The Road To Nowhere


Ikkyu 1394 – 1481

I believe that I’ve covered this concept before. However, I don’t think that I’ve ever had a truer understanding of what it actually means until now. Stuff that I’ve been reading lately coupled with my own experiences have really brought home to me that there is no destination apart from the actual journey. Wherever we find ourselves in any particular moment is our destination; it is Divinely and perfectly exactly where we need to be in accordance with the soul’s agenda (desire), and the soul’s desire is the only thing that matters. It is also a reminder that we do not have to search for anything in this life; we are already that which we seek.

Life is an eternal series of cycles that gives consciousness the opportunity to express and know itself through the physical form. It is also the process via which the individual soul evolves into the remembrance of its true nature (consciousness).

I’m reminded also of the quote from ancient Japanese Zen master, Ikkyu:-

“Having no destination I am never lost.”

Enlightenment


Strictly speaking, there is no such thing as “enlightenment.” In our ignorance, we use the word when we are engaged in discussions around the subject, but it is only for the sake of using suitable vocabulary to fit the conversation. Enlightenment is nothing more than the realisation that we are already enlightened, we always were and we always will be. When we are slaves to the ego, we are either completely unconscious, or we have the knowledge that we are consciousness/spirit currently occupying a body, but at the same time we believe that we are on a “spiritual journey” in order to become what we call “enlightened.” You cannot become what you already are.

The genuinely enlightened souls who walk among us would never, ever make the statement, “I am enlightened” because to speak of enlightenment only affirms the existence of the state of being unenlightened, in other words it is an example of dualism expressed by one who is immersed in the illusion of duality (ego). In consciousness, there is only consciousness and nothing else; this is ultimate reality, there are no “states” and there is nothing to achieve. We can say that enlightenment is the knowing, experientially, of the nature of consciousness (which is our true nature).

Practicalities


I’m writing this post with my UK subscribers in mind, however, I’m sure that readers from all around the world will also be able to relate to the central theme.

Photo by sammy-williams-unsplash

At the moment in the UK, we are seemingly lurching from crisis to crisis, with each new event appearing to be more diabolical than the previous. We had the pandemic; now the cost of living crisis, the energy crises and a few other things thrown in for good measure. As expected, the mass media is taking great delight in churning out headlines of doom and gloom that the majority of people have fallen for, hook, line and sinker. As a result, the vast majority of the population is living in constant fear. This may be normal for the masses, but what makes the current situation slightly different is that it just seems to be relentless. Certainly in my lifetime, I have never known such a chain of events on the scale that we have at this moment in time. Metaphorically, it is as though the mental health of the vast majority of people in this country is being battered relentlessly by giant waves, with no sign of a let-up. The obvious thing to alleviate this problem would be for everyone to throw away their television sets and stop reading newspapers. WHAT?! I know, I know… I can hear you shouting expletives at the screen; how would Brits be able to survive without Coronation Street, Eastenders and the super-soaring, rip-roaring Sun?

Quite easily actually. But, we all know that people are not going to throw away their TVs and stop reading newspapers. After all, why would anyone allow their pain, fear and suffering to be interrupted by happiness?

On a more serious note, I’m going to share here what works for me, and I will add that I’m not pretending to be some sort of guru and I’m the first to admit that I sometimes fall into the traps that my egoic mind sets for me. But in the main, I don’t do too badly in a crisis, and that is due to having faith in the benevolence of our wonderful universe and a very basic understanding of the laws of physics. The first two things to understand are that:

There is always enough.

There is more where that came from.

Does anyone seriously believe that our wonderfully benevolent universe, or Mother Nature, if you want to use another name, doesn’t have enough to go around? There is, always has been and always will be, enough for everybody. The fact that it does not appear to be so has nothing to do with Mother Nature. The truth is that the collective consciousness of our species doesn’t care enough to stop people dying of hunger and a lack of fresh, clean drinking water. There is no need for anyone in our society to go without the basics for what is needed to live a comfortable life. If you know in your heart those two things, “there is always enough” and “there is more where that came from,” your needs will always be met.

Now onto the laws of physics. You don’t have to be Einstein; far from it, this is very basic stuff. The first thing to understand here is that nothing exists except consciousness, which is in a constant state of flux and vibrates at varying degrees of subtlety. In our physical world, consciousness has modulated itself into its grossest form, which we call “matter.” For the sake of this article, hereon I’m going to refer to consciousness in all of its varying forms as “energy.”  It’s also worth mentioning before we go any further, that centuries before humans invented religions and scriptures, the first spiritual texts told us that spirituality and science are two sides of the same coin and cannot be separated. It’s a good thing that I remembered to slip that in because I am now about to hit you with a paradox.

Energy consists of zillions of separate cells, which are actually not separate at all. These cells also communicate with each other.

Yes, every cell has its own intelligence and metaphorically speaking, energy cells “talk” to each other. If two or more cells find that they are speaking the same language, they are attracted to each other and they come together in a creative manner. This is where the laws of attraction and cause and effect come into play, and it is these two laws that most concern us. Like all other natural laws, these two laws are very precise and cannot be tinkered with. First, cause and effect; “for every action there is a reaction.” All actions have consequences; these can be negative, indifferent or positive, depending on the action. But, if we link this simple statement with what was written before about the giving nature of the universe, and also now add in the law of attraction, “energy flows where attention goes,” this makes for some really powerful stuff. So, if you are the kind of person who is constantly going on about how you need more money, you need this and you want that, then you are going to cause serious problems for yourself. Remember, the universe will always only give you EXACTLY what you ask for (give most attention to). So, when you are shaking your fist at the heavens and pleading poverty, you are actually affirming LACK. You are telling Mother Nature that you are living a life of lack, so she will simply comply with your wishes and give you more of the same.

As well as your body and the world around you, your thoughts are also comprised of energy cells, chattering away with their “mates” out in the ether. This means that cells of energy that are vibrationally aligned (speaking the same language) will be attracted to each other creatively. This is how we all create and attract situations and people into our lives.

In a nutshell, the easiest way to be detached from all the nonsense being churned out by the media and to live a happier life is as follows. Before you do anything else, understand that you are consciousness; this is your true nature, you are life itself and you cannot die. Couple this with “there is always enough” and “there is more where that came from,” and you will be able to align yourself with the law of cause and effect and the law of attraction in a positive way. I’m sure there will be people reading this who will have difficulty understanding the concept, but I hope that if this is you, I have at the very least been able to plant a seed that will bear fruit at a later date.

 

Do We Get Punished By God?


Photo by Monstera from Pexels

So, do we get punished by God if we are “bad?”  That is a question that can be answered very easily. No, we do not. For a start, if that statement were true, there would need to be a God to do the punishing.  This God would have to exist along the same lines as the God of religion.  In other words, an individual entity separate from the rest of the universe and beyond.  The God would also have to possess all the worst egoic, human traits you could imagine; just like the God of religion.

First of all, it would have to make a judgement that we had done something bad and then dish out the punishment.  Being judgemental is a trait of the egoic mind that does not exist within consciousness.  By way of an individual choice, we may choose to refer to Infinite Consciousness as God, but this is just one of many names conjured up by humans to describe the uncreated wilderness of bliss∗ that is our true nature.

The only punishing is inflicted by ourselves in ignorance.

∗ “Uncreated Wilderness of Bliss” – a phrase coined by the yogi, Paramahansa Yogananda, as a description of our inner truth.

The Body; Real Or Unreal?


It’s amazing how our views and perspectives change as we evolve through this life. If somebody asked me the question, “the body; real or unreal?” even 20 years ago, I’d have thought they’d been on the funny stuff. I remember when I was completely immersed in the darkness of ego, there was no question whatsoever that the body was real. After all, is it not who I am? Then as I found my spiritual pathway and I started leaning towards the Eastern school of thought, I adopted the view, “the body is unreal, an illusion.”

The only trouble with that is, that I was also leaning towards the view that the body is irrelevant, that it didn’t matter. Of course, this is not true, The body is essential to our experience in the physical because it is the only vehicle available to us. I have now gone full circle, and my statement to you today is, “yes, the body is real,” However, this doesn’t mean that I have regressed back to the darkness of complete unconsciousness. What it means is that my perspective has changed, therefore that statement is made in a different context.

The body is real in that it is made of the same stuff as my eternal reality. Infinite Consciousness has precipitated, or intensified itself billions of times over into tiny pockets of physical energy that we call human beings; and one of them is me! So, the body is real in that it is made of Infinite Consciousness that has temporarily veiled itself in ignorance. What is unreal is the form the body takes, although to the logical mind it is as real as falling off a log. Consciousness veiled in ignorance as an individual soul, perceives the bodily form, the finite mind and the world to be the reality.

To use an analogy, imagine a play being acted out in a theatre. Imagine all the colourful costumes and scenery, and all the lines uttered by the actors and their mannerisms as they act out each scenario. All of that only happens because they are all bringing the script to life. On its own, the script is inanimate; just words on pieces of paper, just still, doing nothing. But, it is the underlying reality of what is going on during the time the play is being acted out.

We are all acting out the script of Infinite Consciousness, the world is our theatre and the body our costume. Consciousness in its normal state just exists as it is, in eternal bliss. But when it veils itself in ignorance on this dreamland stage that we call the world, it dances out its story; it gets to know itself in its own experience as opposed to the eternal emptiness that just contains possibilities; albeit, an infinite amount.

So, to sum up. Yes, the body is real, but not the form. Rather, the underlying reality, which is Consciousness. Consciousness, as the body and the world vibrates at varying degrees of frequency. What we see as the body and the world is simply the image created by our minds as the interpretation of that frequency. Therefore, the one and only reality is Consciousness itself.

Original Knowledge


I came across these words by Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. He is someone that I don’t really know anything about, however, these words really resonate with where I am today, so I thought I would share them. Hope you find them inspiring.

“There are many spiritual seekers whose aim is to acquire sufficient merit to reach a certain place, such as Heaven or Vaikuntha. I have had no aims except to find out. I was not aware of my awareness, and suddenly I became conscious that I Am. Where and how did this consciousness arise in me? That was my enquiry, going back to that state when the presence of phenomena was not there. That is, original knowledge of the original Self”.

Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj

Who Is It That Suffers?


I have mentioned in previous posts that I have chosen not to comment on the current situation regarding the pandemic, which has affected so many people around the world. I’ve always felt that there are enough armchair experts out there, without me chipping in as well.

But, with the amount of suffering that is going on, I feel inspired to write this post, not necessarily just about the current world-wide situation, but about suffering in general.

Like many, I have learned that going through difficult experiences has a habit of forcing us to look within ourselves for strength and inspiration, as opposed to looking to the external world; which quite often is the source of our troubles. It is also true to say that as a species, we evolve via our experiences, and being as our true nature is consciousness, this is only natural as consciousness is in a constant state of flux and evolution. I personally, feel very positive about what is happening in the world; I feel that the end product will be something quite amazing. Let us not forget that we have this wonderful thing called relativity and that the world moves in cycles. After every fall there is a rise and every painful experience ultimately leads to a pleasurable one, and vice versa.

Once again, I’m going to refer to the teachings of Ramana Maharshi to demonstrate the whole point of this article, as I feel his simple philosophy holds the key to whether we as humans live a life of peace or pain. The Maharshi would always address questions from devotees and visitors to his ashram in accordance with their ability to understand, so from this respect, it would be impossible to say that the following is the exact answer that would have been given to everyone who asked the question. But quite often, if anyone asked him why they suffer so much or why there is so much suffering in the world, he would say, “who is it that suffers?”

He would tell them to ask the question, “who am I?” The only answer being, “the One eternal Self.” He would remind them of this; their true nature, and say something like, “if you are and always have been the Self, which exists as it is with no knowledge of suffering, who then is it that suffers?” The answer to that question is that it is only the ego that suffers because of our habit of falsely identifying with the body as the reality.

No one is saying that it’s an easy ride; far from it. But having the understanding that we are ultimately just “the witness” to what is happening and not a participant helps a great deal. Finally, I refer you to my previous blog post “Be Still.” I find that simply being still is a very effective way of getting through each day. There is most definitely something happening, but we need to look within ourselves to find out what that is. I find that it is only during moments of stillness that the Self reveals its secrets.

Pure Wisdom


I’m about half-way through the book, Stillness Speaks, by Eckhart Tolle and I came across this truly beautiful piece of wisdom that I felt I just had to share with you. I hope it inspires you in the same way that it inspired me:

“Just as water can be solid, liquid or gaseous, consciousness can be seen to be “frozen” as physical matter, “liquid” as mind and thought, or formless as pure consciousness.”

“Pure consciousness is Life before it comes into manifestation, and that Life looks at the world of form through “your” eyes because consciousness is who you are.”

Eckhart Tolle

Just as a matter of interest, and following on from my previous post, Everything Serves A Purpose, I thought it would amuse you to know that it’s happened again. After me explaining that my out-of-body experiences had dried up, and sharing with you what happened the last time I made a similar statement, during the early hours of 16/11/20 I had… yes, you guessed correctly… an out-of-body experience…

You couldn’t make it up!

Everything Serves A Purpose


For the benefit of those who have not been following my blog for very long, I will just recap on something that I once wrote about on a fairly regular basis, before I get to the point of this particular post.

There was a time when I seemed to have a lot of out-of-body experiences. I estimated, that over the years; starting in approximately 1999, I had somewhere in between 200 to 300 astral adventures. Some were spectacular and some were not worth writing about. A couple of years back I wrote about how they had become very few and far between, but no sooner had I made that statement, they started again with a flurry. In 2020 I have had only five; the last being back in May. They now seem to have dried up completely. Every now and then I asked myself the question, “why, what’s the point?” I came to the conclusion that it was so I would be able to share my experiences (where appropriate), and reassure people that, “this isn’t all there is.”

OK, so that was a condensed version of my astral travelling experiences…

It occured to me very recently, that my initial assumption, although true, was not the complete picture. I have now realised that my experiences, some of which, that as time went by became quite tedious, brought me confirmation of a very profound truth and that it has taken me all this time to realise it. What I mean is this: I had the sensation of leaving my body; I also had the sensation of returning to my body. Then there was the bit in between where I had the actual astral experience, whatever form that took. But, the important thing here is that I was conscious of all aspects of the experience. Meaning, that my body is most certainly not who I am. When I was out of my body, consciousness was very much “alive” and alert. So, my body is not essential to my being, but consciousness is who and what I am. Indeed, my body is completely inanimate unless consciousness is present.

It is all very, very simple and I can’t believe that it took so long for the penny to drop. If it’s the case for me, then it must be so for everybody else. Of course, if you want to be pedantic about it and split hairs, you could argue that I know it is my truth because I had the direct experience, and possibly it would be different for others. You could add that individuals will only come to the same conclusion as me if they have the same experience. But, all said and done, I think it’s a pretty good indicator that we are consciousness and not the body.