Liberation is not in becoming but in being.
Freedom is not other than being what you already are.
Self-realization is the realization that there is no self, just presence.
Spirituality helps you recognize that you are happiness, not a person.
Here is another recent guided conversation about the true nature of Self.
C (client): My realization of spirituality helped me to break things down. More than if you tie yourself to the perception of one God or one religion. The Dalai Lama says that if you believe in one God, then this can be a source of great energy and happiness. But if you don’t believe, then you can find this same energy, the same happiness within yourself, and you just need to learn how to focus yourself on the inside and harness it. The latter appeals to me. It tells me that I don’t have to answer the question of what God is, what he/she looks like, and how it all went down with Jesus or whatever. Those are questions that my mind can’t answer, and my heart can’t do it either.
For example, today, I was riding my bike in the middle of the city. It’s not the most pleasant of streets to ride a bike. Plus, there are a lot of traffic lights. I noticed I could go my own way and at my own speed, and I can be happy with that while others may be frustrated or trying to speed up. It takes some practice, but that’s just one example. For spirituality to have a meaning in your life, in your presence, in everything you do, without you having to think about it and having to remind yourself all over. That’s the realization.
G (Gilad): This ‘no need to think or remind yourself about it is the realization of the answer to the questions we asked at the beginning, ‘what is my true nature?’ And second, ‘what is the source of unconditional happiness?’ It helps us recognize that the answer to the first question is the same answer to the second question. It is non-dual. So, what is your true nature? Who are you?
C: I mean, when you look at flowers, it’s nature. When you look at animals, it’s nature. It’s the miracle of life. What am I, what is my nature? I’m also part of nature. Who am I? I am a presence, I am not a person; I am a presence.
Practice on your own:
This week, again, take quiet time for contemplative thinking and inquire with yourself about the following question:
What is it that just by being present, I exist?
Slowly peel the layering of the mind with its thoughts, sensations, perceptions, and beliefs until you get to the most essential aspect of your experience. What is there? What is that ‘thing’ that just by its presence ‘you’ exist?
“A human being is a part of the whole called by us ‘universe,’ a part limited in time and space. He experiences himself, his thoughts and feelings as something separated from the rest, a kind of optical delusion of his consciousness. This delusion is a kind of prison for us, restricting us to our personal desires and to affection for a few persons nearest to us. Our task must be to free ourselves from this prison by widening our circle of compassion to embrace all living creatures and the whole of nature in its beauty.”
– Albert Einstein
The false sense of self moves in three directions; association, comparison, and ownership. They all lead to the same place; a sense of separation and lack. The action of the false self of self is often driven by fear, discomfort, and doubt. The spiritual journey is the journey to the truest expression of Self without any of these internal blocks caused by the false sense of self.
Would you like to dissolve the false perception of self and find the unconditional joy of your being?
I am opening two spots for one-on-one guidance from now until the end of the year. I decided to honor the spiritual tradition of these teachings and you, my community, for showing a vastly growing curiosity by offering a sliding scale-based payment for this.
Send me an email if you are ready to begin the journey, and I’ll share the details.
With heart,
Gil·ad (eternal-joy)
