Like Transformers, We Are "More Than Meets the Eye"

Photo credit: Tamara Hanson

Below is a beautiful awakening message from spiritual teacher Nisargadatta Maharaj. Read it slowly and feel the words.


Stay silent and attentive. Be earnest about it. Just be aware of your being here and now. Reality will find you.

Just live your life as it comes. Keep quietly alert, inquiring into the real nature of yourself. Perception is based on memory and is only imagination. The world can be said to appear but not to be. Only that which makes perception possible is real.

You agree to be guided from within and life becomes a journey into the unknown. Give up all names and forms, and the Real is with you. Know yourself as you are. Distrust your mind and go beyond. Do not think of the Real in terms of consciousness and unconsciousness. It is utterly beyond both. It gives birth to consciousness. All else is in consciousness.

Nothing you can see, feel or think is so. Go beyond the personal and see. Stop imagining that you were born. You are utterly beyond all existence and non-existence, utterly beyond all that the mind conceives. Question yourself: Who am I? What is behind and beyond all this? Soon you will see that thinking yourself to be a person is mere habit built on memory. Inquire ceaselessly.

How can Reality depend on experience when it is the very ground, the very basis of experience, the very fact of experience? Just be aware of your being here and now. There is nothing more to it. In reality you are not a thing nor separate.

You are the infinite potentiality, the inexhaustible possibility. Because you are, all can be. The universe is but a partial manifestation of your limitless capacity to become. You are neither consciousness nor its content. You are the timeless Source. Disassociate yourself from mind and consciousness. Find a foothold beyond and all will be clear and easy.

You are the Supreme Reality - all there is. Just trust and remember that. Wisdom lies in never forgetting the Self, the Supreme Absolute as the ever-present Source of both the experiencer and the experience. I am beyond consciousness and so in consciousness I cannot say what I am. Yet I am.

The question “Who am I?” has no answer in consciousness and therefore helps to go beyond consciousness. Remember there is no person, only a mental picture given a false reality by conviction. All you need to do is to cease taking yourself to be within the field of consciousness.

You are free of being a percept or a concept. Abandon all conceptualization and stay silent and attentive. Be earnest about it and all will be well with you. Give up the idea of being what you think yourself to be. Let go of the idea that you are not aware of yourself as the ever-present, changeless inexpressible Reality. Just let go.

Your difficulty stems from the idea that Reality is a state of consciousness. Essence is independent of consciousness. Self-knowledge is a new dimension altogether. Pure, concentrated longing will take you speedily to your goal. If you could keep in mind what you do not know, it would reveal to you its secrets.

When you want nothing, seek nothing, expect nothing, then the Supreme State will come to you uninvited and unexpected. Stop making use of your mind and see what happens. Do this one thing thoroughly. That is all. Your weakness is due to your conviction that you were born into the world. In reality the world is ever recreated by you and in you. Once you realize that the world is your own projection, you are free of it. You need not free yourself of a world that does not exist except in your own imagination!

Realize that you are the Eternal Source. There is no reality but That. So how could you be “other?” And accept all as your own. Such acceptance is true love. Don’t try to understand! Don’t rely on your mind for liberation. Go beyond it altogether. Be aware of being aware. Broaden and deepen the field of awareness. You are beyond space and time, uncaused, the very matrix of existence, the Supreme Absolute, the Noumenon- not unknowable, but unperceivable, un-objectival, inseparable, neither material nor mental, neither objective nor subjective- the Source of being, life and consciousness.

You are the all-pervading, all-transcending Reality. Behave accordingly. The actual experience will dawn upon you in no time. No effort is needed. Have faith and act on it. All will happen by itself: You are the subtle cause of the entire universe. All is because you are. Grasp this point firmly and deeply and dwell on it repeatedly. To realize this as absolutely true is liberation. What you need will come to you.

Whatever you come across, go beyond. Paramakash, your Self, is the timeless and spaceless Reality, mindless, undifferentiated, the infinite potentiality, the source and origin, the substance and the essence, both matter and consciousness, yet utterly beyond both. It cannot be perceived, but can be experienced as ever witnessing the witness, perceiving the perceiver, the origin and the end of all manifestation, the root of time and space, the prime cause in every chain of causation.

Your idea that you were born and that you will die is absurd: Both logic and experience contradict it. Behave as what I say is true and judge by what actually happens. I know the Source of all experience. From moment to moment the little I need to know to live my life I somehow happen to know. The Supreme Absolute, the Self, is at the root of and utterly beyond all. You are That. Don’t you see that the Self, your Self, the Supreme Reality, is what makes everything possible?

Know life as pure radiation from the inexhaustible Source. There is nothing to practice. To know yourself, be yourself. Stop imagining yourself to be this or that. Just be. Let your true nature emerge. Don’t disturb your mind with seeking. The very absence of obstacles will cause Reality to rush in. You will know the Light of Absolute Awareness in all its clarity and the world will fade out of your vision.

Awareness takes the place of consciousness. In consciousness there is the “I” who is conscious, while awareness is undivided. Awareness is aware of Itself. The “I am” is a thought, while awareness is not a thought. There is no “I-am-aware” in awareness. Awareness is not an attribute. One can be aware of being conscious , but not conscious of awareness. Awareness is not a form of consciousness.

One who is aware is beyond every experience, utterly beyond awareness itself. The fundamental Reality is beyond awareness, beyond becoming, beyond being and not-being. Give up all idea of the person, of personal attainment. Find out what you are.

There is no effort in witnessing. You understand that you are the witness only, and understanding acts. If in the state of witnessing you ask “Who am I?” the answer comes at once, wordless and silent. You find yourself utterly beyond the subject and the object. Both exist in you, but you are neither. You, the Supreme Absolute, are the very source of reality. Collect your energies in one great longing. My words are true and they will do their work. Enlightenment is a certainty. It is your destiny.

Discard every self-seeking motive and Reality will find you. Who am I? Go into it deeply. Find out your real being. You are the beingness of being, utterly beyond the universal even. You are the non-dimensional Source of all dimensions. As you keep on giving up, you grow spontaneously in intelligence and power and inexhaustible love and joy. The Absolute can be reached by absolute devotion only. Don’t be half-hearted.

The “person” is a shell imprisoning you. Break the shell. There is nothing you need. Nothing perceivable is real. Even space and time are imagined. All existence is imaginary. Only the Unlimited is real. Question the limits. Go beyond. Set yourself tasks apparently impossible. This is the way. Look at consciousness as something alien, superimposed. Then suddenly you are free of consciousness. Whatever you feel needs to be done happens unfailingly. Selfless and intelligent, all the powers of the universe are for you to command: You are the Source Absolute. This is your natural state. Believe me, you are the Supreme Reality. You are the fullness of perfection here and now.

Investigate what you know to its very end and you reach the unknown layers of your being. Go further and the unexpected will explode in you and shatter all. The crucial question is: “Who am I?”

Just see the person you imagine yourself to be as a part of the world perceived within consciousness; and look at consciousness from the outside; for you are not the consciousness. You, the Supreme Reality, are utterly beyond.

Are You the Dragon Warrior?

Kung Fu Panda

There are many of us out there who feel we are ‘undeserving’ of receiving abundance, no matter what shape it comes in. We feel that money, a partner, a dream career, etc are all worthy things to have. We might even feel that to have that object, we have to be really special to receive it.

Kind of like when Arthur pulled the sword from the stone; when he completed that task, he was deemed worthy enough to be King. This story isn’t much different from what we want to bring into our lives. At times, manifesting what we want can feel like trying to pull a sword from a stone and not succeeding. Then someone else comes along and pulls it out easily. How does that happen?

The fact is, we are all worthy enough to receive what we want.

But how?

It all begins with dealing with what is going on inside of you. Begin by being diligent about the thoughts you think, your perceptions, and how you feel. If you are sending out negative vibes and thought patterns, you need to address those and make every effort to change it.

Once you switch your thinking, you won’t be the person trying to pull the sword from the stone–instead you will be like Po in Kung Fu Panda.

In the movie Kung Fu Panda, Po is the accident prone noodle maker’s son who is picked as the Chosen One. He is deemed ‘worthy’ by ‘chance’ ….or is it?

Once Po passes all of his tests, he is allowed to read the knowledge that is written on the Sacred Scroll. However, there is nothing written on the reflective, shiny scroll paper when it is unraveled. No one can figure out what is meant by this, until Po has an enlightened moment during a conversation with his father, and realizes its meaning.

What did it mean? That shiny, reflective paper, the paper that mirrored back the person who was looking at it, revealed that You are the secret ingredient. You and only you can make yourself worthy and deserving. The secret ingredient is already inside of you, not outside of you.

You are the key to how you want your life to unfold. It’s time to move forward with your life and feel worthy again. Because you are!


Your mind is like the water. When it is agitated it becomes difficult to see, but when you let it settle, the answer becomes clear.-Oogway from Kung Fu Panda

Natural Abundance: What is it?

Once you make a decision, the universe conspires to make it happen.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson

When the term "Natural Abundance" is tossed around, most of us wonder what the heck it is. Is that just some fancy term or does it have some meaning to it?

Let's start from the beginning...
At our very core of who we are, we are abundant beings. Our birth rite is to be abundant in every area: happiness, joy, peace, love, food, water, shelter, success, money.... all those things that are a necessity of life, and that we wish to bring into our life experience...all of those things that we bring into the physical because we want to and because it is always our choice.

At times, we may not feel that abundance is our natural birth rite. We look around and see people without food, clothing, and shelter. For ourselves, we may see a stack a bills and very little pay. Or, that we don't have that $80,000 on hand to buy that sweet sports car.

However, we can look at it this way: we don't believe that money can come to us at our will, or that we can have unlimited amounts because we are socialized to think otherwise. We were brought up thinking that there is limited amounts of food, water, money, etc. We were also brought up to believe that we shouldn't be greedy or materialistic for wanting to experience life in many different ways. And most of us were taught that life was unfair, tough, hard, and we have to work hard to be rewarded.

But none of this is true. We were born into abundance. Each of us born with the same birth rite.

So, why are people suffering in this world? Because, we all are co-creating these old beliefs. The world is already changing and evolving. People are becoming more and more aware of their abundant nature, learning how to tap into their own personal power.

So, natural abundance is knowing that we are all abundant beings. We are all in control of the creation of our own lives... that we can be, do and have whatever we want. If we begin to change perspective, begin to believe and KNOW our true selves as creators of our own lives, we will see amazing and wonderful things begin to happen. We just need to get out of our own way.

Finding Wholeness

"You complete me." -Jerry Maguire

Whoever has seen the movie Jerry Maguire is quite familiar with this famous line...heck, even if you haven't seen it, you know what people are talking about when they use it...either sentimentally or humorously.

There is a belief out there that we need a person, thing, fill in the blank, to complete our lives, to make us feel whole.

The fact is, we need to feel whole first. To complete ourselves first. Everything that we want is within each of us already: Love. Abundance. Joy. Happiness. Passion.

Those things we are searching for in another person are already within us. We need to realize that we are already whole and we already have whatever we need and want. We are searching for the feeling that the other person gives us not knowing that we have had it along.

What do we do then?
We love ourselves a little more. We treat ourselves with more respect and kindness. With gentleness and appreciation. We realize what we want and need is within us already. We realize that we complete ourselves.

“We search for happiness everywhere, but we are like Tolstoy's fabled beggar who spent his life sitting on a pot of gold, under him the whole time. Your treasure--your perfection--is within you already. But to claim it, you must leave the buy commotion of the mind and abandon the desires of the ego and enter into the silence of the heart.” -Elizabeth Gilbert, Eat, Pray, Love
 

Life is to be Experienced and Enjoyed!

Buddha said, "To enjoy good health, to bring true happiness to one's family, to bring peace to all, one must first discipline and control one's own mind. If a man can control his mind he can find the way to Enlightenment, and all wisdom and virtue will naturally come to him."

William Feather said, "No man is a failure who is enjoying life."


Are you enjoying life? Are you moving forward unworried, unhindered by life's little obstacles? Life is meant to be enjoyed. However, most of us are still needlessly splashing around in life's murky waters. Time to make the decision to unchain yourself from your worries and begin the trek forward.

What's Your Story, Morning Glory?

Photo credit: Tamara Hanson

I took some time off to think about my own situation...did some much needed reflecting.

What we want in life comes down to this: What is your story? What story are you making up or telling yourself that you truly believe about yourself?

Now, think about that story. Is it really true? Is it an accurate measure of who you want to be? Is it a story made-up through the years by friends and family members; a story that you took on as true?

We can change our story. We can choose for ourselves in every moment who we are.

So, what's your story? And, are you strong enough to change it to what you want?

Are You Manifesting the Stay Puft Marshmallow Man?

If you’ve ever seen the movie “Ghostbusters” then you will remember the scene where the Ghostbusters are fighting off the Sumerian god Gozer. Gozer tells them that the next thing they think about will be the thing they must battle.
In an effort to clear their minds, Dr. Stantz, played by Dan Aykroyd, accidentally thinks about the Stay Puft marshmallow man. Seems harmless, right?

Well, not so much. Let’s just say that the Stay Puft Man is not so sweet anymore.
So, that brings us to the question: ‘What are you manifesting?’Are you manifesting the Stay Puft marshmallow guy? Something that you don’t want? Or are you manifesting something that you really, really want?

Think about what’s going on inside your head. Are you paying close attention to your thoughts? Are you keeping a watchful eye on your feelings? It takes focus to stay on top of those negative thoughts and emotions. Why is that? Because you’ve gotten into the groove of those negative thoughts and feelings. They have become a part of you.

So, what do you do now?

First of all, become aware of your thoughts and emotions. Do a check of your body, both inside and out. If you feel that something is off, reach for a positive feeling thought. Reach for something better, because you deserve better.

Second, decide on what you want. And decide it with passion!

Then, start taking an active role in your life and create the things you really want to create. Make a decision, once and for all, that you will not be defeated by the Stay Puft marshmallow Man!