If you look closely at how your mind operates you may notice something peculiar -- there is a tiny gap between your perception of a thing and the recognition of the thing. There is a gap between the feeling of perception and the recognition of the feeling.
If you pay close attention, you can sense this gap. You can feel this moment before recognition. As you read these words, you're first seeing the words and then recognizing them. As you walk around, you're first sensing the movement and then recognizing it. When you eat your food, you're first feeling the taste and then recognizing it. When you're thinking, you're first sensing the thought and then recognizing it. First comes the feeling -- the sensation -- then comes the recognition.
Of course, this description is not the truth. It is only my attempt to put into words the experience that I'm having in every moment. It seems to me that there is great value in focusing attention on the moment before recognition. Most people, it seems, focus on the feeling of recognition and pay precious little attention on the feeling of perception.
What is this great value that I see in focusing on the moment before recognition? The power of self-creation lives in this tiny moment. Intention lives in this tiny moment. The capacity for sensitivity lives in this tiny moment. The gap between feeling and recognition is the birth canal to happiness. Put your attention there and you will see. Put your attention there and be born into happiness and love.
The cycle is: feeling then recognizing. You feel something then you recognize it. Even your recognition is a feeling that you first sense and then recognize. The cycle is continuous... you feel and recognize simultaneously. What you are recognizing now is a feeling that you had a moment ago. That recognition creates more feelings that themselves become recognized. Feeling, recognition, feeling, recognition, feeling, recognition. That is the cycle.
As you watch this cycle take place, you may notice the tiny gap between feeling and recognition. But, then again, you may not. At first, the gap is very small. It's quite difficult to see at first. It takes desire and patience to see it. If you, like me, greatly enjoy watching yourself then you have the desire. It's like a bird watcher that is searching a tree canopy for a tiny solitary bird. He waits and watches with immense patience as he knows he will see the bird. Look at yourself with the same patience. Watch yourself as you live. Watch yourself as you think. Watch yourself as you breathe. Watch yourself as you eat. Watch yourself and see the gap between feeling and recognition.
This seeing of the gap isn't recognition -- although once you see it you will begin to recognize it. The seeing that I'm talking about is perception. It is a feeling. It is awareness of. When you "see" the gap you will first feel the gap and then recognize it.
Comparison of The Image to perception is what causes recognition. You sense reality and immediately compare it to what you know about reality. The result of that comparison is recognition. The result of that comparison is also sensed by you and itself becomes compared to what you know. That is the cycle. Where you direct your attention during this cycle will determine the kind of experience you will have.
If you focus on the recognition then you will believe The Image over reality. You will be caught up in the distorted perception that is created by The Image. You will be lost... unable to see clearly why you think what you think or why you feel what you feel. The more attention you pay to the recognition, the smaller the moment before recognition gets. At some point, it gets so small as to be missed by you altogether.
If you focus on the moment before recognition then you will finally see what is real. Your attention will shift from belief and recognition to seeing and awareness. In this moment before recognition there is peace and sensitivity and understanding. Why not try it and see for yourself?
The longer you put your attention on the moment before recognition, the larger that moment becomes. Like water flowing through a tiny hole in a dam, your attention erodes dependence on recognition as the main form of experience. In this state you will still recognize, but recognition becomes secondary to your perception.
Watch yourself and you will see the tiny gap between perception and recognition. You will feel the moment before recognition. Put your attention on that moment and you will find peace. Put your attention on that moment and you will see the beauty and magnificence of reality. Focus not on the deadening patterns of recognition, but on the living reality of perception.
Put your attention on the moment before recognition and be born into happiness and love.
Friday, October 17. 2008
The Illusion of Death
Death is a fascinating thing to me. Most people, it seems, have little interest in contemplating death or seeing death for what it really is. In my experience, it's quite rare to find someone with any interest in death outside of avoiding it. Don't you avoid thinking about death? Why is that?
Have you ever taken time to really look at death? I mean really look at it... not as some concept in The Image but as it actually is. Take some time now to consider that you are going to die. You are doomed... your end is inevitable. Do you need help imagining this? Imagine that you are dead, lying in your coffin, rigid and cold and unmoving. This is your future. Consider this now before reading more.
Don't you experience fear and anxiety when you consider your own death? Why is that? Isn't it that you don't want to die? Aren't you terrified of dying? Aren't you terrified of ceasing to be? Why?
Some might say that you're afraid of death because you're afraid of the unknown. That's false. It's not possible to fear the unknown. You can only fear losing what you do know. You're afraid because you want to remain as you are. You fear losing everything you know.
Fear of death comes from fear of change. Fear of change is the same as fear of truth and reality. Truth is reality and reality is change. Isn't it clear that your fear of death comes from fear of reality? You refuse to accept change and so you live in constant conflict with what is.
You know, death isn't a one-time thing. You are dying now because you are changing now. Every moment you are alive you are dying. This is because death and life are the same thing. Life is change. Death is change that you do not want. When you see death you see an ending. Yet, outside of The Image, how can anything end?
The Image is at the root of all your death fears. You are aware of your image and have confused it with yourself. So you cannot accept that it will one day dissolve. You can't accept this because you do not see reality. You only see your image. You hold on so tightly to your memories and history and refuse to see.
Death only exists in The Image... it only exists as a concept in your mind. In reality, there is no death, there is only an ever-changing now that you are creating and experiencing. Do you see this yet?
Think of it this way: Does a dog fear death? Have you ever seen a cat have anxiety over its inevitable death? Have you glimpsed a tree sobbing over it's dead parents? Of course not. What's different between you and the dog, cat and tree? You have an image of death in your mind. You have built up a concept of death in your mind that you use to torture yourself.
The problem with this concept of death is that it isn't real. Death has no reality outside of your mind. There is only change that you refuse to accept.
Do you want to be free of your illusion of death? If so, then look unflinchingly at your concept of death. See clearly how nothing really dies, it's only constant change that you've confused with death. Observe how you have created death as a reason to avoid fully living. Life is change and you avoid life through your focus on the illusion of death... through your refusal of change.
Welcome change and you will welcome both life and death.
Stare down your fear of death and pass through it to a love of life. Then you will see that the illusion of death has no power over you except the power that you give it through your belief.
Have you ever taken time to really look at death? I mean really look at it... not as some concept in The Image but as it actually is. Take some time now to consider that you are going to die. You are doomed... your end is inevitable. Do you need help imagining this? Imagine that you are dead, lying in your coffin, rigid and cold and unmoving. This is your future. Consider this now before reading more.
Don't you experience fear and anxiety when you consider your own death? Why is that? Isn't it that you don't want to die? Aren't you terrified of dying? Aren't you terrified of ceasing to be? Why?
Some might say that you're afraid of death because you're afraid of the unknown. That's false. It's not possible to fear the unknown. You can only fear losing what you do know. You're afraid because you want to remain as you are. You fear losing everything you know.
Fear of death comes from fear of change. Fear of change is the same as fear of truth and reality. Truth is reality and reality is change. Isn't it clear that your fear of death comes from fear of reality? You refuse to accept change and so you live in constant conflict with what is.
You know, death isn't a one-time thing. You are dying now because you are changing now. Every moment you are alive you are dying. This is because death and life are the same thing. Life is change. Death is change that you do not want. When you see death you see an ending. Yet, outside of The Image, how can anything end?
The Image is at the root of all your death fears. You are aware of your image and have confused it with yourself. So you cannot accept that it will one day dissolve. You can't accept this because you do not see reality. You only see your image. You hold on so tightly to your memories and history and refuse to see.
Death only exists in The Image... it only exists as a concept in your mind. In reality, there is no death, there is only an ever-changing now that you are creating and experiencing. Do you see this yet?
Think of it this way: Does a dog fear death? Have you ever seen a cat have anxiety over its inevitable death? Have you glimpsed a tree sobbing over it's dead parents? Of course not. What's different between you and the dog, cat and tree? You have an image of death in your mind. You have built up a concept of death in your mind that you use to torture yourself.
The problem with this concept of death is that it isn't real. Death has no reality outside of your mind. There is only change that you refuse to accept.
Do you want to be free of your illusion of death? If so, then look unflinchingly at your concept of death. See clearly how nothing really dies, it's only constant change that you've confused with death. Observe how you have created death as a reason to avoid fully living. Life is change and you avoid life through your focus on the illusion of death... through your refusal of change.
Welcome change and you will welcome both life and death.
Stare down your fear of death and pass through it to a love of life. Then you will see that the illusion of death has no power over you except the power that you give it through your belief.
Wednesday, October 15. 2008
Little Tyrants
Has it ever occurred to you how much violence there is in your relationships? For some of you the violence comes about as physical abuse. For most of you the violence comes about as emotional conflict. Is there a single person you know that has a relationship free of all violence?
Emotional violence in relationship takes many forms including: intolerance, anger, jealousy, sadness, a desire to control, judgment, belittlement, greed, frustration and emotional withdrawal. What is the cause of this conflict and violence? Why is it that we create such negativity towards those that we call friend and lover?
It seems to me that a useful story to help understand this is:
Imagine that we each have a little tyrant living in our minds. This litte tyrant has a checklist of things that are required of those around us. The little tyrant checks his list regularly to make sure that our relationships are meeting all of his requirements. When someone doesn't meet the checklist then the tyrant gets upset. When the tyrant gets upset he magically creates bad feelings in your body.
This little tyrant is very smart... he's been in your mind for a very long time and knows you well. He creates just the right bad feeling at just the right moment to cause you to feel maximum pain. He's trying to get his way afterall. He wants the people you know to match his checklist. Sometimes you resist the little tyrant. When you do he gets even more upset. The longer you resist, the more he creates bad feelings in your body.
Finally, when you cannot stand it any longer, you act out to make the tyrant happy. You just want the bad feelings to stop. The little tyrant whispers the reason why his checklist isn't being met to you. He whispers things like "She shouldn't be looking at you that way." or "Are you going to take that from him?" or "They think you're stupid when you do that." The little tyrant always has a reason and a plan of action for you to take to make things okay with him. So, you act because of the tyrant-created pain. You lash out, you make others wrong, you hold grudges, you try mightily to make others match the tyrant's checklist. Sometimes you even lash out at people that have nothing to do with what caused the tyrant to get upset. That's the power of the tyrant's torture.
If you succeed in changing the situation then the tyrant relaxes for a while. But, watch out! He's still checking his list... and the next time someone doesn't match it he will torture you again!
Of course, in reality, there's no little tyrant. There's only you and The Image. The little tyrant is caused by your belief in The Image. When people don't match your image of them, you create bad feelings in your body. When life doesn't match your image of it, you create bad feelings in your body. You literally torture yourself just like the little tyrant in the story.
You are the little tyrant.
Do you see how this causes all of your discontent with the world? Reality doesn't match your checklist so you torture yourself. Your precious object breaks and you torture yourself. You get a bad grade and you torture yourself. Someone looks at you funny and you torture yourself. You get cut off in traffic and you torture yourself. You lose your job and you torture yourself. You lose your hair and you torture yourself. You see wrinkles on your face and you torture yourself. Your husband cheats on you and you torture yourself. People are fake around you and you torture yourself. You literally have a million reasons to torture yourself.
So, you live a tortured life... going from one drama to the next. Always looking for peace where you cannot find it. You beg for peace and cannot find it. You subject yourself to countless hours of psychoanalysis and cannot find it. You meditate and cannot find it. You pray and cannot find it. You cry and you cannot find it. Try as you might you are tortured... by yourself.
How can you free yourself from this? Awareness. You aren't aware of the little tyrant acting through your image of the world. And, because you aren't aware of it, you don't understand it. Because you don't understand it you are at its mercy. The problem is, it's merciless. You're merciless to yourself.
How can you free yourself from the little tyrant? Be aware of the checklist that you have in your mind. Watch how you constantly check the world against your list of how it should be. See clearly how you create the bad feelings in your body when your checklist is violated. You're doing this to yourself.
When I say watch and see, I don't mean with your eyes. I mean with your awareness. Be aware of yourself. Be aware of your body. Be aware of your thinking. Be aware of your checklist. Be aware of your little tyrant.
You know, the little tyrant can't get away with what he's doing if you're aware. It's only when you're asleep -- when you're not aware of him -- that he can get away with torture. Like a thief in the night, he comes when you're sleeping. Wake up! See the little tyrant of your own creation and watch him like a hawk. Then you have the option to be free of his torture.
What you do with that freedom is up to you.
Emotional violence in relationship takes many forms including: intolerance, anger, jealousy, sadness, a desire to control, judgment, belittlement, greed, frustration and emotional withdrawal. What is the cause of this conflict and violence? Why is it that we create such negativity towards those that we call friend and lover?
It seems to me that a useful story to help understand this is:
Imagine that we each have a little tyrant living in our minds. This litte tyrant has a checklist of things that are required of those around us. The little tyrant checks his list regularly to make sure that our relationships are meeting all of his requirements. When someone doesn't meet the checklist then the tyrant gets upset. When the tyrant gets upset he magically creates bad feelings in your body.
This little tyrant is very smart... he's been in your mind for a very long time and knows you well. He creates just the right bad feeling at just the right moment to cause you to feel maximum pain. He's trying to get his way afterall. He wants the people you know to match his checklist. Sometimes you resist the little tyrant. When you do he gets even more upset. The longer you resist, the more he creates bad feelings in your body.
Finally, when you cannot stand it any longer, you act out to make the tyrant happy. You just want the bad feelings to stop. The little tyrant whispers the reason why his checklist isn't being met to you. He whispers things like "She shouldn't be looking at you that way." or "Are you going to take that from him?" or "They think you're stupid when you do that." The little tyrant always has a reason and a plan of action for you to take to make things okay with him. So, you act because of the tyrant-created pain. You lash out, you make others wrong, you hold grudges, you try mightily to make others match the tyrant's checklist. Sometimes you even lash out at people that have nothing to do with what caused the tyrant to get upset. That's the power of the tyrant's torture.
If you succeed in changing the situation then the tyrant relaxes for a while. But, watch out! He's still checking his list... and the next time someone doesn't match it he will torture you again!
Of course, in reality, there's no little tyrant. There's only you and The Image. The little tyrant is caused by your belief in The Image. When people don't match your image of them, you create bad feelings in your body. When life doesn't match your image of it, you create bad feelings in your body. You literally torture yourself just like the little tyrant in the story.
You are the little tyrant.
Do you see how this causes all of your discontent with the world? Reality doesn't match your checklist so you torture yourself. Your precious object breaks and you torture yourself. You get a bad grade and you torture yourself. Someone looks at you funny and you torture yourself. You get cut off in traffic and you torture yourself. You lose your job and you torture yourself. You lose your hair and you torture yourself. You see wrinkles on your face and you torture yourself. Your husband cheats on you and you torture yourself. People are fake around you and you torture yourself. You literally have a million reasons to torture yourself.
So, you live a tortured life... going from one drama to the next. Always looking for peace where you cannot find it. You beg for peace and cannot find it. You subject yourself to countless hours of psychoanalysis and cannot find it. You meditate and cannot find it. You pray and cannot find it. You cry and you cannot find it. Try as you might you are tortured... by yourself.
How can you free yourself from this? Awareness. You aren't aware of the little tyrant acting through your image of the world. And, because you aren't aware of it, you don't understand it. Because you don't understand it you are at its mercy. The problem is, it's merciless. You're merciless to yourself.
How can you free yourself from the little tyrant? Be aware of the checklist that you have in your mind. Watch how you constantly check the world against your list of how it should be. See clearly how you create the bad feelings in your body when your checklist is violated. You're doing this to yourself.
When I say watch and see, I don't mean with your eyes. I mean with your awareness. Be aware of yourself. Be aware of your body. Be aware of your thinking. Be aware of your checklist. Be aware of your little tyrant.
You know, the little tyrant can't get away with what he's doing if you're aware. It's only when you're asleep -- when you're not aware of him -- that he can get away with torture. Like a thief in the night, he comes when you're sleeping. Wake up! See the little tyrant of your own creation and watch him like a hawk. Then you have the option to be free of his torture.
What you do with that freedom is up to you.
Friday, October 10. 2008
The Illusion of Time
Has it ever struck you how you take some things utterly for granted? There are some concepts that are so thoroughly accepted by your mind that you rarely (if ever) give them a second thought. For most people, time is one of those concepts.
Most people take time for granted. The concepts of past, present and future are so well understood by the masses that it seems that only a lunatic would question them. I'm just that lunatic. Come along with me as I dive right into this:
Have you ever considered how you know that time passes? Take a moment and observe what's happening around you with this question in mind. How is it that you know that time is passing? Isn't it obvious that you only know that time is passing because you perceive changes happening within you and around you?
Reality is constantly changing. You feel time as you perceive the changes in reality. How is it that you can perceive changes in reality? Isn't it clear that you can only perceive change when you compare? What is it that you are comparing reality to when you perceive time? Isn't it The Image that you are comparing reality against?
When you feel time passing, what is happening is that you are comparing your perceptions to your memories. You are comparing reality to The Image. Go into this deeply. What does this tell you about time?
What this tells me about time is: Time is an illusion created by my comparison of reality and The Image.
Your experiences tell you this as well. Consider for a moment where in time you live your life. Do you live it in the past? Of course not. Do you live it in the future? Of course not. You live your life in the present. You live your life right now. This understanding is wonderfully devastating if you realize it fully.
You have never experienced anything in the past. Indeed, the past is simply memories and knowledge stored in The Image. As you experience life now you create a record of the past in The Image. You refer to this recording constantly. Your constant reference to the past stored in The Image creates the illusion of time.
You have never experienced anything in the future. Indeed,the future is simply a projection of the past stored in The Image. What you believe is the future is not an actual place "in time". It is a fantasy stored in The Image. It is a construct that you have built in your mind.
There is only one moment in time. Now. The past is memory and the future is anticipation. The flow of time is an illusion created by your incessant comparison of perception against The Image.
This truth is liberating because it makes clear the depth of illusion in which we live. We are so worried about the past... spending now reliving emotions and scenarios that are long gone. We are so concerned with the future... spending now plotting and scheming to achieve or avoiding potential negative outcomes. Why do we spend so little attention on what is actually real? Now is the only reality.
When you remember the past, you do so now. When you worry about the future, you do so now. Your life is now, but your attention is always on The Image of past and future. What a waste of time.
Do you want to live in peace? Do you want to live in harmony with yourself and with nature and with life? If so then notice how little time you spend in contact with reality. You spend precious little time where time actually is... right now. Get out of The Image and get back to your senses. Get back to now.
Observe how you habitually avoid the present moment. You loathe to see the present moment. You always think of the past or the future. "What will I do tomorrow?" "I forgot to do that earlier today." "What will happen to me next year?" You cannot see now because you are constantly focusing on the past and the future... you are focusing on what is unreal instead of what is real.
Is the past real? Only in your mind and The Image. Is the future real? Only in your mind and The Image. Drop your belief in past and future and you will see the present. To drop your belief in time you must first see the belief. You must understand that time is an illusion through and through.
You know, reality is so beautiful... it is so wonderful... but we kill the beauty and loveliness of reality with our focus on The Image. If you would but look at the reality around you as it is in this moment now then you would see clearly the wonder and beauty of reality.
Do you want to see? Then open your eyes to now and watch. If you do, a strange change will come over you and you will never be the same. You will finally see the lunacy of time and will never again take it seriously.
Most people take time for granted. The concepts of past, present and future are so well understood by the masses that it seems that only a lunatic would question them. I'm just that lunatic. Come along with me as I dive right into this:
Have you ever considered how you know that time passes? Take a moment and observe what's happening around you with this question in mind. How is it that you know that time is passing? Isn't it obvious that you only know that time is passing because you perceive changes happening within you and around you?
Reality is constantly changing. You feel time as you perceive the changes in reality. How is it that you can perceive changes in reality? Isn't it clear that you can only perceive change when you compare? What is it that you are comparing reality to when you perceive time? Isn't it The Image that you are comparing reality against?
When you feel time passing, what is happening is that you are comparing your perceptions to your memories. You are comparing reality to The Image. Go into this deeply. What does this tell you about time?
What this tells me about time is: Time is an illusion created by my comparison of reality and The Image.
Your experiences tell you this as well. Consider for a moment where in time you live your life. Do you live it in the past? Of course not. Do you live it in the future? Of course not. You live your life in the present. You live your life right now. This understanding is wonderfully devastating if you realize it fully.
You have never experienced anything in the past. Indeed, the past is simply memories and knowledge stored in The Image. As you experience life now you create a record of the past in The Image. You refer to this recording constantly. Your constant reference to the past stored in The Image creates the illusion of time.
You have never experienced anything in the future. Indeed,the future is simply a projection of the past stored in The Image. What you believe is the future is not an actual place "in time". It is a fantasy stored in The Image. It is a construct that you have built in your mind.
There is only one moment in time. Now. The past is memory and the future is anticipation. The flow of time is an illusion created by your incessant comparison of perception against The Image.
This truth is liberating because it makes clear the depth of illusion in which we live. We are so worried about the past... spending now reliving emotions and scenarios that are long gone. We are so concerned with the future... spending now plotting and scheming to achieve or avoiding potential negative outcomes. Why do we spend so little attention on what is actually real? Now is the only reality.
When you remember the past, you do so now. When you worry about the future, you do so now. Your life is now, but your attention is always on The Image of past and future. What a waste of time.
Do you want to live in peace? Do you want to live in harmony with yourself and with nature and with life? If so then notice how little time you spend in contact with reality. You spend precious little time where time actually is... right now. Get out of The Image and get back to your senses. Get back to now.
Observe how you habitually avoid the present moment. You loathe to see the present moment. You always think of the past or the future. "What will I do tomorrow?" "I forgot to do that earlier today." "What will happen to me next year?" You cannot see now because you are constantly focusing on the past and the future... you are focusing on what is unreal instead of what is real.
Is the past real? Only in your mind and The Image. Is the future real? Only in your mind and The Image. Drop your belief in past and future and you will see the present. To drop your belief in time you must first see the belief. You must understand that time is an illusion through and through.
You know, reality is so beautiful... it is so wonderful... but we kill the beauty and loveliness of reality with our focus on The Image. If you would but look at the reality around you as it is in this moment now then you would see clearly the wonder and beauty of reality.
Do you want to see? Then open your eyes to now and watch. If you do, a strange change will come over you and you will never be the same. You will finally see the lunacy of time and will never again take it seriously.
Sunday, October 5. 2008
Awareness and The Image
It seems to me that you can view existence as three interrelated parts: reality, awareness and The Image. While this view is not the truth, it can help point you to an understanding of why you live your life the way you do... and how to finally break free from the destructive and painful patterns in your life.
Let's take each part in turn:
The first part is reality. Reality is that which exists. Look around you and within you. That is reality. It is where we experience our daily lives. More correctly, we are part of the living reality. The most important thing to know about reality is that it is constantly changing. Reality is never the same... it's always changing and changing again.
The second part is awareness. Awareness is that which senses reality. As you look at reality it is awareness that sees. As you feel emotional pain, it is awareness that does the feeling. When you taste your food, it is awareness that does the tasting. When you think, it is awareness that senses the thoughts. The most important thing to know about awareness is that it never changes. Awareness simply is.
The third part is The Image. The Image is reality interpreted and stored. It is the result of your interactions with and awareness of reality. The Image is your memories, judgments, thoughts, assumptions and conclusions. The Image is your habits, knowledge, reactions and history. The most important thing to know about The Image is that it's a distorted reflection of reality. The Image is not reality... it is a funhouse mirror that we believe as reality. It's a mirror that is colored by our prejudices and knowledge. It's a foggy mirror that, as long as we confuse it with reality, keeps us from seeing reality at all.
Reality is that which exists. Awareness is that which senses reality. The Image is reality interpreted and stored.
See clearly these three parts of existence: reality, awareness and The Image. See how you interpret reality through the distorted mirror of The Image. See how you rarely sense reality directly -- your attention is so firmly fixed on The Image. The secret to clear sight is disbelieving The Image. As long as you believe The Image over reality, you cannot see. If you cannot see, you cannot love. If you cannot love, you will always swing between emotional extremes: sadness to excitement, desire to disappointment, tension to release.
Imagine someone who is stuck in a dream. They've been dreaming so long that they no longer even realize that they're dreaming. They take the dream as reality. This is the perfect analogy for you and The Image. The Image is your dream and you believe the dream over reality. This one fact is the source of all the emotional pain and discomfort you've ever felt. You are asleep -- content to live life by habit and repetition. You are a slave to your image; a slave to the distorted illusion that you hold as truth and reality. Emotional pain exists to help wake you up. It's the clue that shows you the error in your thinking. Emotional excitement and pain is the effect of believing in The Image over reality. It is the effect of believing the dream over reality.
Do you want to be at peace? Do you want to be free to love and to live without being weighed down with doubt and fear? Do you desire less emotional pain? Do you want to be free of your endless cycle of pain? If so, then wake up. See clearly how your belief in The Image over reality is what feeds all of your excitement and pain.
How do you see this? It's quite simple, really. First, see clearly that you relate to reality through the distorted mirror of The Image. Observe how you habitually react to situations based on the past stored in The Image. See that you cannot see reality as long as you believe The Image is real. Then, go out into the world and see. Look at people and things. Be with nature and just look. Look at reality and your reaction to it. Watch reality and your image of reality interact. See this and you will understand the depth of your dream and belief in illusion. You are, quite literally, lost in a dream world of your own creation.
Watch and you will see. See and you will understand. Understand and you will love.
Let's take each part in turn:
The first part is reality. Reality is that which exists. Look around you and within you. That is reality. It is where we experience our daily lives. More correctly, we are part of the living reality. The most important thing to know about reality is that it is constantly changing. Reality is never the same... it's always changing and changing again.
The second part is awareness. Awareness is that which senses reality. As you look at reality it is awareness that sees. As you feel emotional pain, it is awareness that does the feeling. When you taste your food, it is awareness that does the tasting. When you think, it is awareness that senses the thoughts. The most important thing to know about awareness is that it never changes. Awareness simply is.
The third part is The Image. The Image is reality interpreted and stored. It is the result of your interactions with and awareness of reality. The Image is your memories, judgments, thoughts, assumptions and conclusions. The Image is your habits, knowledge, reactions and history. The most important thing to know about The Image is that it's a distorted reflection of reality. The Image is not reality... it is a funhouse mirror that we believe as reality. It's a mirror that is colored by our prejudices and knowledge. It's a foggy mirror that, as long as we confuse it with reality, keeps us from seeing reality at all.
Reality is that which exists. Awareness is that which senses reality. The Image is reality interpreted and stored.
See clearly these three parts of existence: reality, awareness and The Image. See how you interpret reality through the distorted mirror of The Image. See how you rarely sense reality directly -- your attention is so firmly fixed on The Image. The secret to clear sight is disbelieving The Image. As long as you believe The Image over reality, you cannot see. If you cannot see, you cannot love. If you cannot love, you will always swing between emotional extremes: sadness to excitement, desire to disappointment, tension to release.
Imagine someone who is stuck in a dream. They've been dreaming so long that they no longer even realize that they're dreaming. They take the dream as reality. This is the perfect analogy for you and The Image. The Image is your dream and you believe the dream over reality. This one fact is the source of all the emotional pain and discomfort you've ever felt. You are asleep -- content to live life by habit and repetition. You are a slave to your image; a slave to the distorted illusion that you hold as truth and reality. Emotional pain exists to help wake you up. It's the clue that shows you the error in your thinking. Emotional excitement and pain is the effect of believing in The Image over reality. It is the effect of believing the dream over reality.
Do you want to be at peace? Do you want to be free to love and to live without being weighed down with doubt and fear? Do you desire less emotional pain? Do you want to be free of your endless cycle of pain? If so, then wake up. See clearly how your belief in The Image over reality is what feeds all of your excitement and pain.
How do you see this? It's quite simple, really. First, see clearly that you relate to reality through the distorted mirror of The Image. Observe how you habitually react to situations based on the past stored in The Image. See that you cannot see reality as long as you believe The Image is real. Then, go out into the world and see. Look at people and things. Be with nature and just look. Look at reality and your reaction to it. Watch reality and your image of reality interact. See this and you will understand the depth of your dream and belief in illusion. You are, quite literally, lost in a dream world of your own creation.
Watch and you will see. See and you will understand. Understand and you will love.
Tuesday, September 30. 2008
The Illusion of Truth
Did you know most, if not all, people believe that there is a concrete truth "out there" that can be experienced and known? As these believers go through life, they collect knowledge, memories and information from their interactions with reality. This personal collection of information is what these folks believe as the truth. Indeed, The Image is considered to be the truth for people all over the world.
What is truth? Is it a collection of facts and memories about reality? Of course not. Truth is quite independent of your recollections and beliefs about it.
What is truth? Is it to be found in the writings, minds and formulas of others? Of course not. Truth is not a concept. Truth is not reducible to a list of facts or formulas or a string of words. Truth cannot be captured or held or shared with others. The best one can do for you is to help tear down The Image of truth so that truth can finally be seen.
What is truth? Truth is reality and reality is truth. The two are one and the same. If something is "true" it is in agreement with reality. If something is "false" it is in disagreement with reality. Isn't this obvious?
Because truth is reality it cannot be known. Open your eyes and look at reality... you will immediately notice one fact: Reality is always changing. Reality is never the same twice. Indeed, truth is reality and reality is changing. This means that truth is changing. When you try to capture truth as knowledge, you cannot succeed. It's a fool's errand... a dog chasing its tail. It is quite impossible to know truth; for as soon as you have captured reality as knowledge, reality is different again -- the truth has changed again.
Seeing this aspect of truth and reality is liberating because it frees you from the illusion that you can ever know. Once you clearly see that you cannot know then you finally have the opportunity to learn and to grow. Like truth and reality, learning and growing are synonymous with change.
To learn you cannot know and in your ignorance comes the light of awareness -- you will no longer know but you will finally see. What you see will become your truth and that truth will always change. Admit your total ignorance of truth and you will have the opportunity to see truth.
To grow you must let go of what you believe. Your knowledge, conclusions and beliefs are barriers to growth. Your belief in The Image is what stops you from growing. You know and, because you know, you cannot grow. Stop resisting the drive of nature. Let go and let nature show you how to be what you cannot speak but are deeply aware of.
Do you want to see truth? If so, then open your eyes and see the ever-changing nature of reality. See fully the connection between reality and truth. See clearly how knowledge, belief, conclusions and The Image cannot ever be truth. See the futility of constructing formulas that describe truth. Throw away every conclusion you have about reality and get to the business of seeing reality as it is. You know, as long as you believe you know what reality is you will never see reality as it actually is.
If you do this then you will finally see that truth can be sensed but not known. Truth can be felt but not captured. Truth can be glimpsed but not understood. In this state of seeing you will drop all attempts at trying to tell other people the truth -- it is unspeakable and uncapturable. It is a task that is beyond all measure.
Do you want to see truth? If so, realize now that truth is an illusion that cannot be captured. Truth is a mirage that always eludes your attempts to catch it. With this realization, open your eyes to reality and you will see truth.
What is truth? Is it a collection of facts and memories about reality? Of course not. Truth is quite independent of your recollections and beliefs about it.
What is truth? Is it to be found in the writings, minds and formulas of others? Of course not. Truth is not a concept. Truth is not reducible to a list of facts or formulas or a string of words. Truth cannot be captured or held or shared with others. The best one can do for you is to help tear down The Image of truth so that truth can finally be seen.
What is truth? Truth is reality and reality is truth. The two are one and the same. If something is "true" it is in agreement with reality. If something is "false" it is in disagreement with reality. Isn't this obvious?
Because truth is reality it cannot be known. Open your eyes and look at reality... you will immediately notice one fact: Reality is always changing. Reality is never the same twice. Indeed, truth is reality and reality is changing. This means that truth is changing. When you try to capture truth as knowledge, you cannot succeed. It's a fool's errand... a dog chasing its tail. It is quite impossible to know truth; for as soon as you have captured reality as knowledge, reality is different again -- the truth has changed again.
Seeing this aspect of truth and reality is liberating because it frees you from the illusion that you can ever know. Once you clearly see that you cannot know then you finally have the opportunity to learn and to grow. Like truth and reality, learning and growing are synonymous with change.
To learn you cannot know and in your ignorance comes the light of awareness -- you will no longer know but you will finally see. What you see will become your truth and that truth will always change. Admit your total ignorance of truth and you will have the opportunity to see truth.
To grow you must let go of what you believe. Your knowledge, conclusions and beliefs are barriers to growth. Your belief in The Image is what stops you from growing. You know and, because you know, you cannot grow. Stop resisting the drive of nature. Let go and let nature show you how to be what you cannot speak but are deeply aware of.
Do you want to see truth? If so, then open your eyes and see the ever-changing nature of reality. See fully the connection between reality and truth. See clearly how knowledge, belief, conclusions and The Image cannot ever be truth. See the futility of constructing formulas that describe truth. Throw away every conclusion you have about reality and get to the business of seeing reality as it is. You know, as long as you believe you know what reality is you will never see reality as it actually is.
If you do this then you will finally see that truth can be sensed but not known. Truth can be felt but not captured. Truth can be glimpsed but not understood. In this state of seeing you will drop all attempts at trying to tell other people the truth -- it is unspeakable and uncapturable. It is a task that is beyond all measure.
Do you want to see truth? If so, realize now that truth is an illusion that cannot be captured. Truth is a mirage that always eludes your attempts to catch it. With this realization, open your eyes to reality and you will see truth.
Saturday, September 27. 2008
Accepting The Unacceptable
How does one accept the unacceptable? This seems to be an important question to answer if you are to live peacefully in the world. Most people don't accept things as they are. They fight and strive to make the world meet their expectations. They get upset when things don't go their way and hold on to grudges and the resulting pain for a long long time.
Do you want to live in peace, regardless of what is happening to you and around you? If so, then you must understand what it means to accept the unacceptable. You must see clearly what causes you to refuse acceptance. Once you see this clearly then you can finally make the choice to accept.
What does it mean to accept something? Remember a time that you encountered something that was hard to accept... something that took time to accept. What happened within you that allowed this previously unaccepted thing to become accepted? Isn't it clear that in most cases you don't actually accept the thing? You simply allowed your memory of the thing to fade enough so that the pain no longer bothered you. You know this is true because when you recall the thing that caused you so much pain, the pain is still there waiting for you. That isn't acceptance at all... it's avoidance. True acceptance is without pain.
To truly accept something you must understand what unacceptance is. Unacceptance is a state of conflict between your image of the world and how the world actually is. Reality is doing something that you disagree with and steadfastly refuse to allow to be as it is. This refusal is, of course, completely unimportant to reality. Reality is doing what it's doing regardless of what you want to happen.
Whatever it is that you cannot accept, the root of your unacceptance is incorrect thinking. Your image is distorted and out of alignment with reality. This lack of alignment brings you to create all manner of negative emotions within you: anger, jealousy, resentment, disgust, sadness and depression. Your refusal to allow reality to be what it is is the cause of your pain...
If you want to accept the unacceptable then you must clearly understand that reality is what it is. It cannot be any other way. Put away your hope that reality will be better in the future. Put away your notions that reality is currently wrong. Reality cannot be wrong. Only your thinking about reality is wrong.
If you want to accept the unacceptable then see clearly that there is nothing in reality that needs to be accepted. Acceptance is an illusion born of The Image that you have built and protected for so long. You believe in your image of reality over reality itself. This false belief is your barrier to true acceptance. Simply seeing the true nature of acceptance is the key to rising above the need for acceptance.
See clearly that you have no need to accept anything... that your need for acceptance is a lie that you keep telling yourself... that acceptance is born of your refusal to see reality as it truly is. On glimpsing this you will understand that you cannot accept a thing and all things are already accepted.
Do you want to live in peace, regardless of what is happening to you and around you? If so, then you must understand what it means to accept the unacceptable. You must see clearly what causes you to refuse acceptance. Once you see this clearly then you can finally make the choice to accept.
What does it mean to accept something? Remember a time that you encountered something that was hard to accept... something that took time to accept. What happened within you that allowed this previously unaccepted thing to become accepted? Isn't it clear that in most cases you don't actually accept the thing? You simply allowed your memory of the thing to fade enough so that the pain no longer bothered you. You know this is true because when you recall the thing that caused you so much pain, the pain is still there waiting for you. That isn't acceptance at all... it's avoidance. True acceptance is without pain.
To truly accept something you must understand what unacceptance is. Unacceptance is a state of conflict between your image of the world and how the world actually is. Reality is doing something that you disagree with and steadfastly refuse to allow to be as it is. This refusal is, of course, completely unimportant to reality. Reality is doing what it's doing regardless of what you want to happen.
Whatever it is that you cannot accept, the root of your unacceptance is incorrect thinking. Your image is distorted and out of alignment with reality. This lack of alignment brings you to create all manner of negative emotions within you: anger, jealousy, resentment, disgust, sadness and depression. Your refusal to allow reality to be what it is is the cause of your pain...
If you want to accept the unacceptable then you must clearly understand that reality is what it is. It cannot be any other way. Put away your hope that reality will be better in the future. Put away your notions that reality is currently wrong. Reality cannot be wrong. Only your thinking about reality is wrong.
If you want to accept the unacceptable then see clearly that there is nothing in reality that needs to be accepted. Acceptance is an illusion born of The Image that you have built and protected for so long. You believe in your image of reality over reality itself. This false belief is your barrier to true acceptance. Simply seeing the true nature of acceptance is the key to rising above the need for acceptance.
See clearly that you have no need to accept anything... that your need for acceptance is a lie that you keep telling yourself... that acceptance is born of your refusal to see reality as it truly is. On glimpsing this you will understand that you cannot accept a thing and all things are already accepted.
Sunday, September 21. 2008
The Gift of Pain
You may not know this, but pain is a signpost that points to truth. Pain is a gift that shows you something is wrong or out of place somewhere. Physical pain shows you something is wrong with your body. Emotional pain shows you something is wrong with your thinking.
This is obvious for physical pain, isn't it? The burn that comes from a hot stove shows you clearly that your hand is in the wrong place, doesn't it? The pain draws your complete attention and you move quickly to change the placement of your hand. When you stub your toe, isn't it clear that your foot was in the wrong place? The pain draws your complete attention and you remember to be more careful in the future with your steps.
It takes no great intellect or subtle thinking for you to see the value of physical pain. Why then, is it so difficult for you to see the value of emotional pain? You know, I can think of many reasons why seeing the gift of emotional pain is so difficult...
The first reason is that you don't understand the cause of emotional pain. What is the cause? Remember a time that you were emotionally hurt -- perhaps by an unkind word or dastardly deed. Wasn't this pain caused by a conflict of your thinking with reality? You didn't like what was said or you didn't want what was done and so the pain arose. Isn't it clear that your disagreement with reality is the first cause of this pain?
The second reason is that you fear emotional pain and, because of that fear, you cannot stand to look at it. When emotional pain arises, you don't observe it. And, since you don't observe it, you cannot see its root in your thinking. The conflict is there and you cannot see it because of your fear. You flinch. You think of other things. You occupy yourself with work or drugs or entertainment. This lack of looking at your pain as it occurs is a large barrier to you seeing its value.
The third reason is that you do not learn from your emotional pain. You are moved by your pain to try and change the world around you -- but you don't learn any real lessons from it. You try mightily to direct your pain at others... lashing out at them in the hopes that they will change to suit your idea of them. This lashing out never solves the problem though, and so you are doomed to repeat the pattern again.
How many times have you repeated the same pattern that causes your emotional pain? Perhaps you pick the same kind of no-good relationship over and over. Or, perhaps you start the same kind of arguments again and again. It may even be as simple as the negative things you say to yourself when you look in the mirror. Whatever the form of the pattern, like a glutton for punishment, you keep doing the same painful things again and again.
The gift of pain is clear to see if you would but look at it. See clearly the seed of pain that lies in the conflict between your idea of the world and the realtiy of the world. Look unflinchingly at how you avoid pain and at your defeatist strategies to pretend it's not there. Feel your pain, don't avoid it. Observe it fully and understand the thinking that leads you to repeat the painful pattern.
If you do this then you will know at last the value of your pain. You will finally see that your emotional pain is the golden path to truth and understanding. You will finally understand that your pain is a seed of self-discovery and growth that only needs your attention and awareness to flower.
This is obvious for physical pain, isn't it? The burn that comes from a hot stove shows you clearly that your hand is in the wrong place, doesn't it? The pain draws your complete attention and you move quickly to change the placement of your hand. When you stub your toe, isn't it clear that your foot was in the wrong place? The pain draws your complete attention and you remember to be more careful in the future with your steps.
It takes no great intellect or subtle thinking for you to see the value of physical pain. Why then, is it so difficult for you to see the value of emotional pain? You know, I can think of many reasons why seeing the gift of emotional pain is so difficult...
The first reason is that you don't understand the cause of emotional pain. What is the cause? Remember a time that you were emotionally hurt -- perhaps by an unkind word or dastardly deed. Wasn't this pain caused by a conflict of your thinking with reality? You didn't like what was said or you didn't want what was done and so the pain arose. Isn't it clear that your disagreement with reality is the first cause of this pain?
The second reason is that you fear emotional pain and, because of that fear, you cannot stand to look at it. When emotional pain arises, you don't observe it. And, since you don't observe it, you cannot see its root in your thinking. The conflict is there and you cannot see it because of your fear. You flinch. You think of other things. You occupy yourself with work or drugs or entertainment. This lack of looking at your pain as it occurs is a large barrier to you seeing its value.
The third reason is that you do not learn from your emotional pain. You are moved by your pain to try and change the world around you -- but you don't learn any real lessons from it. You try mightily to direct your pain at others... lashing out at them in the hopes that they will change to suit your idea of them. This lashing out never solves the problem though, and so you are doomed to repeat the pattern again.
How many times have you repeated the same pattern that causes your emotional pain? Perhaps you pick the same kind of no-good relationship over and over. Or, perhaps you start the same kind of arguments again and again. It may even be as simple as the negative things you say to yourself when you look in the mirror. Whatever the form of the pattern, like a glutton for punishment, you keep doing the same painful things again and again.
The gift of pain is clear to see if you would but look at it. See clearly the seed of pain that lies in the conflict between your idea of the world and the realtiy of the world. Look unflinchingly at how you avoid pain and at your defeatist strategies to pretend it's not there. Feel your pain, don't avoid it. Observe it fully and understand the thinking that leads you to repeat the painful pattern.
If you do this then you will know at last the value of your pain. You will finally see that your emotional pain is the golden path to truth and understanding. You will finally understand that your pain is a seed of self-discovery and growth that only needs your attention and awareness to flower.
Wednesday, September 17. 2008
The Image
As you go about your daily business did you realize that you're accumulating knowledge about the world and the people and things within it? When you meet someone and interact with them, you store away important details that you learn from their behavior. "He's smart." "She's pretty." "They were mean to me." "I love her." All these observations and memories are accumulated and stored for later use.
This accumulation of knoweldge, memories and information is what I refer to as The Image. You cannot help but to build The Image. It is what you do. Don't fight The Image... understand it. The first thing to understand about The Image is that it is both a blessing and a curse.
What makes The Image a blessing is that without it, there would be no continuity of experience. You could not drive your car, walk across the room, read this text or distinguish yesterday from today without it. Knowledge, information and memories are necessary to interact with the world in any meaningful way. The Image is a blessing because it allows you to build a model of the world and use that model to predict outcomes and recognize patterns. The Image enables communication and interaction. It's these things that The Image provides that I feel grateful for. God bless The Image for what it gives us.
What makes The Image a curse is when we confuse it with reality. We are so used to building, cherishing, protecting and paying attention to The Image that we forget that it is just an image. We forget that it's a tool to help us interact with reality... not reality itself. Through laziness and habit, we become hopelessly reliant on The Image to interpret everything that we see within ourselves and the world around us. The pattern matching power of The Image becomes a curse when we believe it over what is real.
Example: Remember a time that you got angry when you heard someone say something only to find out later that you misunderstood them. When you first heard what they said, you relied on The Image to interpret what was said. The interpretation wasn't favorable and so you gave yourself the feeling of anger. Later, when you learned the truth about what was said, you relied again on The Image to interpret things. The interpretation became favorable and so you stopped giving yourself the feeling of anger.
Another example: Imagine an old bigot that has built an Image that black people are less than human. Just like you, this bigot interprets everything he sees through The Image. When he sees a black man the bigot becomes agitated and emotionally upset. The bigot's interpretation of his Image causes him to create negative feelings. Once the black man is out of sight and forgotten, the bigot's interpretation of his Image allows him to stop creating negative feelings.
The mechanism is obvious, isn't it? When reality matches The Image, we give ourselves pleasure. When reality doesn't match The Image, we give ourselves pain. The Image is not reality, but we believe in it so completely that it rules our emotions in every moment. This belief of The Image over reality is the source of all emotional excitement and upset. Observe your own reliance on The Image in your daily life and see for yourself. This is the curse of The Image.
The second thing to understand about The Image is that it is changeable. It can be easily changed if you don't believe in it. Indeed, you don't have to believe The Image to use it. Believing in The Image makes it seem more real. The longer you believe in it, the more real it seems. At some point, it seems impossible that The Image isn't real. Does it seem difficult to disbelieve The Image when you've believed in it so long? If you're interpreting this through The Image then it will seem to be quite an impossible feat.
You know, in reality, disbelieving the image is as simple as breathing. All you need do is observe yourself and your reliance on The Image. Observe, without judgment, how you interpret all things through it and decide what things mean out of laziness and habit. See clearly how you don't actually see anything clearly when The Image is involved. This simple act of seeing will reveal the true nature of The Image. Once you glimpse this, you will never see yourself or The Image in the same way again. Seeing The Image is the way to being free of The Image.
What's it like when you're free of The Image? You no longer take The Image seriously. You see clearly that it is an experiential tool and nothing more. You no longer beleive in it and you no longer give yourself pleasure and pain as The Image commands. What's it like when you're free of The Image? You finally forgive... you finally have peace... you finally love...
This accumulation of knoweldge, memories and information is what I refer to as The Image. You cannot help but to build The Image. It is what you do. Don't fight The Image... understand it. The first thing to understand about The Image is that it is both a blessing and a curse.
What makes The Image a blessing is that without it, there would be no continuity of experience. You could not drive your car, walk across the room, read this text or distinguish yesterday from today without it. Knowledge, information and memories are necessary to interact with the world in any meaningful way. The Image is a blessing because it allows you to build a model of the world and use that model to predict outcomes and recognize patterns. The Image enables communication and interaction. It's these things that The Image provides that I feel grateful for. God bless The Image for what it gives us.
What makes The Image a curse is when we confuse it with reality. We are so used to building, cherishing, protecting and paying attention to The Image that we forget that it is just an image. We forget that it's a tool to help us interact with reality... not reality itself. Through laziness and habit, we become hopelessly reliant on The Image to interpret everything that we see within ourselves and the world around us. The pattern matching power of The Image becomes a curse when we believe it over what is real.
Example: Remember a time that you got angry when you heard someone say something only to find out later that you misunderstood them. When you first heard what they said, you relied on The Image to interpret what was said. The interpretation wasn't favorable and so you gave yourself the feeling of anger. Later, when you learned the truth about what was said, you relied again on The Image to interpret things. The interpretation became favorable and so you stopped giving yourself the feeling of anger.
Another example: Imagine an old bigot that has built an Image that black people are less than human. Just like you, this bigot interprets everything he sees through The Image. When he sees a black man the bigot becomes agitated and emotionally upset. The bigot's interpretation of his Image causes him to create negative feelings. Once the black man is out of sight and forgotten, the bigot's interpretation of his Image allows him to stop creating negative feelings.
The mechanism is obvious, isn't it? When reality matches The Image, we give ourselves pleasure. When reality doesn't match The Image, we give ourselves pain. The Image is not reality, but we believe in it so completely that it rules our emotions in every moment. This belief of The Image over reality is the source of all emotional excitement and upset. Observe your own reliance on The Image in your daily life and see for yourself. This is the curse of The Image.
The second thing to understand about The Image is that it is changeable. It can be easily changed if you don't believe in it. Indeed, you don't have to believe The Image to use it. Believing in The Image makes it seem more real. The longer you believe in it, the more real it seems. At some point, it seems impossible that The Image isn't real. Does it seem difficult to disbelieve The Image when you've believed in it so long? If you're interpreting this through The Image then it will seem to be quite an impossible feat.
You know, in reality, disbelieving the image is as simple as breathing. All you need do is observe yourself and your reliance on The Image. Observe, without judgment, how you interpret all things through it and decide what things mean out of laziness and habit. See clearly how you don't actually see anything clearly when The Image is involved. This simple act of seeing will reveal the true nature of The Image. Once you glimpse this, you will never see yourself or The Image in the same way again. Seeing The Image is the way to being free of The Image.
What's it like when you're free of The Image? You no longer take The Image seriously. You see clearly that it is an experiential tool and nothing more. You no longer beleive in it and you no longer give yourself pleasure and pain as The Image commands. What's it like when you're free of The Image? You finally forgive... you finally have peace... you finally love...
Tuesday, September 16. 2008
The Illusion of Trust
What is trust? In answering this question fully and with clear vision there is freedom... freedom from the pain of betrayal. This is because, once you see trust and betrayal clearly, they will no longer have power over you.
What is trust? It seems to be such a fragile thing that can so easily be broken. A single out-of-place deed can toss trust right out the window. And, when trust is broken, pangs of fear and pain and doubt set in.
What is trust? It is an emotional illusion created by an image in our mind. It is the outcome of a lie that we tell ourselves about those we supposedly trust.
"How could she do that?!" "I never expected he would steal from me... why did he?" "He broke his promise... how can I trust him?" These are the questions of a mind suffering from the illusion of trust. Each of these questions and all the similar varieties are meaningless if you want to understand what trust is. Indeed, focusing on these questions drives you further into the darkness of the illusion of trust.
When you trust someone, what are you actually doing? Haven't you built an image of the person that you take comfort in? Think of it... perhaps you observe someone and see behavior that you consider trustworthy. When you do, you store the memory of it away for future reference. Or, perhaps a trusted friend gives you words that you use to build an image of trustworthiness in another. In any case, aren't you always working from an image of the person that you trust? Aren't you always working from an accumulation of knowledge about another? Is it possible for you to trust someone if you have no knowledge of them? Of course not...
If you look closely, this is clear isn't it? What happens when someone betrays your trust? They've simply done something that doesn't match the image that you have of them. Perhaps it's a close friend that cheats you in a business dealing... or maybe it's a spouse that sleeps around on you... it may even be as simple as a catching someone in a lie. The break in trust has the same cause each time, doesn't it? The person has acted in a way that you didn't expect. They acted in a way that doesn't match the image you have of them.
When this happens, don't you experience pain? Don't you experience anger or frustration or unhappiness? Don't you want the person who betrayed you to match your image? You try mightily to make the person match your image, don't you? Why? Why do you give the image so much power over your emotions? Is it because you never realized that you trusted an image and not the person at all?
Let's be clear. You're trusting an image of the person, not the person at all. You know, you cannot trust a person. All you can do is pretend to trust the image of a person. You've fooled yourself into believing that the image is the person and have lost sight of the person altogether This is a liberating truth because once you see it then you can choose to drop your belief in the image as reality. If you see the image clearly then you see that it cannot hold sway over you without your consent and belief.
People will act the way they act, regardless of your image of them. Reality is what it is... your image be damned. Knowing this, you will see how you torture yourself when someone doesn't match your image of them. Oh, how you love to torture yourself with hurt feelings when someone doesn't live up to your expectations of them. You love to play the victim.
But, you know, you don't have to play the victim. You don't have to believe the image. How can you stop believing in the image? Simply by seeing the image for what it is and seeing the reality of the person that you've built the image around. That person whom you've mistaken for the image is right in front of you. All you have to do is open your eyes and see them. Drop the image for the stinking garbage pile that it is and look at the person here and now.
Once you see them you will never be fooled by the illusion of trust again.
What is trust? It seems to be such a fragile thing that can so easily be broken. A single out-of-place deed can toss trust right out the window. And, when trust is broken, pangs of fear and pain and doubt set in.
What is trust? It is an emotional illusion created by an image in our mind. It is the outcome of a lie that we tell ourselves about those we supposedly trust.
"How could she do that?!" "I never expected he would steal from me... why did he?" "He broke his promise... how can I trust him?" These are the questions of a mind suffering from the illusion of trust. Each of these questions and all the similar varieties are meaningless if you want to understand what trust is. Indeed, focusing on these questions drives you further into the darkness of the illusion of trust.
When you trust someone, what are you actually doing? Haven't you built an image of the person that you take comfort in? Think of it... perhaps you observe someone and see behavior that you consider trustworthy. When you do, you store the memory of it away for future reference. Or, perhaps a trusted friend gives you words that you use to build an image of trustworthiness in another. In any case, aren't you always working from an image of the person that you trust? Aren't you always working from an accumulation of knowledge about another? Is it possible for you to trust someone if you have no knowledge of them? Of course not...
If you look closely, this is clear isn't it? What happens when someone betrays your trust? They've simply done something that doesn't match the image that you have of them. Perhaps it's a close friend that cheats you in a business dealing... or maybe it's a spouse that sleeps around on you... it may even be as simple as a catching someone in a lie. The break in trust has the same cause each time, doesn't it? The person has acted in a way that you didn't expect. They acted in a way that doesn't match the image you have of them.
When this happens, don't you experience pain? Don't you experience anger or frustration or unhappiness? Don't you want the person who betrayed you to match your image? You try mightily to make the person match your image, don't you? Why? Why do you give the image so much power over your emotions? Is it because you never realized that you trusted an image and not the person at all?
Let's be clear. You're trusting an image of the person, not the person at all. You know, you cannot trust a person. All you can do is pretend to trust the image of a person. You've fooled yourself into believing that the image is the person and have lost sight of the person altogether This is a liberating truth because once you see it then you can choose to drop your belief in the image as reality. If you see the image clearly then you see that it cannot hold sway over you without your consent and belief.
People will act the way they act, regardless of your image of them. Reality is what it is... your image be damned. Knowing this, you will see how you torture yourself when someone doesn't match your image of them. Oh, how you love to torture yourself with hurt feelings when someone doesn't live up to your expectations of them. You love to play the victim.
But, you know, you don't have to play the victim. You don't have to believe the image. How can you stop believing in the image? Simply by seeing the image for what it is and seeing the reality of the person that you've built the image around. That person whom you've mistaken for the image is right in front of you. All you have to do is open your eyes and see them. Drop the image for the stinking garbage pile that it is and look at the person here and now.
Once you see them you will never be fooled by the illusion of trust again.
