MasterPok's blog

We can easily say yes to the wanted, but tend to say no to the unwanted. Yet the unwanted is just as much our creation as is the wanted. To reflexively allow the wanted while reflexively resisting and rejecting the unwanted is the reactive and unconscious state in which most humans spend their lives.

 

In this state there is only the illusion of freedom, as we are really then the slave of external circumstances; feeling good when the wanted arises and we reflexively allow it and feeling bad when the unwanted arises and we reflexively resist it. This leads to chasing after the wanted so that we can, in reflexively allowing it, feel good, while fearing the unwanted, since in our reflexive resistance to it, we will feel bad.

 

In all of this we do not realize that the good and bad feelings, the wanted and unwanted emotions, do not inhere in the external circumstances that seem to produce them, but instead are produced by the internal relation of Self-allowing or Self-resistance in which What We Actually Are becomes involved with Itself as we reflexively allow or say yes to the wanted and reflexively resist or say no to the unwanted.   

 

How can we know there is this internal relation occurring when we do not know What We Actually Are? We cannot and so we do not. This is why the emotions, good and bad, wanted and unwanted, seem to come from or inhere in the external circumstances with which they are associated.

 

Some external unwantedness arises and we reflexively say no to it, internally push against it, internally resist it, and this creates an internal relation within our own Being that produces an unwanted emotion, which is just a created form that arises within, and so is apprehended by, our Being. Or some external wantedness arises and we reflexively say yes to it, internally allow it, internally do not resist it, and this creates an internal relation within our own Being that produces a wanted emotion, which is also just a created form that arises within, and so is apprehended by, our Being.

 

But when we are blind to What We Actually Are, when What We Actually Are has been obscured, as is the case when there is only the awareness of the form-identity, when there is only identification with form, then there can also be no awareness of this internal relation of Self-allowing or Self-resistance, Self-alignment or Self-opposition, that is actually producing the emotional form, and so the created emotion, the created form, whether wanted or unwanted, good or bad, must then seem to inhere in or emanate from the external circumstance that we are either reflexively allowing or resisting. 

 

And so something arises that we do not want, some circumstance, perhaps one's partner or spouse is doing something that is unwanted, and so we reflexively resist that external unwantedness and so become unknowingly involved in an internal relation of Self-opposition, which then creates an unwanted emotion that we then associate with the unwanted circumstance or behavior we say, "you have made me mad " or "you have made me feel bad," not knowing that it is only our own unconscious and conditioned reaction to the circumstance or behavior, which creates an internal relation within our own Being, that is actually producing the emotional unwantedness, the emotional form, that truly seems from the unconscious or conditioned perspective to be caused by the circumstance or person.

 

And the same is true of emotional wantedness. That is, something arises that we want, some circumstance, perhaps one's partner or spouse is doing something that is wanted, and so we reflexively allow that external wantedness and so become unknowingly involved in an internal relation of Self-alignment, which then creates a wanted emotion that we then associate with the wanted circumstance or behavior we say, "you have made me happy" or "you have made me feel good," again not knowing that it is only our own unconscious and conditioned reaction to the circumstance or behavior, which creates an internal relation within our own Being, that is actually producing the emotional wantedness, the emotional form, that again truly seems from the unconscious or conditioned perspective to be caused by the circumstance or person.

 

Conversely, when one becomes aware of themselves as the Creator of form, then it becomes possible to understand how the different relations of the Creator to Itself create what the Creator apprehends as different forms, and especially as the different emotional forms, in which case it then becomes possible to see beyond the illusion that makes the characteristics of emotional wantedness or unwantedness seem to inhere in the form one is either allowing or resisting, respectively, which in turn helps to lessen one's attachment and aversion to form, i.e., one's desire of and fear of form, either seeking form as the source of good or running from form as the source of bad.

 

We are the Creators of form.  We are not created by form, nor are we form. We are the Formlessness in which form arises and by which form is apprehended. And what causes form to arise so that we can apprehend it? Always some relation of Formlessness to Itself. And there are really only two fundamental relations of Formlessness to Itself: Self-alignment or Self-opposition. With Self-alignment comes Self-knowledge, knowledge of one's true Nature, as well as the absence of suffering, whereas with Self-opposition comes Self-ignorance, the obscuring of one's true Nature, as well as the presence of suffering.

 

So it is that, as Eckhart Tolle often states in one way or another, the opening or doorway to What We Actually Are lies in becoming friendly with the present moment, with the Now, and so lies in ceasing to oppose what is, whatever form it takes.

 

This is becasue the conscious decision to cease to oppose what is, to cease to oppose whatever forms are arising in this moment, in this Now, within your Awareness, is simultaneously a conscious decision to internally align your Being with What Is, to internally align your Being with Itself. 

 

There are only these two relations, Self-alignment and Self-opposition, and if you are not actively involving your Being in one, then you are actively involving your Being in the other, because What Is, What You Are, by virtue of the fact that It Is and so cannot help but Be, must Be in some relation to Itself: either Flowing in alignment with Itself or Flowing in opposition to Itself, and so must in each moment, in what is always the Now, be creating either Self-knowledge and the absence of suffering or Self-ignorance and the presence of suffering, respectively.

 

Suffering is the diminishment of the Flow of What We Are to What We Are that comes with the internal relation of Self-opposition, whereas the absence of suffering, or the Fullness of Life, is the full or undiminished Flow of What We Are to What We Are that comes with the internal relation of Self-allowing.

 

Saying that What Is must be involved in either a relation of Self-alignment or Self-opposition is not saying that What Is is dual, or not One. What Is is singular, or non-dual. It is the relations of the non-dual What Is to Itself that create the forms that are themselves always dual, always this or that, wave or particle, good or bad, wanted or unwanted, yin or yang, which created forms then create the appearance of duality, or the appearance that reality is ultimately dual. But beyond that apparent duality lies the one Being, the one Consciousness that is, through relation to its non-dual Self, creating and apprehending the duality of form.

 

 

It seems that Consciousness has no choice but to be involved in some relation with Itself, but that it is able to choose which relation with Itself in which it is involved; aligned or opposed. However, it may be that it only seems like there is a choice from the perspective of unconsciousness, whereas from the perspective of enlightenment there is perhaps really no choice at all.

 

Would you like a nice massage or a poke in the eye with a sharp stick? There is certainly the appearance of a choice but only a madman would choose the latter over the former. Would you like the Fullness of Life or suffering. Here too there also appears to be a choice, but only Consciousness that seems to have lost sight of Itself seems to choose the latter over the former.

 

Consciousness seems never to be intentionally creating suffering, but only does so when unconscious. It always seems to be the intention of Consciousness to feel better, to create wantedness for Itself. It's just that once Consciousness loses sight of Itself the mistaken idea arises that the way to get to what it wants, whatever that might be, is through some sort of opposition to what is, which opposition to what is then perpetuates the Self-ignorance that makes opposition to what is seem like a good idea, i.e., like a way to get to the good, or even back to God, back to Itself. 

 

And so Consciousness is always really making the same choice, to move toward a greater wantedness, toward the ultimate good, which is, whether It knows it or not, always Itself. The difference then is not in the choice that is being made, for that is always the same; rather, the difference lies only in the two different contexts in which that singular choice is being made, i.e., the context of Self-knowledge or the context of Self-ignorance.

 

That singular choice, made or exercised from within the context of Self-knowledge, produces that which is not-suffering. That same choice, made or exercised from within the context of Self-ignorance, produces suffering. The difference then lies neither in That which is making the choice, nor in the choice that is being made, for both are singular in Nature. Consciousness that is in a state of Self-knowledge is not separable from or other than Consciousness that is in a state of Self-ignorance, which is why both, as it were, always make the same choice. The difference then can only lie in the apparent difference in the nature of the forms that are produced and apprehended by singular Consciousness operating within these two different contexts, within what appear to be these two different states of its own singular Being.

 

The forms are different, some are wanted and some are unwanted. some are this, some are that, but they are not Real, they are only real, they are not What Is, they are only what exists, only what comes out of or out from the Is-ness. However, what gives rise to or creates the different forms, the different experiential realities, the always dual forms, is not Itself ever actually different, is neither wanted nor unwanted, but is rather the singular inseparable non-dual formless Is-ness that can never Itself be a form, and so can never Itself actually be spoken, can never itself actually be a concept, can never itself actually be a word, but can only be pointed toward using the forms that both arise within and are apprehended by It.

 

 

 

I am through living as a slave to external circumstances.  Feeling good when good things happen, feeling bad when bad things happen. I do not control when good things happen, nor do I control when bad things happen.  Things just happen. 

 

I may create the illusion that I control when things happen, as I am able to pick up an object and move it from here to there, but even this is only an illusion.  For when things happen, good or bad, the cooperation of the entire universe is needed, since everything is connected, and surely even I, with my enormous ego, cannot be so deluded as to think that I control the entire universe.

 

And so if I do not really control when things happen, then what is the point of being happy when good things happen, as if my team has won, and being unhappy when bad things happen, as if my team has lost? Things just happen. What-Is is as it is.

 

There is no team me and team them, no me versus the universe, or me versus them, or me versus whoever, to win or lose. There is only Team Universe, Team Being, and everything and everyone is on that team, whether it seems so or not, whether they seem to be with me or against me in a given moment, helping me to score, helping me to get what I want, or preventing me from scoring, preventing me from getting what I want.

 

Both wanted and unwanted are going to happen. That is just the way it is. That is just what is. But suffering does not have to happen.

 

Suffering only happens when I see the universe as a contest of me versus it, where, according to the rules of that game, that contest, I must then oppose whatever happens that is unwanted, in order to make room for the wanted, and cling to whatever happens that is wanted, in order to not make room for the unwanted.

 

For in opposing whatever happens that is unwanted, and clinging to whatever happens that is wanted, I am in a state of almost perpetual reaction to and opposition to What Is, which state of opposition to What Is, by its nature, is a state of suffering. 

 

In opposing What Is I pinch myself off from the flow of what I truly Am. It is not coincidence that the words suffering and suffocation are similar. Suffocation occurs when the flow of air is cut off or decreased significantly to the organism. Suffering occurs when the flow of Being is decreased to the Being.

 

But how can the flow of Being be decreased to the Being? How is the flow of water decreased when the source of that flow remains full? Through some sort of resistance to the flow that is coming from the source.

 

Only Being can resist the flow of Being. And Being that resists the flow of Being, and thereby decreases the flow of Being to Itself, suffers, as the flow of Is-ness, the flow of Beingness to Itself, to its Being, is reduced.

 

Consider a river, and from that river flow outward many tributaries, many smaller rivers. The flow of those smaller rivers is dependent on the flow of the larger river, for the flow of those smaller rivers is but an extension of the flow of the larger river.

 

Now consider that one of the smaller rivers, for some reason, is able to turn its flow back upon its source, so that its direction of flow is now in opposition to the direction of flow coming from its own source.  In opposing the flow of its own source, in resisting the flow coming from its own source, the smaller river, without meaning to, reduces its own flow.  In a smaller river we would see this self-induced reduction of flow as the smaller river beginning to dry up.  

 

As Consciousness, we feel such a self-induced reduction of Flow as suffering, as the feeling of being more or less cut off from our true or larger Self.

 

Our own Flow of Consciousness, directed in opposition to what is also our own Flow of Consciousness, thereby providing resistance to that Flow of Consciousness, thereby reducing that Flow of Consciousness, which reduction in Flow of Consciousness is apprehended by the Consciousness that is reducing its own Flow as suffering, or the self-induced suffocation of its own Being.

 

Amazing. Why would I ever undertake such folly?

 

Because I think I am me, a me, a form, and so in conflict and competition with other forms for the acquisition of still other forms to add to and protect the me, the form, I think I am.

 

Knowing myself as the River the idea to oppose myself does not arise.

 

Knowing myself as me, as a form, I feel obligated to oppose what is, when what is appears as something unwanted.. Knowing myself as me, I do not realize that opposing what is actually places me in opposition to what I actually Am. Knowing myself as me, I do not realize that I am creating the deep suffering, the suffocation of Being, that accompanies the unwantedness that I feel obligated to oppose. Knowing myself as me, and so not realizing that I am creating the suffering I feel,  that suffering then seems to come from and be a part of the unwantedness I am opposing, causing me to then redouble my efforts at opposing what is, thereby increasing my suffering and the seeming need to oppose what is in order to reduce the suffering that I am myself, through my opposition to what is, unknowingly creating.

 

This is the insanity that is, for the ego, for the form-identity, for me, normal behavior. In its own way it is a beautiful thing when observed from a position of detachment, beyond the ego. But while cloaked in the ego, where the process remains hidden, there seems to be only the suffering and the continued obligation to oppose what is.

 

Thus, it is not circumstances that create the deep unwantedness of suffering; rather, it is opposition and attachment to circumstances that actually creates suffering.  And what creates opposition and attachment to circumstances is the identification of Consciousness with form, or more specifically, with the collection of thought-forms collectively referred to as the ego.

 

Ultimately then, what creates suffering is the misidentification of Consciousness with something that It has created within Itself, which misidentification sets into motion a self-perpetuating chain of conditioning that seems to obligate me to oppose what is, and which opposition to what is then perpetuates the delusion of form-identity that creates that apparent obligation, by hiding from me my true nature as formless Consciousness as long as I, cloaked in the ego, continue to flow my Being in unknowing and inadvertent opposition to what is ultimately Itself. 

 

It is a very sticky wicket indeed.

 

However, all that is required is the sight adjustment of ceasing to oppose what is, and a kink arises in the chain of conditioning that provides an opening for Consciousness to reveal Itself to Itself, not as a concept, not as a form, but directly as That within which all form arises and by which all form is apprehended. 

Know your self not

 

As just one of the many drops,

 

That rests on the leaves

 

After a rain.

 

 

Know your self instead

 

as the one Light

 

That shines through all the drops.

 

 

When you know your self as just a drop,

 

And the Light shines through,

 

Then you think, "the light is mine!"

 

 

But when you know your self as the Light,

 

And the Light shines through

 

Then you know, "I am the Light."

 

 

When you think, "the light is mine,"

 

It seems that the Light is something

 

That the drop possesses.

 

 

And so then,

 

What is not really what you are,

 

Seems to possess,

 

What you really are.

 

 

So it is that,

 

The form you think you are,

 

Seems to possess,

 

The Consciousness you really are.

 

 

The drop-self,

 

Because it is not really what you are,

 

Always feels that something is missing,

 

Always senses that it is incomplete,

 

But never looks for what is missing,

 

In what it already seems to possess.

 

 

For how can Consciousness

 

Be what is missing,

 

When it is already possessed

By the drop-self?

 

 

And so it is

 

That what we truly are

 

Becomes hidden,

 

And so seems to be missing,

 

While remaining always

 

In plain sight. 

 

 

And so it is

 

That what we truly are

 

Is not actually missing,

 

But has just been misidentified,

 

And so appears

 

As something other

 

Than what we are.

 

 

It is as if we are children

 

And our mother stands right before us,

 

But we mistake her for someone else,

 

And so we run around crying,

 

"Where is my mother?"

 

 

But we do not cry

 

"Where is my mother?"

 

For it is not our mother

 

That is missing.

 

 

Rather, it is our true Self

 

That seems to have gone missing.

 

 

And so we cry,

 

Who am I?

 

What am I?

 

Where am I?

 

 

And the answer is always the same,

 

Once we are able to hear it.

 

I am right here

 

Where I have always been.

 

 

I never went anywhere,

 

I just got mistaken for something else,

 

for something other than I,

 

Once it seemed that I was possessed by an i

 

that I was not.

 

 

So know your self not

 

As just one of the many drops,

 

That rests on the leaves

 

After a rain.

 

 

Know your Self instead

 

As the one Light,

 

The Light of Consciousness,

 

That shines through all the drops,

 

And there will then be

 

No mistake in Identity,

Since the Light cannot seem to possess

 

That which It already knows

 

to Be Itself.

 

This Moment is sufficient unto Itself.

 

Nothing can be added to It.

 

Try to add to It and you obscure It.

 

 

What do we try to add to It?

 

Thoughts. Concepts. Forms.

 

 

This Moment is timeless.

 

This Moment is formless.

 

That is why forms obscure It.

 

 

Why do we try to add to It?

 

Because we think that It is not enough.

 

 

Why do we think that It is not enough?

 

Because we think that we are not enough.

 

 

Why do we think that we are not enough?

 

Because we think that we are a form.

 

And forms can be added to or subtracted from.

 

Made more or less.

 

 

Formlessness cannot be added to or subtracted from.

 

Formlessness cannot be made more or less.

 

 

Forms arise in this Moment, in the Now.

 

But this Moment, the Now, is not Itself a form.

 

That is why nothing can be added to It,

 

and nothing can be subtracted from It.

 

 

When we Know our self as the Formlessness

 

We also know that this Moment is sufficient unto Itself,

 

and that nothing can be added to It or subtracted from It.

 

 

When we know our self as form

 

We see this Moment as either lacking what we want,

 

lacking what we think needs to be added to our form-identity,

 

So that we can be made more,

 

Or possessing what we do not want,

 

Possessing what we think needs to be subtracted from our form-identity,

 

So that we will not be made less.

 

 

And because, once we know our self as form,

 

This Moment either seems to lack what we want,

 

Or possess what we do not want,

 

We run from It.

 

 

And where do we run,

 

Since there is really no place to run,

 

As there is really only this Moment,

 

only the Now?

 

 

We run into the forest of thought-forms that we call the past and the future.

 

There we find the forms we want,

 

The forms that we think we need,

 

To add to our form-identity,

 

So that it can be more,

 

And not be less.

 

 

And in all of this,

 

All this running into past and future,

 

The Moment is lost,

 

the Now is obscured.

 

 

And so We are lost,

 

We are obscured,

 

Because we are the Moment,

 

We are the Now.

 

 

We are the Formlessness that Is Now.

 

We are the Formlessness that Is this Moment.

 

We are the Formlessness within which forms arise,

 

And we are the Formlessness that apprehends those forms.

 

 

The Formlessness that apprehends form

 

We call Consciousness.

 

It is within Consciousness

 

That forms arise.

 

 

Consciousness Is Now

 

Consciousness Is the Now.

 

Consciousness Is this Moment.

 

 

Consciousness,

 

The Now,

 

This Moment,

 

Formlessness,

 

All forms,

 

All pointers,

 

All signposts,

 

Pointing toward what Is actually and directly there,

 

Apprehending the forms,

 

Aware of the forms

 

That we have mistaken both for our self,

 

And for what is actually there,

 

where the forms appear to be.

 

 

The forms are there,

 

They are just not what is actually there,

 

where they appear to be.

 

 

A reflection that arises on a calm pool of water is there

 

But it is not what is actually there

 

Where it appears to be.

 

 

We are Pools of Water that have mistaken ourselves for reflections

 

That only arise on our surface.

 

 

And in taking the reflection of form for what is actually there,

 

The Pool of Water that Is actually there has become obscured,

 

while still in plain sight,

 

as this Moment,

 

as the Now,

 

as Consciousness.

 

 

See the reflection of form for what it is,

 

For the illusion that it is,

 

When it is taken for what is actually there,

 

When it is mistaken for what you actually are,

 

And what lies below,

 

Which is your long obscured True Nature,

 

Reappears. 

 

 

Because It was never really gone,

 

Was never really missing,

 

It was just hidden in plain sight,

 

As the Consciousness that was always there,

 

Apprehending the forms that,

 

In being taken for your self,

 

obscured from view your true Self.

The world is not composed of Consciousness.

 

The world is Consciousness.

 

Consciousness just appears as the world.

 

 

It is as if a River flows, and in some areas the River flows faster or slower than in other adjacent areas, and so a Swirl arises within the river.

 

The perception of the world is not even the perception of such a Swirl of Consciousness, for such Swirls are of the same nature as the River of Consciousness in which they arise, whereas what is perceived as the world is not of the same nature as the River of Consciousness within which what is perceived arises and by which what is perceived is apprehended.

 

 

But how can this be? How can something arise within the River that is other than the River?

 

Something can arise within the River that is other than the River, but nothing can arise within the River that exists apart from the River.

 

Shadows cannot arise within complete darkness. Perception cannot arise in the absence of Consciousness.

 

Shadows are different in nature than the light that is required for them to arise and what is perceived is different in nature than the Consciousness that is required for it to arise.

 

 

Is a tree Real?

 

If by the word tree one means just the form that is perceived, then that is not Real.

 

But if by the word tree one refers to the Swirl of Consciousness that underlies the perceived form, then that is Real.

 

 

But trees come and go, so how can they be Real?

 

Because That of which they are composed is Real, and so does not come and go, but always Is.

 

 

That there is a form to be perceived requires the Is-ness of Swirls.

 

That which perceives form is the Is-ness of the River.

 

The Is-ness of the River and the Is-ness of the Swirls are identical.

 

 

And all that has been or will be said about perception applies to the more subtle form that is conception, and to the even more subtle form that is emotion.

 

 

The River never sees a Swirl as other than Itself.

 

Swirls, on the other hand, can see themselves as the River, or they can see themselves as other than the River.

 

When a Swirl sees Itself as the River, this is called enlightenment.

 

When a Swirl sees Itself as other than the River, this is called delusion.

 

 

A Swirl can see Itself as other than the River when it mistakes Itself for a perceived, conceived, or felt form.

 

 

When a Swirl mistakes itself for what is only form, then the River becomes obscured and so seems to vanish, and so the Swirl seems to vanish as well, leaving only the appearance of form.

 

This trick is called maya.

 

Maya is the illusion of Consciousness appearing as the world of form.

 

For the trick to work a Swirl must volunteer to identify with form, otherwise the trick does not work.

 

 

But the River of Consciousness does not actually go anywhere or actually go away once the spell of maya has been cast, once the illusion has been established.

 

If It did there could be no apprehended form, perceived, conceived, or felt.

 

For a Swirl may identify with form, may know Itself as form, but a Swirl can only know these things, apprehend these things, these forms of various degrees of grossness and subtlety, because it is actually and always not other than the River of Consciousness, by which all form is apprehended and within which all forms arise and exist.

 

 

Untangling Consciousness from the forms it has identified itself with is somewhat like untangling a very fine thread from a more coarse thread.

 

Observation is more important than action.

 

Action without observation only creates more knots.

 

Just observe the relations between Consciousness and form, and the knots will loosen and untangle themselves.

 

 

How can one tell whether they are, in a given moment, in this Now, untangling the knots of form-identification or creating more knots of form-identification?

 

According to whether one's degree of suffering is, in a given moment, in this Now, decreasing or increasing.

 

 

Where there is no form-identity there is no suffering. Where there is only form-identity there is only suffering.

 

 

Suffering here does not refer to organic or bodily pain, but refers to something more subtle and hard to define.

 

Suffering is subtle and hard to define because it is something that seems to be happening to that which is Formless.

 

 

But how can anything happen to That which is Formless?

 

It actually cannot, but can only seem to.

 

 

Suffering is a sort of suffocation of Is-ness.

 

Suffocation occurs when the flow of air to the organism becomes restricted or impeded.

 

Suffering occurs when the flow of Consciousness to a Swirl of Consciousness becomes restricted or impeded.

 

 

And how does the flow of Consciousness to a Swirl of Consciousness become restricted or impeded?

 

When the Swirl won't let that Flow in because the Swirl no longer recognizes the River of Consciousness as Itself.

 

Because in not recognizing that underlying the appearance of any form is That which is ultimately Itself, the Swirl opposes many of those forms, and so opposes what exists.

 

And because what exists has as its basis what Is, in opposing what exists the Swirl opposes what Is, and so flows in opposition to Itself.

 

 

When form-identification ceases, all the reasons that it seems necessary to oppose other forms wither away, since all those reasons are themselves illusions that grow out of the illusory soil that is form-identification.

 

But form-identification cannot cease while in opposition to what Is.

 

And while in opposition to what Is, only form appears as that with which one can identify.

 

 

Cease to oppose what exists, even while still identified with form, and you cease to oppose what Is, and a tear appears in the fabric of maya that lets in the Light of Consciousness.

 

Then you can identify with That instead, after which the whole illusion begins to unravel.

 

And then the real fun begins. 

The Divine is just as present in this moment as It is going to be present in the next moment.

 

So why run from one moment to the next, looking to find It there, when It is already here in full measure?

 

Especially since looking for It in the next moment hides It in this moment.

 

Such a game of hide and seek.

 

 

Here we are, in this moment, where the Divine is everywhere, both within us and all around us, but we can't see It, because we are looking for it in the next moment, and so its Presence in this moment is obscured.

 

And then the next moment becomes this moment, but we still can't find It because we are still looking for It in the new next moment.

 

 

But if the Divine is here in this moment, then why is it not also in the next moment? Why can It only be found in this moment, and not the next?

 

Because this moment is Alive, whereas the next moment is only a shadow of Life.

 

If you want to find someone, do you find them where they are or where only their refection lies?

 

 

The Divine is Life and that Life Is Now.

 

The next moment is only a form that arises in this moment, in the Now. 

 

The next moment exists, the Divine Is.

 

The Divine is not found in that which only exists.

 

The Divine is only found in That which Is, because the Divine Is That which Is.

 

 

This moment Is, the Now Is.

 

The next moment is not.

 

The next moment is only an idea, a thought, a form, a concept.

 

The next moment is not what Is.

 

Looking for the Divine in the next moment is like looking for someone in what is only their shadow or reflection.

 

There is some relation between the person for whom you are looking and their shadow or reflection, but they are not the same.

 

Likewise, there is some relation between the Divine and the next moment, but they are not the same.

 

 

When you are in the next moment, looking for the Divine, looking for some sort of fulfillment, you are really still in this moment, in the Now, but having shrouded yourself in the form that is the next moment, the Divinity that Is Now is obscured, and so fulfillment eludes you. 

 

True fulfillment comes with finding the Divine, and Knowing yourself as That.

 

The illusion of fulfillment comes with acquiring some form, and adding that form to one's form-identity.

 

 

True fulfillment does not end.

 

The illusion of fulfillment ends almost as soon as it has begun.

 

 

When one drinks of the Real their thirst is quenched. 

 

When one drinks what is only a shadow of the Real, their thirst is unending.

 

 

It feels good to be thirsty, when one knows where the eternal Fountain lies. 

 

It does not feel good to be thirsty, when all one sees around them is a desert.

 

 

The next moment is a desert.

 

This moment, the Now, is where the eternal Fountain lies.

 

Drink from it but once and you will Know true Satisfaction and true Fulfillment.

 

 

But even having once found the Fountain and  having drank from it, you may on occasion find yourself wandering in the desert of the next moment, thirsty and in search of the Fountain that was right there, only a moment ago, but which has now vanished.

 

Just remember, if you can’t find It, it's not because It's not there; rather, it's only because you are looking for It in the wrong place, in the next moment, where It must remain hidden.

 

 

To locate the hidden Fountain just return to this moment, to the Now, and it will reappear, as if out of thin air.

 

And you will once again drink your fill.

 

 

And after drinking your fill, and having your thirst quenched, a thought will come along, like a butterfly in a field, and you may chase after it, and while chasing after it you may again wander into the desert of the next moment, and you will again become thirsty and you will turn to drink from the Fountain and it will once again seem to have disappeared.

 

Where has it gone?

 

Nowhere.

 

It remains where it always Is, in this moment, in the Now.

 

 

It is not the Fountain that has moved, it is you that has moved.

 

It is not the Fountain that has gone somewhere, it is you that has gone somewhere.

 

And where have you gone?

 

Into next moment.

 

 

The Fountain never moves, never goes anywhere.

 

It just Is, and It is always Now.

 

You don't really go anywhere either, since you also just Are, and are always Now.

 

You just think you do. You just think yourself into someplace that seems to be other than Now. 

 

 

So it is not a matter of actually returning to the Now from someplace that is actually other than Now.

 

It is just a matter of realizing that there is only Now, which can become disguised and so hidden when dressed in the apparent reality of the next moment.

 

 

Such a game Consciousness plays with Itself.

 

Peek-a-boo on a cosmic scale.

 

 

Never really any danger, never really anything wrong.

 

Just what Is, enjoying Itself.

Nothing can actually disturb you.

 

Only you can disturb yourself.

 

And how do you disturb yourself?

 

By opposing what Is.

 

 

Experiences arise within your Awareness

 

Like reflections that appear on a calm pool of water.

 

Let them be and the water remains calm.

 

Try to push them away or cling to them

 

and the water becomes disturbed.

 

 

Your Consciousness is the water of Is-ness within which the reflections of experience arise.

 

When you do not swat at or cling to the reflections you create one type of experience.

 

When you swat at or cling to the reflections you create the opposite type of experience.

 

 

Thus the experiences that arise are not unrelated to your attitude of allowing or opposition toward the experiences that have already arisen.

 

 

When your attitude toward the experiences that have already arisen and which are arising is one of allowing, the water remains calm and the reflections that arise tend to have the quality of wantedness.

 

When your attitude toward the experiences that have already arisen and which are arising is one of opposition, the water becomes disturbed and the reflections that arise tend to have the quality of unwantedness.

 

 

When one becomes involved in a relation of opposition to what Is, through opposition to the reflections that arise on the surface of What Is, thereby disturbing the surface of what Is and imparting upon the reflections that rest there the quality of unwantedness, it then seems that the unwantedness that one then feels has as its source the reflection that one is opposing.

 

This is an illusion.

 

The unwantedness that one feels while involved in a relation of opposition to what Is, through opposition to the reflections that arise on the surface of what Is, has as its only source one's opposition to what Is. 

 

 

The difficulty lies in the fact that, while opposing what Is and disturbing the waters, what Is becomes hidden or obscured, leaving one aware of only the reflection that one is either pushing against or clinging to as well as the feeling of unwantedness created by one's involvement in the relation of opposition to the now hidden what Is, thereby creating the appearance that the feeling of unwantedness is being caused by the reflection that one is either pushing against or clinging to, making it then seem even more necessary and imperative to push against or cling to more fervently the reflection, thereby increasing one's relation of opposition to the now hidden what Is, thereby increasing the feeling of unwantedness that appears to be caused by the reflection,  making it then seem even more necessary and imperative to push against or cling to more fervently the reflection, and on and on it goes.

 

 

What Is cannot reappear as what Is until one ceases to oppose It.

 

What Is is always there, it just cannot be Known as That until one ceases to oppose it.

 

And because what Is is identical to what you Are, you cannot Know what you Are until you cease to oppose what is ultimately Yourself.

 

 

Why does opposing what Is cause it to become hidden from one who opposes It?

 

Because the relation of opposition to what Is requires that one's attention lie not in the direction of what Is, but that it rather lie in the direction  of what-is-not, which is to say, upon the reflection one is either pushing against or clinging to.  

 

That is all.

 

 

When one is looking south, what lies to the north becomes hidden.

What lies to the north does not cease to exist when one looks south, nor does what Is cease to be what Is when one looks toward what-is-not.

 

 

It is easy to turn back and look north from a position of looking south, so that what lies north can again easily be known.

 

It is not easy to turn back and look upon what Is from a position  of looking as what-is-not, so that what Is cannot again easily be known.

 

 

Why is it easy to look north again having once looked south, but not easy to look again at what Is after having looked in opposition at what-is-not?

 

Imagine that if when one looked south all knowledge that there was such a thing as north vanished.

 

That is why.

 

 

When one looks south one still knows that there is also a north, and so one knows there is another direction to turn toward.

 

However, when one looks in opposition at what-is-not one forgets or no longer knows that there is also what Is, and so there then seems to be no other direction to turn.

 

 

Why when one looks south does one still know that there is a north, but when one looks in opposition at what-is-not one no longer knows that there is also what Is?

 

Imagine that if when one looked south and seeing what was there that one thought that they were already looking north.

 

That is why.

 

 

When one's attention is on what-is-not through opposition to what Is, what-is-not appears to be what is, and so the Real what Is must appear as something else, and so appears as what is not.

 

That is how what Is vanishes while still in plain sight.

 

That is why our Consciousness, which is always there, and without which there could be no apprehension of any experience, no apprehension of any reflection, seems to be something less than the reflections that arise within it, and so seems to be something not worthy of our attention.

 

 

Almost all attempts to free one's self from the cage of what-is-not only serve to involve one in some other more subtle form of self-opposition, and so only create a more subtle cage, that one may at times mistake for freedom, owing to its greater subtlety.

 

This is because action taken from within the unwantedness of the cage of what-is-not usually involves trying to get to what is wanted, or what is thought to be wanted, by either trying to get rid of the unwanted or by clinging to the wanted, both of which actions continue to involve one in the relation of Self-opposition or opposition to what Is that simultaneously continues to make what-is-not seem to be what is while continuing to hide what Is from view.

 

 

This is why perhaps the most direct and sure path to Realization, i.e., to realizing one's true Nature as that which is pointed toward by the word Consciousness, is just ceasing to oppose what is, or what seems to be what is, which is to say, ceasing to oppose the reflections that seem to be what is.

 

As Eckhart Tolle says, become friendly with the present moment, however it appears.

 

Because even from within the illusion and delusion, if one ceases to oppose what only seems to be what is, then one is nonetheless, in that moment, ceasing to oppose what actually is what Is, thereby interrupting, for at least that moment, the self-perpetuating cycle of reflexive and conditioned opposition to what Is that keeps the nature of what Is as what Is hidden from us and so keeps our nature as That hidden as well. 

 

Breaking that cycle of conditioned opposition to what Is allows what Is to reappear as what Is, (which reappearance Tolle refers to as allowing Space or Spaciousness to arise around the experience) and also allows the reflections to appear as only reflections, thereby making it easier to identify with the now apparent Is-ness of one's Consciousness rather than with the now apparent reflections that are now seen to only arise within that Consciousness.

Consciousness-without-an-object Is.

Consciousness-without-an-object is all there actually Is.

Everything else only exists.

Everything else only arises out of the Is-ness that is Consciousness-without-an-object.

 

Consciousness-without-an-object has no attributes or characteristics.

Attributes and characteristics arise where Consciousness-without-an-object flows in relation to Itself.

Where Consciousness-without-an-object flows in relation to Itself, form comes into existence.

Form exists, Consciousness-without-an-object Is.

 

Form is nothing more than a boundary that arises or comes into existence within the Is-ness of Consciousness-without-an-object where Consciousness-without-an-object comes to be in relation to Itself, analogous to the line that arises where the tips of two fingers meet.

 

Consciousness-without-an-object is That which apprehends the form that arises within Itself as it flows in relation to Itself.

 

All experience, be it of the emotional, mental, or physical variety, is the apprehension by Consciousness-without-an-object of the form that Its relation to Itself has caused to arise and so exist within Itself.

 

That which apprehends form as experiential reality is therefore identical to That which, through relation to Itself, creates the form that is being experienced as reality.

 

That which apprehends form as experiential reality is identical to That which is creating the form that It is experiencing as reality.

 

Underlying the appearance of all form, underlying every experiential reality, lies the Is-ness of Consciousness-without-an-object.

 

Surrounding all that appears as form, surrounding every experiential reality, is the enveloping Presence of Consciousness-without-an-object.

 

Presence and Is-ness are identical to Consciousness-without-an-object.

Because Consciousness-without-an-object is all that Is, all relations are relations of Consciousness-without-an-object to Itself.

 

Just as it may seem that one can be in relation to what is only a reflection, when what one is really in relation to is that upon which the reflection rests, so too it may seem that Consciousness-without-an-object can be in relation to form, when what Consciousness-without-an-object is really in relation to is that upon which form rests, which is also Consciousness-without-an-object.

The particular form that arises out of the Is-ness that is Consciousness-without-an-object, where Consciousness-without-an-object flows in relation to Itself, depends upon the particular way in which Consciousness-without-an-object is flowing, or being, in relation to Itself.

 

It is the particular way in which Consciousness-without-an-object is flowing, or being, in relation to Itself that determines the nature of the form that is created within, and so arises within, and so exists within, the Is-ness that is Consciousness-without-an-object.

 

Therefore, the attributes and characteristics of a particular experience do not inhere in the uncreated Is-ness of Consciousness-without-an-object.

 

Nor however do the attributes and characteristics of a particular experience inhere directly in the created form.

 

So, if the attributes and characteristics of a particular experience inhere neither in Consciousness-without-an-object nor in the particular form Consciousness-without-an-object creates within Itself, then from whence do the attributes and characteristics of a particular experience derive?

 

The attributes and characteristics of a particular experience derive from the combination of the nature of the particular form that Consciousness-without-an-object has, through relation to Itself, created within Itself, and the perspective within that relation from which Consciousness-without-an-object is apprehending that particular form as a particular experience.

 

All there actually Is is Consciousness-without-an-object.

Nothing that Is is actually hard or soft.

Nothing that Is is actually wave or particle.

Nothing that Is is actually anything other than Is.

 

Consciousness-without-an-object Is on both sides of any form that arises within Itself as it flows in relation to Itself.

 

However, the apprehension of form as experience or experiential reality by Consciousness-without-an-object requires that Consciousness-without-an-object adopt a perspective upon the form that has been created within Itself.

 

It is that perspective upon the created form, combined with the particular nature of the created form, which particular nature derives from the particular relation of Consciousness-without-an-object to Itself that creates it, that grants to or superimposes upon the form what seems to be its attributes or characteristics.

 

For example, a created form, apprehended by Consciousness-without-an-object from one perspective within the overall relation to Itself that creates that particular form, appears as the experience of a wave reality.

 

That same created form, apprehended by Consciousness-without-an-object from the opposite perspective within the overall relation to Itself that creates that particular form, appears as the experience of a particle reality.

 

Where then is the reality of the apprehended form, the reality of the apprehended experience?

 

It lies both in the relation that creates the form, as well as in the perspective within that relation from which the created form is apprehended by Consciousness-without-an-object as an experiential reality.

 

Where the reality of the apprehended experience therefore does not lie is in the created form itself, nor does the reality of the apprehended experience lie in That which apprehends the form as a particular experiential reality.

 

Put another way, the reality of the apprehended experience lies neither in what is created nor in That which creates, but rather derives from and inheres in the simultaneous relations of Creator to Itself that creates the particular form and of Creator to particular form that causes that particular form to be apprehended by its Creator as an experiential reality with particular characteristics and attributes.

 

It is all a magic show, and we are both the magician and the audience.

 

We are That which creates the illusion and we are That which can either be taken in by the illusion or see through and beyond the illusion.

 

The magician creates the illusion for the delight of the audience, but does not themself become caught up in the illusion.

 

However, we are like a magician that has become caught up in the illusion of our own magic act, having lost sight of how the trick is being done and so also losing sight of how object reality or experiential reality is being made to appear as what is actually there.

 

The trick, the illusion, is the superimposing of characteristics and attributes upon that which actually has none, i.e., upon form, thereby causing form apprehended as experience to appear to be independently existent, which is to say, to appear to arise out of and exist within nothing, i.e., a non-is-ness, thereby obscuring and hiding from Itself the Nothing, i.e., the formless Is-ness, that is actually there.

 

It is quite a trick.

 

Consciousness-without-an-object is God.

What you actually are is Consciousness-without-an-object.

What everything actually Is is Consciousness-without-an-object.

 

You  are not the forms of experience that you have used to create your form or object identity.

You are That which apprehends the forms that make up your object-identity.

You are That which creates the forms that make up your object-identity.

 

You are not on one side of the relation that creates those forms, for Consciousness-without-an-object lies on both sides of any relation that creates form.

 

You, as Consciousness-without-an-object, are just apprehending the forms, which have arisen within your Self as a result of your flowing in relation to your Self, from a particular perspective within that relation.

 

And so for every form you apprehend as having a particular attribute or character, that same form apprehended from the opposite perspective in that same relation appears to have the opposite attribute or character.

 

Thus, the reality of the attribute or character of what is experienced as reality lies not in What Is Actually There where the reality appears to be, for that is always and everywhere the same; rather the reality of the attribute or character of what is experienced as reality lies in both the created form as well as in the perspective from which that created form is being apprehended by What Is Actually There, which is always Consciousness-without-an-object.

 

It is possible to Know yourself as That which lies on both sides of the relation while still having a perspective within the relation that allows What Is Actually There to apprehend the created form that has arisen within Itself as a particular experience with a particular character. 

 

But if while apprehending that particular experience one takes the character of what has been apprehended for something that is intrinsic to and inheres in the form itself, or in what is actually there, and so takes the form for what is actually there, then the Knowledge of That which lies on both sides of the relation vanishes, or is obscured, and along with it Knowledge of one's own true Nature is obscured.

 

And then all that seems to remain is form, all that seems to remain is the experiential reality, all that seems to remain is the form that has now become an object.

 

And so then the question "what am I?" can only be answered using what is then available, which is only some form, some experiential reality, some object.

 

And so the form identity begins. And so delusion begins.

 

And delusion is maintained because we work so hard to maintain the form-identity, because we think its maintenance is necessary for our own survival, since we think that is what we are.

 

But when one Knows That which lies on both sides of the relation then the question "what am I?" has a different answer, which is "I am That which Is," or simply "I am."