Now
Playing in Cinema One
IF
YOU BELIEVE you
are suffering and you are going to get
enlightened, and then embody the enlightenment, there is an
imaginary story playing in your head. Do you see this?
But when you see there is just consciousness, the whole story
falls apart. There is no one to get enlightened, and there was
never anyone suffering. It was happening in the story, as a
story. So this is why many say, “No one gets enlightened.” And
also, at the same time, you see there was never anyone
suffering. It all gets thrown away. All there is, is
consciousness and the stories that are playing in your
head—stories of a suffering person, stories of an enlightened
person, or stories of an awakened person who must embody his
awakening. They are all stories and none of them are true. The
only truth is “I Am,” this consciousness is, and you're
done. There is nothing else. There are no levels of attainment.
No levels of embodiment. There is no one to embody anything.
That is all conceptual nonsense. Believing in that conceptual
nonsense is delusional and creates more suffering for yourself!
Get out of your head, drop all the concepts and you are free—as you are—right now.
Try it!
~
Writing from: Dogs, Cats & Dreams of Spiritual Awakening
—Stephen
Wingate
Art: Unknown
What Do I
Do Now?
Q: I’ve been reading lots of Advaita and recently
realized that I have been chasing enlightenment like it’s a
thing, an attainment. That’s ridiculous.
A: Of course it is.
Q: I know, but thoughts keep coming up that “I don’t want
to waste my life. I want to realize whatever is possible to
realize.” I know one cannot make enlightenment happen.
A: You see, enlightenment or liberation and all the rest
of it is something fabricated by the mind. These are labels,
concepts.
Q: Exactly, but what do I do now?
A: You don’t do anything. You never have done anything as
a separate entity! But doing happens. It’s the same as when the
sperm and ovum came together. Where were you then?
Q: I understand that. But what do I do?
A: Just let life unfold, just the same as your life has
been lived so far. You must realize that the mind, which is the
“I” that you take yourself to be, has never done a thing. It
hasn’t got any power to do anything.
Q: Okay. Well, I know that chasing liberation like it’s a
thing is absurd, but every day thoughts keep coming up that “I
want to get rid of this ‘me’ identity.”
A: If you look closely, you’ll see that this ‘me’
identity has no power or independent nature. Could you have that
idea of a “me” if you weren’t conscious or aware?
Q: So, you’re saying it’s fine to have the “me” identity?
A: Yes. It’s going to appear, but now you know the
falseness of it.
Q: Okay. As my life is being lived, it’s just as well if I
have no thoughts about gaining enlightenment?
A: Well, have a look at this: enlightenment implies
something that you haven’t already got. And that’s taking you
away from presence, taking you away from omnipresence, which is
all there is, into an anticipated and imagined future that
doesn’t exist. So, you’ve put yourself into a trap.
Q: It’s really a strong habit. Often, when I find myself
not chasing enlightenment or feeling I’m not thinking about it
enough, I actually feel guilty.
A: You have always been and you always will be. What
you’re seeking, you already are. Start from that. You don’t have
to try to do anything; you only have to scrape away the rubbish
that is stopping you from seeing it. It’s as simple as that.
It’s so simple that we miss it.
Q: What about all these teachers who say you must do
meditation and yoga and all the techniques? What’s that all
about? Is it useful?
A: For some people, it might help to slow down the mind a
bit; it might thin the clouds out a little bit so they can see
the sun shining in its fullness. For some people, meditation and
other techniques just happen. But if you can see the directness
of this teaching, all these things are unnecessary. There is no
need to go anywhere or do anything. Presence awareness is
what you are. Just relax into presence awareness.
