battling the past vs. meeting the present

ten million years of ignorance and fear cannot stand up to a single moment of unguarded sincerity and the purity of love it reveals. the return to innocence is inspired by our innate perfection only as it reveals itself now, and is not achieved through the negation of our imperfect tendencies of the past. the ignorance of the past is what kept us from realization then, and only continues to exercise power over us until we release its hold on our identity. what has been done cannot and need not be undone, but this moment holds infinite and unlimited potential for new movement to take root. even the longest and most breathtaking journeys, however, begin with a single, simple step.

to not do

the maladies of a life lived in ignorance of one's true nature are multifarious and pervasive, but no matter how many forms they take or how deeply they penetrate, the source is always the same: misplaced self-identification. there exists, therefore, only one solution (truth-realization) and one way to bring it about: to stop identifying with what one is not.

how does one do that? one doesn't. one DOESN'T identify. since identity is already self-complete, identifying is simply not necessary (not to mention severely problematic). the notion of "identifying with" points to the common misperception that identity is something that must be constructed and maintained, shaped and perfected over time. as if the reality of what we are were a matter of preference!

isn't it terribly obvious that our very existence is proof positive of a root identity that was always there, long before any of our coveted opinions and beliefs came along and took center stage in our life? when we were carefree infants rocking back in our crib and plopping our big toe in our mouth, were we in fact not real because we hadn't yet crafted a personality?

in reality, the truth of what we were then is just as true now (how could it be any other way?). one thing that has changed is the development between then and now of a particularly nasty little psychological parasite known as ego.

many analogies have already been used throughout history to illustrate the withdrawal of energy from identification in order to reveal identity. a good one is that of the twisted towel: imagine turning a towel in opposing directions from either end. we can picture it building up tension, getting increasingly constricted and tangled. we can now ask ourselves what it would take to let the towel unwind and return to its natural, smooth state. more tension? obviouisly not. not even additional twisting in the opposite direction is necessary. all that's called for is a simple release, and the situation resolves itself.

what's needed here is a letting go of the activity that got us all tangled up in the first place, and the situation will resolve itself. as complicated and hectic as our present situation may be, we can't expect some big, flashy miracle or act from god to get us out of this mess. the solution is utterly simple and unpretentious: we have to stop obsessing over what we want and don't want to be and start paying attention to what we are. the former is characterized by incessant thought streams and mind plotting; the latter involves the willingness to be silent and observant along with the humility to accept that reality may be completely unrelated to what we've always believed it to be. the transition is possible if we're ready to accept that identity must be discovered, not created.

no opposition, no battle, no victory

truth is all-inclusive. reality has no opposite. illusion can only be illusion.

no battle is possible between truth and falsity. the real needs no defending, no wining; it's already real.

the ebb and flow between "good" and "bad," "war" and "peace," "freedom" and "slavery" in human society only denotes the collective level of truth-awareness regarding the fundamental sameness of our true identity. acknowledging this reality gives rise to the natural and spontaneous expression of love, peace and happiness; ignoring it brings fear, conflict and suffering.

even in a world in the grip of ignorance, truth hasn't "lost" because it is utterly impossible for that which is real to be displaced by that which is not real. it hasn't "won" either - it simply remains true.

the "battle" between truth and falsity can only take place in the imagination of the human psyche. one can become more or less aware of truth, but reality remains intact in either case. if everyone knows it, it's true. if nobody does, it's still just as true.

on a societal level, a tremendous amount of energy is required to maintain the structures of ignorance in place. by contrast, truth will always remain true and emerges of its own once the mechanisms of resistance break down or are no longer seen as credible. as long as the machine is running smoothly and continuously, however, illusion can hold sway over the masses.

why not? as long as the reel is spinning, we can immerse ourselves in the movie and practically forget we're sitting in a dark room surrounded by a bunch of other people, silently staring up at a screen. but the mechanisms better work; if the sound fails, the projector breaks down or someone in the audience causes a commotion - the spell's broken.

similarly, a continuous process of distraction is required for that which is self-evident and true to remain out of human awareness. we can blame the abundance of distractions in society on "THEM" or we can blame it on human nature, but who cares where responsibility lies? to dwell on that is simply a waste of time.

the object here is not to hunt down whoever's responsible and make them pay. righteous indignation and the desire for vengeance are some of the ego's juiciest positionalities and only serve to further entrench us in unconscious reactivity and misery. playing the "victim" role is just another excuse to avoid responsibility and justify squandering our actual potential.

it's sufficient to realize that while one is presented with ample opportunities for distraction and idleness, the choice to bypass these convenient, familiar diversions and reach for what's eternally true is always available. the transition from a life of cyclical discontent to one grounded in fulfillment, peace and the simple joy of being is not only a real option but represents the natural state of existence.

when we're no longer enthralled by the pictures on the screen, a return to the awareness of truth is inevitable. one need not enter into battle with unreal projections because doing so merely keeps one entangled in them, endowing them with apparent validity. once they're recognized as illusory, there's obviously no need to oppose them.

indeed, fighting against illusion implies adherence to it, just as a man screaming "you're not real! i refuse to believe you're real!!" at a character on a movie screen suffers from a hallucination despite his resistance to it.

in this sense, what's conducive to the growth of spiritual awareness is not wining battles over the particulars of one's life - which at the time may seem real enough - by engaging in direct confrontation, but to rise above limitations, bringing about recontextualization and transcension through a simple yet powerful shift in perspective - a shift that takes place in and of itself when we cease to resist illusion and choose to be inspired by truth.

no split

there is no division between those who consider themselves "spiritual" and those who prefer a more "worldly" approach to living. these terms are just labels; convenient perhaps for communication's sake, but not pointing to an absolute reality.

in truth, we're all playing by the same rules. there is but one standard against which our destinies are measured, and that's the degree of our spiritual development.

but why call it spiritual? it's not spiritual; it's just life. calling it spiritual seems to relegate it to a separate compartment of life, as if a person could choose to be spiritual or not in the same way they can choose to be a sports enthusiast, a butterfly collector or a professional cook.

the difference is, if we're not into collecting insects we remain relatively unaffected by the world of entomology, while if we don't consider ourselves to be a "spiritual person" our subjective experience of life continues to be entirely determined by our level of truth-awareness.

claiming to be "non-spiritual" doesn't get us categorized differently and make us answerable to a different set of rules, exempt from the "spiritual" consequences of our actions. in the same way, merely claiming to be "spiritual" doesn't win us any favors. the realization of truth and happinness is arrived at through each step we take on the path, not by making statements about what kind of person we are.

spirituality in its most basic, real and powerful form is a mode of living that dissolves the obstacles to enlightenment, transporting us from confusion and ignorance to realization and on to growing levels of awareness of the true nature of reality (to say "the true nature of reality" is equivalent to saying "the truth about ourselves").

existential ignorance and all the forms of suffering and negativity it spawns are present to one degree or another until the realization of one's true nature dawns. once this recognition occurs, sincere love and its tremendously powerful healing potential is manifested in ever-expanding ways. in this sense, spiritual development is the most relevant aspect of life, and should logically be the prime object of focus for those who wish to bring an end to their suffering. it's the most important factor regarding one's own welfare and that of humanity.

this doesn't mean that everyone should drop what they're doing and take up a particular spiritual practice. since spirituality points directly to the subjective experience of life itself, "spiritual" lessons can be learned through any endeavor as long as there is a willingness to progress in one's understanding of "self" and life. information traditionally denoted as spiritual, however - if genuine - can be enormously catalytic for those who are consciously striving for truth in the same way an umbrella is more effective at keeping you dry in a storm than throwing a shopping bag over your head; it's specifically designed for the particular purpose of facilitating awakening.