WHO ARE YOU AND HOW DO YOU DO?

There's less to me than meets the eye; there's a lot more to me than meets the eye. And both statements are equally true, both for me and for you. So who are we? There may be nothing there when I really look, but I do know that I am, and so do you – it's about the only thing we can be certain of. I am. I am the Am-ness – that presence that is aware of all that (I, Me, Mine, You, Yours, He, She It, Them and Theirs stuff) – and everything that those dudes do, think up and feel. “I Am” is the awareness of it all. That's it. Just so. That's all. The Awareness of everything that arises within this awareness.

Everything is happening all by itself and “Am” is aware. This “Am” is the same awareness that you are. We are the same awareness, One without any Second, getting a zillion different experiences and perspectives [SNAP] all at Once. The mistake that you and I made was to look at something we were aware of, bought into the thought “That's Me”, jumped on board for the ride, claimed that I-dentity, forgot who we are and got trapped on the Identity rollercoaster. Ego, the “not-what-I-am” was born in that split second, and has been pretty much running the show ever since. That's OK. Am-ness/Awareness, although forgotten by us, has not ever deserted us. It has been here, aware-ing all the while. Who-we-are – that Awareness which was never born and will never die – always has been, and still is That, is waiting for us to realise we're lost, and come home. And home is as close as [SNAP] this, here/now.

[I Am – Killing Heidi (A) – 3:26]

THE SPITTING IMAGE OF.....

We create the world and everything in it in our own image. If you stand in front of a mirror and smile, you will see a smile in the mirror. If you pull an ugly face, you will see an ugly face. Mirrors don't lie; only those who look into them lie. So-called “other” people perform the same function: they reflect back to you parts of yourself, and you do the same for them. And what others reflect back to you has nothing to do with them. You are both Cause and Effect in that matter. How you are the Effect of what you see is also entirely up to you. It cannot be otherwise. It's just how things happen here.

Everyone in your face is a reflection of bits of you. Everyone, bar none. Despite the almost universally held belief and agreement to the contrary, we don't see the other person; we see ourselves. But everyone knows that when I look at her, I'm seeing her! Yes, well, we all once agreed that the world was flat, and we were wrong about that, too. An ancient story goes …. 

 

A traveler came to the gates of a city and asked the gatekeeper if he could come in for the night. “Sure”, said the gatekeeper. The traveler then asked, “What kind of people have you got in this town?” “What kind of people did you strike in the last town?” enquired the gatekeeper. “Bunch of rogues,” said the traveler. “Couldn't trust any of them any further than I could spit them.” “Well,” said the gatekeeper, “I'm sorry to tell you they're all pretty much the same here.” The traveler, disappointed and disgruntled, went on into the town. The gatekeeper proved to be right. 

 

Another traveler came to the city gates to obtain shelter for the night. “What kinds of people do you have in this town?” he enquired of the gatekeeper. “What kind of people did you strike in the last town?” asked the gatekeeper. “They were wonderful folks,” enthused the second traveler. “Happy, cheerful, couldn't do enough for you.””Well,” said the gatekeeper, “We've got pretty much the same kind of folks here. Come on in,.” And, once again, the gatekeeper proved to be right.

 

We create our world, and we create it in the spitting image of ourselves. If you don't like what's appearing around you, try contemplating what your contribution to that might be...... After all, the only person you have any transforming influence over is you; that's the bad news. The good news is that the only person who needs to transform for you to be happy, is you. Welcome to life – the ultimate DIY show...

[You Do It To Yourself – Frozen Arp (A) – 3:21]

THE END OF SUFFERING

      Separation and Suffering go together. I haven't yet seen any evidence of one existing without the other. In fact, I'd go so far as to say that the source of all suffering is the perception of Separation. And that's all it is -- a mistaken perception.....

      Maybe that has something to do with an experience that we all have in common – being born. We got separated and we suffered – that was our induction into the condition of being human. After the relative bliss of gestating, we experienced a sudden upheaval, a loss of room service and our comfy waterbed, eviction from the womb, involving being twisted and turned and squeezed like a grapefruit through a straw..... we “thought” we were dying. Other thoughts popped, too (without language with which to remember them), and we organised those thoughts in our own random way in order to try and make sense of this calamity and somehow survive it. And then we oozed out into an alien, cold, sterile world, got smacked on the bum for our trouble, and then – CUT – separated from our mother. Obviously whoever designed this birth thing had never tried it himself.

      Was birth supposed to prepare us with something so ghastly that nothing afterwards could ever be as bad? Who knows? But somehow each of us put our experience together in our own unique way and formed some conclusions about life, in order to make sense of the assault, the shock and the suffering associated with our induction.

      But everything from the first thought “I'm dying here!” to the way we “explained” the trauma to ourselves, was mistaken. We had insufficient information and a limited view. We missed the point. And we've been missing it ever since, except sometimes.

      And then, we compounded our “lostness” by building onto those initial misconceptions, and have largely gone on doing so ever since Well, any cubby-house based on a false foundation and made up of tacked-on rejects from wreckers' yards, is bound to wobble a bit in high winds, earthquakes, fires and floods, and eventually come falling down, right? Inevitably. The only question is “When?”

 

I    Is that what's happening for you right now? Do you feel like Humpty Dumpty in a state of tumbledown? If so, good! Fear not. This seems to be how it works for all of us mere mortals. Life just might be designed so that we lose our way in order to experience the joy and bliss of finding it again and getting to know it for the first time.

      Take heart. It's OK. You're right where you should be. Maybe you could use a little guidance and reassurance on the way through from someone who's done the trip. That's fine. There's plenty available. Choose whatever flavours suit you. You will get to where you're going – that is a life guarantee! So why not enjoy the adventure while you're on your way?

     While you're looking around, though, you might like to contemplate this ....... which particular Separation do you think is the cause of your suffering? What is it you think you cannot live without? Who is this "You" that cannot be without whatever it is? Is this "You" really who you are? What if it's not? What if who you truly are is that which you become aware of when you say to yourself "I am". Say it now -- "I am". Even though you don't yet know what you are, when you say "I am" you know THAT you are. No question about that  What is it that arises in your awareness when you say "I am". And that "am-ness" will never desert you. That "Am-ness" has been present and available every moment of your life, waiting for you to notice it. Just for a moment, drop all the distractions and notice it now. "I am". Take a moment to savour the sweetness of surrender to that surety, and the beginning of the end to your suffering.

      Now here's a final thought, and a controversial one at that..... I've met many well-meaning people who want to alleviate world suffering. Some of them succeed in pockets of the planet, but most wannado's don't. They make about as much difference as a pimple on a pumpkin. But there is another way to make a difference that is available to just about everyone, no matter how handicapped you may feel you are. And there's no better time to do it than Now. If you want to do something about ignorance, poverty, hunger and distress, go to work on demolishing and dissolving your own suffering. That is enough. Mind your own business. Do whatever it takes to change yourself, and just be with others while they do their own trip.

      Where you are emotionally affects everyone around you. Have you never walked into someone's home or place of business and felt a welcoming, harmonious “vibe”, or a discordant, “bad vibe”? Have you ever worked in a place where there is a bad vibe, then a particular person leaves, and the whole atmosphere changes? You make just as much of a difference, just as you are.

     What is your vibe? Is it in the higher or the lower frequency range? Is it harmonious or discordant? What notes are you adding to the overall symphony?

      I make a difference: you make a difference. Quantum physics proves it cannot be otherwise. It is a scientifically absolute law that you cannot change any part of the whole without changing the Whole. So, when enough of us get off our own suffering, and I see this happening around me now, the world notices and says “I want some of that, too, please.”

[Born to Try – Delta Goodrem (A) – 4:11]

SURRENDER YOUR WAY TO FREEDOM

What is the difference, if any, between Surrender and Quitting?

From where I'm sitting at the moment, there is a world of difference; they could even be polar opposites. To surrender, as I see it, is to engage creatively with what-is, as it is: to quit is to bale out on what is, to avoid it, to disengage from it and hope it will leave you alone. Quitting leaves you feeling like a victim; Surrender hands you some power and author-ity in the matter. Surrender is a letting-go of the feelings that tag on to the mind-set you're entertaining. Putting the feelings to one side, you look at that mindset from a different perspective. From this viewpoint, minus the familiar feelings that have always kept you trapped in this place, you don't take the situation so personally.

In surrender the “person” you have imagined yourself to be – the person you get spooked by in the full-length bathroom mirror – has to loosen, and eventually give up its tightly held grip on its belief systems and their supporting feelings. This, to me, is a way to Freedom. Freedom the see more clearly, freedom to make choices, and freedom to act more flexibly.

The doorway to Freedom is Surrender? Hm-mm. No wonder so few people go through it. Most would rather quit and seek the company of other Victims in the Prison Common Room.

It's over to you. Will you go the way of most, or are you going to be different? To change your life for the better, you have to see different, know different and do different. That takes courage. Do you have the bottle to Surrender?

[Surrender – Kasey Chambers (A) – 3:56]

MIND -- MESSING WITH OTHER PEOPLE'S BUSYNESS

     What is Mind? We talk about mind a lot, but what is it? Where is it? I ask my grandchildren and they point to their head, but that's not the mind – that's your brain. Saying your brain is your mind is a bit like equating your computer with the stuff it does. Besides, we now know that your mind exists and is at work in every living cell of your body; it's not limited to your brain.

   

      Is your mind real? Or is it just an appearance like (as someone once said) – like the wind in the breeze, ruffling the trees in the charcoal drawing on Japanese rice paper? Maybe that's why mind is so hard to get a handle on. Despite the fact that we all have a mind, no surgeon on earth can point to it or photograph it, or cut it out, but we can all see evidence of where it is moving.

     My favourite definition of the Mind, and its purpose, comes from Werner Erhardt:- Mind is a linear arrangement (like DNA necklace) of multi-sensory, total records of successive moments of Now. The purpose for having a mind is the survival of the mind itself, and of anything the mind considers itself to be. That may include the survival of your body/mind; it may not. The main purpose of the Mind is the survival of its ideas, concepts, opinions, judgments and beliefs, and anything else It considers important at the time. You don't have much of a say in the matter, at least while you think those things are who you are.

       How powerful is Mind? The Australian aborigines point a bone at someone and they die. Someone tells you something about yourself and you take it on board. Same difference.

      During our childhood, we all, at some point in time, overlooked our own experience, and allowed our mind to believe what it was told,  by someone whose approval was more important to us then than our own integrity. We bought into the opinions of others about us. We still do. No wonder we now don't have a clue who we are. Our minds are stacked to the rafters with umpteenth-hand stuff that didn't work for those who unloaded it on us, and it's now turning our present lives into a righteous royal mess.

      Our ideas, concepts opinions and beliefs about everything, all need to be turned over and examined in the light of our own raw experience. Any that don't fit should be turfed out and the space used to be simply aware of what happens next.

      Each mind is the ultimate in self-centredness and image. Your mind, like mine, wants to look good, keep itself safe, protect its beliefs, justify its points-of-view, its conclusions and its decisions; it wants to seek agreement and validation from other minds, avoid disagreement and invalidation, and to be right, at any cost. Are you getting reminders now of positions you've been so right (or so wrong) about lately? Good.

     You cannot live this life without a mind. It's an essential messenging service. But it belongs on the ground floor, not in the CEO's chair in penthouse boardroom. The trick, I'm finding so far, is to just allow your mind to be. Examine it, by all means, and get to know how it works. But for God's sake, let it be – resistance to it is futile because you become what you resist. And I, for one, don't want to be at the mercy of my mind any more. I'm not my mind, and I never have been, but I didn't know that until I started to wake up and realise the mind isn't real – and I'd got suckered into believing and pretending myself to be everything my mind wanted me to be. What a mess that made!

      Simply wake up to what your mind is up to. Watch it do its routines and run its rackets: don't get involved. Mind is handy to have --- fortunately, because I don't think we have a choice about that. But its value is way overrated. We don't have to continue being our mind and hoping for a better result. That is, frankly, insane. There are other ways of doing things, without suffering. Check some of them out........

[Baby, Don't Get Hooked On Me – Mac Davis – 3:03]

COME BACK HOME

Most people are all about what they're hiding -- from themselves and others. They are imprisoned and governed by their secrets. What they try to keep hidden changes their psyche, their attitudes and even their biology. Regardless of their position, they have no intrinsic authority. They become disempowered and dis-eased.

People who are openly all that they are, are free – free and empowered to go where they want and do whatever inspires them! Regardless of their position in society, they have authority in life.

Author Murdo McBein wrote in “Beyond the Himalayas” -- Understand all that you're using to hide what's real. Understand what your mind is made up of, and its repetitive patterns. Catching the thoughts and feelings that arise in your Awareness is the road to Freedom.

 

Most people look and listen casually and only hear what is “relevant” to their hidden programming. Communication difficulties happen because people interpret what they “hear” as it is filtered and focused by their faulty operating systems. To use Microsoft verbiage, they reject as an “unknown file” anything that threatens to penetrate or disturb their existing cocoon of conditioning, opinions, beliefs, or theories. Just like Microsoft – anything not recognised as within its control is regarded as a threat, and is refused entry into the system.

There is no art to listen to everything without prejudice, without putting up defences to protect our ignorance and the stuff we want to hide. But listening (as distinct from just hearing) has to be practiced. So does integrity. For most people, the only way they will publicly air their negative self-beliefs is to pin them on “others”, and throw stones at them. And that seems to be a bigger national pastime than football, cricket or netball.

No matter how well hidden, our secret stuff will never free us or invest us with any authority. Only The Truth will set us free. And truth is only found in the emptiful silence of no-thing. 

 

The truth of any matter can never be received by a hiding mind. Come out into the open. An open mind can receive and deliver the messages from and to Awareness, and that is the mind's proper function. The messenger is not the message, nor can the medium actually see/hear, nor can it be the message. Only open Awareness (to whom the message is addressed, by the way) can register it, undistorted by censorship or judgment. So bust your ego back to the mailroom, and return to the author's chair. Come home to what you have always been -- the the innocent Awareness  -- The First for which there is no second.

[You Can't Hide From You – The H Gang (A) – 5:00]

THE SAUCE OF SUFFERING

A friend I never got to meet called Tracey, once said “There is another way of doing things, without suffering”. She lived her life from that place. 

 

What if -- whatever we're doing doesn't matter nearly so much as the suffering we slurp all over it. It's the “suffering-about” that sticks in our craw. (Sailor) Bob Adamson (Melbourne) has written a book called “What's Wrong with Now, Unless You Think About It?” Good question, huh?

But let's go one step further. Let's put aside for this moment what you're thinking and suffering about and look at this presumptive “You” that is supposedly doing the soapy thinking and suffering. What if this “You” doesn't exist, except on the stage of your imagination? If this "Me" is just figment of your imagination, then everything is imagined, and whatever this imaginary “You” is imagining and thinking about is just happening, out there all on its own, yes? It really doesn't have anything to do with the real you at all. Me either. Doesn't that possibility lick all the toffee off your suffering? And you're left with – waking up to find it has all been just a bad dream.

What if the “Me” that you think you are is what Douglas Harding calls “the headless space” that you cannot see from where you are? You can see what's in front of you; you can see your feet; you can see you knees, your tummy, and you chest – up to a certain point. But above that, you cannot see. You know that it exists, but you cannot see it. But "it" can see, and hear, and smell. That headless space sees and hears and smells – it “awares” for you. 

When you were a baby you looked in a mirror and saw some “other” dude gazing back at you. Then, somewhere between 24-30 months you looked at a mirror, saw this same something-with-a-head staring back at you and an idea popped - “That's Me. I have a head and a face and stuff!”. And you've been alternately enamoured, in trouble with and committed to what you saw in the mirror, ever since. Some of us can't even get up in the morning without checking to see if it's still there!

Well, it's not. Not really. And if you didn't keep looking at your stuff and saying “That's me”, your discomforts and suffering would be all over. 

You are just Awareness. That's it. And everything else is just froth and bubble that shows up in that awareness.

But if you insist on saying “That's me” and jumping on board for the ride, go for it! It's allowed. But any time you've had enough, just remember what you are.... OK?

[Don't Think Twice, It's Alright – The Kingston Trio – 3:16]

WHAT'S THE POINT?

POSTCARDS FROM OUT HERE

     What's pressing your hot buttons at the moment? Whether you're focusing on unfairness and injustice, or the rightfulness and equity of a situation, you're missing the boat. You're disconnected from the situation itself and identifying with your point of view. Right or wrong, you are a victim of your own limited perspective.

      Exercise freedom from the tyranny of self-delusion. Train yourself to become aware of the is-ness of this here-now, in all of its aspects. To help you with that, you're provided with reflections from all sides: heed others, and find a way to accommodate their points of view into your reality as well.

      The reality of anything is the sum of all perspectives. Bar none.

    

HIDE-AND-SEEK

POSTCARDS FROM OUT HERE

I  I recently heard English author, Alexander McColl-Smith (“No.1 Ladies' Detective Agency”) say something quite startling – Good manners are the building blocks of a moral position. I looked at it. In this social, political and cultural climate where every one of us hides our prejudices behind a façade of political correctness, genuine good manners are a sign of genuine respect, for oneself and for the other. Otherwise, I think he's right: manners become mannerisms, a sociable front for righteous posturing. Niceness. Blecchhh!

     Most people are all about what they're hiding. From themselves and from others. You cannot change what you don't give a deep “Yes” to! People who are not afraid to openly be who they are, are rare indeed!

    Murdo McBein = Understand all that you're using to hide what's real. Understand what your mind is made up of (thoughts – including that thought you're having right now). Catching the thoughts and feelings that arise is the road to Freedom (and this, too by the way, is a thought. Be aware of it then drop it.)

       You cannot be enlightened until you allow light to fall on what you're keeping in the dark. And there's no getting around this one. Whatever you hide and hide from will bring you down – one way or another.

.

[A Well Respected Man – The Kinks (2:41)]

A RELFECTION ON SEPARATION

POSTCARDS FROM OUT HERE

I recently came across a quote from Dorothy Fadiman. She said ---

In dreams, I need you.

In experience, I love you.

In true reality, I am you.

Neither Need nor Love (in the usual sense) are real. The only reality is Am-ness. We know that we ARE; everything after that is up for question. Need and Love are based on an illusion that is not real. The illusion is encapsulated in two words – “I” and “Me” – neither “I” nor “Me” are any more real than last night's dreams. Anything that relies on an illusion for its existence must itself be illusory.

This world we live in is part of a Universe – not a Duoverse or a Multiverse – a Universe. All one. Only one, without a second, or a third.... One. No separation, except in our nightmares.

So why was the illusion of Separation created? What use does Separation serve? My guess is // so that the Curiosity Question “What am I?” can be explored. And for that we need Reflections, which means we also need mirrors. Well, we have no shortage of them. Mirrors surround us everywhere – the bathroom, the bedroom, the bus, the shopping centre – we're chockas with mirrors, made of silver, glass, human flesh.....

The illusion of Separation allows us to experience all kinds of things we couldn't get in Heaven – experiences both yummy and yukky – like relationships, romantic love, togetherness and conflict. Separation allows us to experiment, wrangle and wrassle with all kind of differing ideas, concepts , opinions and beliefs and the feelings that follow – just to see what experiences they provoke and how they turn out.

But remember, it is only a dream. When you and I look at each other, we see bits of ourselves reflected back to us. Whatever we see in another must already exist within ourself, otherwise we could not recognise it. Get it?

Whatever we see in so-called “otherness”, we are. Once you get this, you can really start to get to know yourself by owning what you see. When you put it all together, you can get a grip on the grandeur of what you have created yourself to be – that is, all you see. I invite you to be grateful for the reflections.

[Reflections – Jimmy Barnes (A) – 3:04]