Synopsis
To give yourself a new life, you have to give the other one away. ~ American singer-songwriter Sara Bareilles in the song “December” (2013)
▫ Enlightenment is as natural as ignorance; achieving it is not a matter of intelligence, nor material circumstance.
Freedom is a heavy load, a great and strange burden for the spirit to undertake. It is not easy. It is not a gift given, but a choice made, and the choice may be a hard one. ~ American author Ursula Le Guin
▫ There is only the instant of now. That is the only certainty. All else is the illusion of memory or the prattle of a scheming mind about what the future may hold.
▫ Quieting the mind and transcending to commune with universal Ĉonsciousness is the intent of meditation.
▫ Psychological health is characterized by contentment, happiness, and spontaneity. These are the attributes of enlightenment.
Pain is physical. Suffering is mental. Beyond the mind there is no suffering. Pain is merely a signal that the body is in danger and requires attention. Similarly, suffering warns us that the structure of memories and habits, which we call the person, is threatened by loss or change. Pain is essential for the survival of the body, but none compels you to suffer. Suffering is due entirely to clinging or resisting. It is a sign of our unwillingness to move on, to flow with life. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
▫ Abandon beliefs and esteem of ideas, emotions, and of oneself as a person. Concepts are the cage your mind keeps your consciousness imprisoned in.
Give up all this trash, whatever you are studying in the name of religion, in the name of spirituality. Understand only one thing: that consciousness at present is your nature – you are that only. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
▫ Ideas have no intrinsic value. Praxis is everything. That withstanding, only through concepts can one appreciate the necessity of resolutely being in the moment, and instantly discarding all that the mind delivers which is not relevant to the task at hand.
▫ Treat your body as if it is an instrument for clarity, with healthy food, exercise, and sufficient sleep. Take time to meditate daily.
▫ Discipline the mind by paying nattermind no mind. Dismiss idle thoughts and emotions when they arise. Keep the conscious mind clear.
In time, the mind will quiet. Live fully in the moment: without assumption, expectation, fear, or grand desire.
The greatest wealth is a poverty of desires. ~ Roman philosopher and statesman Seneca
▫ Do only what is necessary or brings unadulterated joy. Leave behind competition or social concerns.
Discard all traditional standards. Leave them to the hypocrites. Only what liberates you from desire and fear and wrong ideas is good. As long as you worry about sin and virtue, you have no peace. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
▫ Within reason, practice kindness. Shun those who willfully inflict misery, pain, or inequity.
Truth is the cry of all, but the game of few. ~ George Berkeley
▫ With discipline and patience, you will come to see for yourself what is of value and what is artifice, and you will know abiding contentment.
You seem to want instant insight, forgetting that the instant is always proceeded by a long preparation. The fruit falls suddenly, but the ripening takes time. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
▫ While getting to enlightenment may be challenging, the transition from enlightenment to realization is a matter of abiding in mental silence. Being in a conducive environment helps, as does sustained periods of solitude. Most essential is living in quietude: shunting emotions, desires, and meandering thoughts to be fully in the present moment.
Self-realization cannot be foretold. Some get it spontaneously. Others do not get it even with much effort. ~ Nisargadatta Maharaj
