness. Once your Soul gets a sobering look at Reality it washes away all the false notions.

Everyday in our normal working lives we are faced with many opportunities to work on our spiritual development, but we usually waste it on unproductive mind chatter. Why not put this time to good use, it really doesn’t matter how little the time is, because in establishing a new mental pattern it all begins with these wasted moments. Why let the mind control you and take you to places that don’t have any meaning or you don’t want to go, eventually adding weight on the back of your mind. When we take a close look at our internal dialogue, beyond our duties and normal reactions, most of it is complete gibberish, this technique is designed for that and can cultivate stability and mind control. You can work on these moments to advance yourself spiritually, strengthen the mind and concentration, you don’t have to give up anything.

No matter how busy our day is we experience down time with gaps in-between places, which can become mentally and spiritually productive. So many times we are caught between appointments and destinations, and it seems like a big part of life is wasted time, most of the time we fill it up with mental gossip, desires, fears and worries. Why do we reinforce bad behavior in our thoughts and not our kids.

Practice these pauses can also be done with the eyes open, whether in front of the computer, TV, reading, or any number of ways. I was able to find many ways throughout the day, there is no need of posture. When it’s down time anyways why not do it? Why entertain all this childish mind stuff that just provides more issues. There is no need to be obvious, keep it hidden, under the radar, you can do spiritual work any time and any place, a series of pauses can help you regulate your emotions. It’ll give you a calm foundation to check in at throughout the hectic day, give you a sense of peace in trying moments.

Negating thoughts by superimposing another dialogue over them works well here and necessary part of this. Catch the stupid thoughts as quickly as you can before the energy takes over with a snowball effect. The sooner you do the easier it is to shelf them and return to spiritual dialogue or down them in a meaningless and childish rhetoric.

Another technique is withdrawing your attention away to observe and focus on internal energies, thereby being in the moment with that energy. You will notice different types of currents and sensations that once observed (without thinking) in short time starts calming them down. It will depend on what you’re involved with at the time, but by going in you start defusing the situation. The over stimulated areas loose their concentrated energy, leaving the energy to flounder aimlessly, dissipating it without direction resulting in a spreading action. You can perceive this and different kinds of wavy currents, heart rate, blood flow and heat changes. I actually enjoy checking in with the life-force whenever I can. It’s like a short detour. It’s good to start with these pauses, because sitting for long periods of time in a thoughtless manner is hard to master, so you work up to more time. When you are in the background observing the current the mind ceases, but when your involved in thought your back to the foreground and the world. It’s a change in direction with your attention and focus, by falling back to the rear position before the energy you can sit and watch the inside energy move. It improves your mental health.

Remember you are not what you observe in life, so be what you are, and separate yourself from what you are not, this is the goal of peaceful pauses and meditation in general.

I’m watching a drama unfold before me, totally immersed in the drama my guarded emotions aren’t helping. Always working on detachment I push away for distance so I don’t get dragged in on this roller coaster. I need distance so I go in, and in to myself for separation.

All of a sudden a light turns on and I see my predicament. I’m in a theater, it’s just a movie, that drama doesn’t matter at all, and it has nothing to do with me because I’ve been over here all along, that was just a move of my life. Thank God it wasn’t a big deal to begin with.

The Soul is sitting in the theater of life watching the show. Laughing and crying until the light turns on and the images disappear, you realize none of this is you, it’s just images on the screen. I know I will never die, just the movie ends. This is enlightenment. This is the reason why the great ones call life an illusion.

Part of the original story :

“Oh no you’re not, I know better than that,” said the venerable old man, “you never left your theater seat.” What! What are you talking about? Have you lost your mind silly old man? “No!” He said, “You’re the one that lost your mind, because you lost control of it. When you take control of it and realize where your seat is, which is your natural identity, you’ll find out that you never really left your seat, and you’ll start talking like this as well.” “Really, tell me more” replied the visitor . “Well, I found out that we don’t really die and we were never born, as a matter of fact I never left my seat and went anywhere, it was all a theatrical play and I thought I was in it playing a staring role. Then I found out the joke was on me, because the lights came on and the show ended, then I saw the gravity of my mistake. I realized I didn’t even have a part in the show, just thought I had. Now, I help others in finding that light switch, so they can see their position in the theater of reality.”

That’s strange, what else did he say?

“He told me I was making a grave error in believing that I was a fragile human, when I was Eternal and indestructible.” After a long discussion and follow up meetings he said I was ready, and sent me off with a method and clues, and retorted, “figure it out”….“no one can do that for you”…. “Believe in me and what I say and don’t look back, keep searching for the theater until you find it, and see for yourself, what all the great ones saw, you won’t be disappointed. Because in knowing your true position, you find your own anchor of stability on the open seas, and it is a most valuable asset, for you’ll never be lost again. Look within and away from the theatrical world of images and energy, you’ll find yourself sitting in the pure still sea of Eternity.”

This was all so new to me, I was taken back by the statement, but I was also very curious, crazy or not he had me hook, line and sinker. Walking to the station I asked him, what is the theater? And, how do I find this switch to turn on the light?

“The theater is the grand arena of Eternal space that our Soul resides in, permanently, you’ll find the switch after fumbling around in the dark for some time. But when you do, you will see the source of all, and you realize this play was an illusion, which you had bought into, with a ticket called birth. You never find out where the switch is, or how you turned it on, but by following a simple formula, detaching yourself from the play mentally, you start the search for the switch and eventually the theater will be reveled. You’re in essence moving away from the foreground of sensual involvement in the play, to the background darkness of the theater, you stay until the light turns on. So, sit back in your seat and know your seat is still, energyless, feelingless, and not perceivable, and what you perceive is the show. When you’re able to look away from the show long enough, the show ends and the theater is visible. Your relentless noninvolvement in the show switches on the original Light in the theater, in Absolute space, your eternal home. But remember, when you’re caught up in the show, your not looking for the switch.”

The simple man decides to follow his friends counsel and became his number one disciple. After a couple of years of training his teacher told him, “stop searching for the switch, for the switch is your ability to surrender everything in front of you for the Light switch. So, sit in the stillness of the theater seat, which is your rear most point of observation, and in the darkness which is in-between the observer and the observed, lies the switch. Become the thoughtless observer from that seat, and stay there in that pure Awareness of nothing else but being, and in that place you naturally cast your moorings aside for what’s beyond.”

The simple man showed up three years later at his teachers clinic, got down on his knees before him for and said, “That which I thought was real and tangible is shallow and superficial in comparison, you have opened my eyes. You are one of the great teachers of all that is timeless, I have to give you my deepest thanks and repay my debt by passing on your teachings of the true and timeless words of Spirituality.” Tears welded up in his master’s eyes as he said in a tender voice, “You have already given me the greatest gift of all with the second most glorious day of my life. It is truly one of the best days on earth to receive such a precious gift in return, and now you know we are That, and not this.” The master held out his hands and helped the simple man off. “God has bestowed his grace on you with the glorious vision of his Kingdom, now go my friend and help other seekers, for now you are beyond the need of further help.” A long embrace and a few tears dropped from the great joy of the moment, and a sense of awe hung in the air due to the rarity of such an event, and they were basking in it. They parted and never saw one another in form again, but the simple man turned into one of the best spiritual teachers of his time.