opening eyes

opening eyes for the first time is like getting your head above water and breathing in air for the first time. after having been gone for an indeterminate amount of time, we are suddenly purely and intensely here.

in reality, we have periods of intense awareness sporadically throughout our lives, whether or not we practice to achieve them. but the nearly unbroken chain of mental identification that appears to take place within most of us most of the time can cast a surprisingly alluring spell on our attention, making us believe thoughts are indeed real and who we are is absolutely contingent upon a mental position.

accepting the presence of mental activity and being simultaneously aware of one's nature as the object-perceiving awareness rather than the object itself, life is approached from a different perspective, one that is not as strongly rooted to a limited sense of self but perceives its very essential nature as inextricably linked to everything it perceives.

when we suddenly realize that we are an aware presence encapsulated in a body with no true knowledge of why we find ourselves immersed in this human experience, we touch a true source of humility. we are ignorant to how exactly we've gotten here. it's as if we suddenly awoke within a dream and acknowledged to ourselves the fact that we don't know what this is or why we're here. we look and see with lucid unknowing. enlightened ignorance: the first step in any direction to finding out, since no answer can be provided without a question having been asked in some form or another.

while none of us will probably ever have all the answers, it is possible to arrive at a realization of one's existential, experiential nature that contrasts pretty vastly with what we may have been conditioned - or conditioned ourselves - to believe we were. being aware of one's ultimate nature as consciousness itself does not necessarily answer all questions, but with regard to one's sense of what one is it removes the need for a question to be formed in the first place. one is what one is as one feels oneself - not even that, since for one thing to feel another there has to be a perception of distinction; one firstly and primordially is, and all else comes after and falls within that.

to have a glimpse of awakeness as you're strolling from your car to work or school is like suddenly inhabiting an unsolved mystery, looking behind eyes that are as much an enigma as what they see. insects, trees, sky... what is it all? becoming passionate about finding the answer to this riddle we feel tugging on our very heartstings is the spark that will lead to a fire that will lead to a sudden flash of recognition: the recognition of something so obvious and intimate it is like we finally realized a truth that has been completely self-evident throghout every moment of our lives but has somehow managed to stay out of conscious awareness. since knowing what we are (by virtue of being it consciously) is the most relevant thing that could possibliy be, residing in a state of prevailing existential unconsciousness creates a deep-rooted and highly invested-in source of dysfunction, of unnecessary suffering.

life is not always easy but it can be an awe-filled, beautiful experience for which one feels an overwhelming sense of gratitude. it can be an adventure filled with adversity but on fire with passionate discovery and flooded by joy, contentment, and love. the alternative (the fear-driven life of ego-identification) is like hell compared to heaven.

the shift in human consciousness from "it's me against the world" to "i am a part of everything i see and everything i see is a part of me" is drastic and radical. it marks the beginning of the end of one thing, and the beginning of quite another. making unmistakable contact with our true nature may not solve all of the issues we think need solving, but it will resolve the one drive that, with or without our awareness, has provided the basis for every experience in our life.

using death to bring focus

here's a useful practice: picture yourself on your deathbed. the unthinkable is happening. life is coming to an end. a sudden clarity descends, and as you look back upon your days on earth you realize what truly mattered and what didn't. you remember what it was your soul yearned for, and - the mind's propensity to bullshit itself having finally run dry - you level an uncompromisingly honest assessment on your life.

did you have the courage to live as your heart directed? did you remember what truly mattered in the midst of daily life? were you able to sacrifice immediate pleasure for the greater good of yourself and others? or did you turn a deaf ear to your inner voice and lose yourself in meaningless distractions, petty squabbles, and selfish obsessions?

now rewind to this moment: here's your chance to live in a way that will enable you to die in peace, with no regrets. right now, and tomorrow, and the next day. these are the moments of your life; these seemingly disposable minutes are what make up your whole experience. every second matters; every breath you take is one breath subtracted from your lifelong quota.

this life is a chance given to you. immersed in it as we are, it's hard to see it that way. we get lost in the specifics of daily life. we forget why we came. but learn to take an elevated perspective, and the scattered pieces of daily experience will begin to converge into one meaningful movement; a movement towards the things you know truly matter: knowing yourself, leaving a legacy of peace and love in your wake.

perhaps you've never actually faced the fact that you're going to die. thinking about death is no morbid obsession; it's a valuable practice that can help you contextualize your life experience and center it on what is truly important. death in western culture is given an unfair rap, painted as the ultimate evil. but this is just another one of the misperceptions of a culture that views the natural as unnatural, and the unnatural as natural. death is not the end of anything; it's a transitional event - a step that can be taken in joy and gratitude.

if you're interested in facing the fact of mortality, sit down and close your eyes. breathe deeply, and for each long breath, imagine yourself aging one year. how long can you live? eighty, ninety, a hundred years? surely not more than a hundred and twenty! it's gonna have to come to an end sometime, isn't it? but now, while you're still here, why not use the time wisely? there's so much to learn - and not all of it will be discarded when you leave your body behind. this limited lifetime represents the opportunity to take steps that will reverberate throughout eternity.

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.