Riding the Waves

Riding the Waves

Looking out behind you (the past), you see a wave that appears to be a good one - like one you once knew, or read about in a book, or heard someone describe.  Getting into position on your surfboard (rallying all your resources, talents, beliefs and concepts), you decide when to let go and sail free on the sea of life. 

But the wave (appearing to be apart from the ocean) seems to have a course of its own, taking turns and dips that you did not expect, sometimes getting larger, getting smaller, in places where you were not prepared to makes changes.

By now you have either crashed back into the ocean from where you came;  you have lost your footing and been tossed to and fro out of control like a cork on a stormy sea; or perhaps you have flowed gently to shore having ridden the wave without fear.

Whatever means it took, it is sure you became aware of the power of the sheer and ever present totality that you are a part.  There will be a looking back in awe at the immense horizon of life from which you just came, having passed through the stages of longing, expectations, trials and tribulations, failures and successes, and finally, the need to control the outcome.

From the ocean the waves always return, and in this way: from the all-inclusive oneness which is called by many names, you, the individual, returns and becomes one with all that is, thus realizing that you were actually never alone and apart.

The world can seem like this: filled with trepidation, beset with fears, a struggle for survival.  Like the wave, the world is not a thing apart from you.  The wave is to the ocean as you are to the world.  Distinctions are imaginary.

Know this and understand.  Be accepting, be kind, and be fearless.  The world is none other than a reflection of your beliefs.  See if this is not so.  Without looking back at your memories in order to steer a course through your life, step into the world minute by minute not burdened by past events or future uncertainties or desires. Ride the waves, your personal challenges, with full trust that there is a greater presence than personal will that directs the flow of events. 

Your part is to let go of any personal control - as the wave cannot control the ocean, so your beliefs and concepts have no bearing on outcome except to either reject or accept, thus giving you countless opportunities to be quiet, accepting, at peace with life.

Be at peace with whatever happens.  Know that you are at the right place at the right time, and it is NOW.  This is It.  The world will direct your course according to your ideas – be it gently or be it tumultuously.   Let concepts fall away.  Be free of them and know what real freedom is: freedom to be what you always already are.

Suddenly, you realize that at first it was you that thought you could ride the wave; in order to do this you became one with the wave; thus you understood that the wave was always the ocean.   You laugh. 

You are free at last from being the doer, the wave, or the ocean.

Who Are You?

Who are you? 

There is no 'me' in the 'I'...means that there is no longer a separate idea of self, referencing a personal history, likes and dislikes, etc. 

Depends on what point of view the question is asked.  If you think you are a person, I appear to you as a person also.  If you know that there is no me and no you, there is no question to be answered, because there is no duality between us.  We are aspects of the One. 

What is enlightenment, are there any qualifications for enlightenment?

Enlightenment is a concept conceived by mind as a superior state.  In reality there is no lack, no seeking, and no seeker after enlightenment.  Our natural state is free from lack.

What do you say about self-inquiry?

Self inquiry is the master key in unlocking the door of false perceptions.  Who am I really?  Am I my thoughts, my body?  The very question creates a distancing from the you which you formerly took yourself to be.

What is the true understanding of the world?

The world is created out of the mind’s imagination.  Your interests predispose you to circumstances of the world, the world you experience.

Do you have a mind, does it have to be destroyed?

The good news is that you are only one thought away from being free from mind, which is only consciousness which has been channeled into the idea of a separate person.  We reincarnate in each moment that we pick up the thought “ I am so and so.”

Do vasanas need to be removed first?

No, all that is needed is to be aware of them by witnessing.  There is no need to remove or reject anything that is already transient, which comes and goes.

 Are there stages of enlightenment?

No, there can be many insights. But the final break comes with the total annihilation of dependence on thought.

Who is the guru? Is a guru necessary, what is a guru’s role, how to recognize the true guru?

The Guru is your own Self.  When there is a sincere longing, your own Self may appear in the form of a teacher.  The Guru’s role is to illuminate one’s Self.

Please say something about bhakti, devotion in the role of enlightenment!

Devotion comes without effort.  Just as love does not need approval of the mind to know itself – it is spontaneous.  Devotion is being in spontaneous joy – like when seeing the smile of an infant or a beautiful sunset.  It overwhelms.  It does not need to be validated by the mind.

Describe your typical day and how you perceive the world.

I don’t have any expectations.  I perceive the world as dreamlike, and I respond instead of react.

What is your short advice to a person with a passion for awakening?

Watch what you do in your free time.  Observe the tendencies of the mind to prefer one thing over another.  Use selfinquiry.  Ask yourself:  if all is One, where is the separate ego?  Remember that you are not your body or your thoughts, even though you may not thoroughly understand this.

Contemplate Sat Chit Ananda – when Conciousness comes into recognition of ItSelf as Truth, this is bliss.  Bliss is self-luminous, full with no lack.