LETTER KNOW YOURSELF 2013

KNOW YOURSELF

Dear Friends,

There is a veritable tower of Babel around.
We are masters in describing objects, thoughts, concepts and ideas.
When it comes to knowing who you are,
(wo)mankind has nothing to say for itself.
And this "self" considers itself as the "crown of creation!"
Now that we brought ourselves to the verge of self-extinction,
the quest for Self-Insight has utmost priority

Before I start a spiritual talk,
I always ask my audience to relax, while "going within" for a while.
Because a spiritual meeting is a Heart to Heart affair.
Usually, there is a "veil" between us and the world, though.
It brings us a first fundamental insight.
Apparently, our mind consists of various layers:
something deeper - the Heart - and something superficial - the veil

The "veil" has a function.
It protects us against being overthrown by sudden shocks.
It is a filter, consisting of accumulated experiences and convictions,
taking care that new information remains within the realm of the known.
New information is therefore rarely truly new.
Before it can reach our Innermost Core,
the veil has already absorbed it....after its own "image"

Some information fits very well in our conditioned self-image.
Therefore, we consider it as part of "ourselves".
Other experiences we don't welcome, though.
They are therefore denied, rejected, excluded or oppressed.
The are accumulated in the storehouse of our "shadow".
Conclusion: ego and shadow-part are two sides of our selfsame personality.
The irony: the more "positively" you think, the more "negativity" is stored.

"Well, if this is the case, I better give up all efforts
towards self-improvement", you would say.
Realty shows that these efforts indeed have limited results:
life characterized by an endless chain of "successes" and setbacks.
Lucky are those who get a sense of "something essentially wrong",
because they start questioning the whole concept of self.
"There must be something more than my ego....."

Ego builds up "body" through identifying with "objects",
to be compared with building blocks of a construct.
Since our perception is directed to the "frontside", ego identifies
with what it "sees": objects "within" (thoughts etc.) and objects "without....
the ego itself thus being an accumulation of objects.
To the "normal" (sic) mind, this is all that exists, that's why the Dutch say
"I am IN thoughts": thoughts appear to be stronger than you.

Even if you reflect on thoughts, you are still part of the thought-world.
Thinking about what you thought yesterday keeps you in the
vicious circle of the common mind.
This is the trap: thinking of yourself as the smartiest on earth, while in fact
being a prisoner of your thought-processes: a deluded dummie.
Again the Dutch have a wonderful saying: "er achter komen"
It means "to discover something", "to grasp the truth".

At the same time it refers to something very concrete and tangible
"er achter" means "behind".
It suggests that the solution to our problem lies in the backside.
While we are obsessed with "progress" (never reaching our goal),
stepping back may contain the stone of wisdom.
And, indeed, aren't the saints of both Buddhism and Christianity
portrayed with a golden light halo on the BACKSIDE of their heads?

We cannot see our backside, therefore our ego, which is
conditioned to the frontside, has declared it as non-existent.
To the ego, no objects means no reality, forgetting that a great deal
of reality is invisible: from atoms to radio-waves.
So, what happens, when we are "stepping back" within?
By moving "behind" our thoughts, something utterly new is born:
that what is called awareness, the observer or our True Self

The more we step back (e.g. through bodily relaxation) the more
appears in front of us. The surprise:
what shortly before, still was the "core" of our identity (ego, self-image),
this conglomerate of thoughts has moved from the center
to our periphery. Our house has changed masters:
not the ego, but awareness, the front portal of Consciousness,
is our True Center

There appears to be an inner distance between the two:
I (my New Self) HERE and my thinking THERE, in front of me.
The discovery is that I Am NOT my thinking!*
I am free (of my thinking), while my thinking is also free of me.
While I Am (in) my new Realm/True Self - silent, transparent, stable - throughts,
images, emotions, desires, intuitions....are flowing freely.
A first glimpse of "Leela" or Divine Play.

* In the course of your quest this realization will change, though. See below.

The more this our New Self expands, the more it contains.
It means, that the thought-processes, that shortly before were still
in front, outside of you, become the content of your expanded inner Space.
"My thoughts are in Me".
The difference with your dummie-period is, that now thoughts don't
take you "in tow" anymore. You are not their slave, but
the Master in the house, indeed, the water, in which the fishes swim.

Somebody says: "my thoughts are in me"
Is this person ignorant or aware?
I will help you a little:
In me or in ME, that is the question.

Awareness expanding, sooner or later, brings your inner Space
across the boundaries of your body.
At a certain moment, it may contain your immediate surroundings:
your chair, the carpet, the table, the vase and the cat on the sofa.
They all appear to be part of your Greater Self. It is the true meaning of compassion. Why you love everything "like your self?"
Because everything, including yourself, is in the Space that you are yourSelf.

The more "your" Space is becoming Empty, the less thoughts within.
Space is Emptiness, it is "negative". Thoughts are particles,
"positively" charged objects. Depending on the emotional load of thoughts
on the one hand, and the "thinness" of Space on the other....
thoughts increasingly lose their power, becoming "shadows".
"Power of Thoughts" thus ISN'T a prove of progress on your spiritual Path!
On the contrary.

Summarizing. What people call "consciousness" is the identification
with thinking and objects, both "in front of you".
To the common mind this is all that exists.
Being "involved with God" is being identified with an image of God.
The Real God can only be realized by "stepping back",
at the same time letting go of every identification, whatsoever.
While God is there, you have disappeared!

There is a logic in it.
Through disappearence of thoughts, emotions and desires in
"your" Expanded Space you're able to include the world.
Unhindered by your small self (ego) a Truly Aware Person
is thus available to all, without exception.

Enough for today?

About further "progress" on your Path,
see e.g. "The Nine Steps of Realization"

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