'INDIVIDUAL' TRUTH AND 'UNIVERSAL' TRUTH. CONDITIONED MIND AND UNCONDITIONED CONSCIOUSNESS.
As individuals - as a window for consciousness - we are each uniquely positioned in space and time...But in essence, at the roots of 'our' Being, we are consciousness itself - undifferentiated and unconditioned.
The deepest mystical revelations and spiritual insights amount to nothing more than this.
Self-realisation is a living knowledge of one's essence - not abstract or theoretical - inherently embodying the infinite creative potential as our very Presence.
Theoretical self-knowledge tends to inhibit inspired action - whereas, on the contrary, the awakened Presence is ever flowing with it.
Words cannot contain these truths... but inspired poetry can evoke them...
The 'Truth of our Essence' is world-shattering - it destroys all our beliefs about reality which are based on our sense of 'separate self'.
The Freedom that is sought while there is a constricted experience of separative-existence cannot be found by trying to 'understand' spiritual teachings. There is nothing the mind can do to alleviate this primordial suffering of existence.
But the struggle of the mind to find peace can be seen for what it is, and in that moment there is a lightning bolt of understanding that destroys the fixation on 'separativeness'.
The struggle of the mind to find peace is a symptom of the negation of our essence. While this negation continues the mind will not grasp spiritual truth - it will either reject it or intellectualise it.
There is no freedom found through the mind. There is Freedom in 'seeing through' the mind.
The play of mind is the basis of ignorance (about our essence).
Do not struggle with the mind!
This is mind's struggle! It belongs to the mind.
If you sincerely wish for and are open to Freedom, you must renounce this struggle.
It is not the mind's function to grasp 'reality'.
The mind's function/essence is to interpret and organise experience from an 'individual' (i.e. 'separate') perspective.
But renounce this struggle with mind.
It is not mind that is the problem. It is attachment to 'mind-ness' that brings the feeling of psychological or spiritual bondage.
Let mind be.
Awareness is vast enough to swallow mind with no effort at all.
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It is not the source of information that determines whether something is valuable or true. It is our understanding alone that determines this.
Whether information be the conclusion of experts, a declaration of the pope, or the revelation of angels, prophets, extra-terrestrials, ascended masters, the 'Higher Self', a Spiritual Coach, a guru, or God, it is not the source of information and its reputation that determines whether something is valuable or true...
It is always our understanding alone that determines whether information, or 'wisdom' or 'spiritual teachings' are 'valuable' and 'true'.
No authority can substitute our own understanding.
When we allow ourselves to be led by an authority figure or an authoritarian belief system (or 'dogma'), we may believe that we are on a Spiritual path, but really we are simply denying our 'God-given' capacity for deep, individual, alignment with Life.
A Spiritual practice - a 'spiritual life' - (if we believe in such a thing) is supposed to bring out the best in us, to help reveal the infinite richness of our Divine heritage as Spiritual Beings. (The words 'Divine' and 'Spiritual' can be substituted with 'Original', 'Real', or 'unconditioned' if we do not identify with spiritual/religious terminology.)
If we follow an 'authority' instead of being guided by our own understanding, we are denying our heritage - our roots.
To be deeply rooted/grounded, is to be guided by our understanding - not 'intellectual understanding', but the 'energy of understanding' - the Living Intelligence, the Creative Source.
The essence of Spiritual teachings has usually been Love - God's Love (or 'Life's Love') of humanity, and Love of each other... the 'Brotherhood of humanity'.
If a teaching, even one that is given by 'God', is not understood it is, at best, useless. In many cases, it is actually dangerous because of the fervour with which it will be (mis)applied.
A tradition that emphasises faith in a teaching or doctrine and affiliation with a group, if it leads to alienation of other groups or individuals, will tend towards disrespect of those who are outside of the group (which tends to lead sooner or later to violent abuse).
This is why religion has developed such a bad reputation, especially the religions 'of the Book' (which refers to Christianity, Judaism and Islam).
Understanding is what distinguishes wisdom from dogma.
It is only in our understanding that Spirituality can be truly alive and real.
But ultimately even 'understanding' becomes irrelevant as the sense of 'I' dissolves in the Graceful flow of Life.
For more articles see my webpages:
www.thoughtsonspirituality.blogspot.com
www.radicalself-knowledge.blogspot.com
www.yoga-tantra-advaitavedanta.blogspot.com
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
It is not the source of information that determines whether something is valuable or true. It is our understanding alone that determines this.
Whether information be the conclusion of experts, a declaration of the pope, or the revelation of angels, prophets, extra-terrestrials, ascended masters, the 'Higher Self', a Spiritual Coach, a guru, or God, it is not the source of information and its reputation that determines whether something is valuable or true...
It is always our understanding alone that determines whether information, or 'wisdom' or 'spiritual teachings' are 'valuable' and 'true'.
No authority can substitute our own understanding.
When we allow ourselves to be led by an authority figure or an authoritarian belief system (or 'dogma'), we may believe that we are on a Spiritual path, but really we are simply denying our 'God-given' capacity for deep, individual, alignment with Life.
A Spiritual practice - a 'spiritual life' - (if we believe in such a thing) is supposed to bring out the best in us, to help reveal the infinite richness of our Divine heritage as Spiritual Beings. (The words 'Divine' and 'Spiritual' can be substituted with 'Original', 'Real', or 'unconditioned' if we do not identify with spiritual/religious terminology.)
If we follow an 'authority' instead of being guided by our own understanding, we are denying our heritage - our roots.
To be deeply rooted/grounded, is to be guided by our understanding - not 'intellectual understanding', but the 'energy of understanding' - the Living Intelligence, the Creative Source.
The essence of Spiritual teachings has usually been Love - God's Love (or 'Life's Love') of humanity, and Love of each other... the 'Brotherhood of humanity'.
If a teaching, even one that is given by 'God', is not understood it is, at best, useless. In many cases, it is actually dangerous because of the fervour with which it will be (mis)applied.
A tradition that emphasises faith in a teaching or doctrine and affiliation with a group, if it leads to alienation of other groups or individuals, will tend towards disrespect of those who are outside of the group (which tends to lead sooner or later to violent abuse).
This is why religion has developed such a bad reputation, especially the religions 'of the Book' (which refers to Christianity, Judaism and Islam).
Understanding is what distinguishes wisdom from dogma.
It is only in our understanding that Spirituality can be truly alive and real.
But ultimately even 'understanding' becomes irrelevant as the sense of 'I' dissolves in the Graceful flow of Life.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
For more articles see my webpages:
www.thoughtsonspirituality.blogspot.com
www.radicalself-knowledge.blogspot.com
www.yoga-tantra-advaitavedanta.blogspot.com
