Fav Enlightenment Thoughts from Various Sources

[bellemeadows]

Do not wander endlessly

searching in vain for certitude

through strenuous study,

listening,

learning.

In love surrender

to the Love supreme,

the Lord,

and reach and hold

the state supreme

of Real Being."

– Ramana Maharshi

The basic human mistake

can be explained by saying

that men and women

live from imaginary identities

instead of from

their real natures.

– Vernon Howard

…I will soon bring to your consciousness

a Light that will illumine

the deepest recesses of your mind

and drive away all the clouds

of human misconceptions,

ideas and opinions

that now darken your intellect,

if you read on

and strive earnestly

to comprehend My meaning.

So listen carefully.

I AM You,

the Real Self of you,

All that you really are.

That which you think you are,

you are not.

That is only an illusion,

a shadow of the Real You,

which is I,

your Immortal,

Divine Self.

I AM that point of consciousness

focalized in your human mind

which calls itself 'I'.

I AM that 'I',

but that which you call

your consciousness

is in reality My consciousness,

thinned down to suit the capacity

of your human mind.

But it is still My consciousness,

and when you can

drive from your mind

all its human misconceptions,

ideas and opinions,

and can cleanse

and empty it utterly,

so that My consciousness

can have a chance

to express freely,

then you will recognize

Me…"

- The Impersonal Life

The one who protects his mind

from greed, anger and foolishness,

is the one who enjoys

real and lasting peace.

– The Teaching of Buddha

Humanity is asleep,

concerned only with what is useless,

living in a wrong world.

Do not prattle before

the People of the Path,

rather consume yourself.

You have an inverted knowledge

and religion

if you are upside down

in relation to Reality.

Man is wrapping his net around himself.

A lion (the man of the Way)

bursts his cage asunder.

– (The Sufi master Sanai

of Afghanistan, teacher of Rumi,

in The Walled Garden of Truth,

written in 1131 A.D.)

Do not engage in endless

discussions, arguments and talks

with your fellow travelers

on the True Spiritual Path.

Instead,

bring your ego

to its final end.

If you have not had

the Direct Experience of Reality

then you are upside down

in relation to Reality.

When the ego comes to

its final end,

only the Reality remains

and then you are

no longer upside down

in relation to Reality,

because then there is no relation,

there is only the One Reality.

The Reality is the True Self

that can be described as

Infinite-Eternal- Awareness- Love-Bliss.

The ego,

the ego's world,

and the ego's suffering

has never existed

in the Reality.

Not even for one second

in all eternity

has the ego,

the ego's world

and the ego's sorrow

existed in the Reality.

Some people read teachings like that

and then the ego tricks them

into the conclusion

that there is no need to practice.

If you never experience any suffering,

and if you never experience a world

or a body

and if your only experience is that of

Infinite-Eternal- Awareness- Love-Bliss

then there is no need to practice.

If you do experience a world

or a body or suffering,

or if you have any experience

other than that of

Infinite-Eternal- Awareness- Love-Bliss

then you need to practice.

Practicing Awareness Watching Awareness

will remove the illusion forever.

If the illusion returns,

you need to continue to practice.

Practicing the

Awareness Watching Awareness Method

will remove the illusion forever

by bringing the ego to its final end.

One way to understand this

is the example of a dream.

The world, the body and suffering

is like a dream.

If you practice Awareness Watching Awareness,

you can wake up from the dream.

If you do not practice

the dream will continue.

Another example is that of a movie

in a theatre (cinema).

The ego is like a film.

The ego's world

is like the movie

projected on the screen.

The light in the projector

is like the Reality

in this example.

Very rarely,

instead of looking at the movie

a human turns their attention

away from the movie

and towards the light

in the projector.

If one is looking at the movie,

one never sees the pure light

in the projector

because one has one's back

to the projector

while watching the movie.

If one turns one's back

to the movie,

one can then begin to look

for the projector.

The theatre is quite dark

while the movie is playing,

thus it is difficult at first

to find the door.

Finally one finds the door.

After one walks through the door

to the left is the snack bar

where the popcorn, candy,

soft drinks, etc. are sold.

To the right is the door

that leads to the projection room.

Most people

never stop watching the movie

long enough to find the door.

Of those very few who find the door,

most go left to the snack bar.

One out of a million

actually chooses to go right

through the door that leads to

the projection room.

Of those,

most become intrigued

by all the various things

in the projection room.

Very few desire to see the light

in the projector.

Those that focus only

on the light in the projector,

and maintain that focus

are those that directly experience

the Reality.

No one else experiences the Reality.

The above is only an example,

an illustration.

The movie on the screen

represents the world

and what a human thinks is its life.

The film on the projector

represents thought, thinking.

The light in the projector represents

the Reality.

There is no movie inside the light bulb,

inside the projector.

Never at anytime

is there a movie

inside the light bulb

inside the projector.

There is no film inside the light bulb.

Never at anytime is there film

inside the light bulb.

The snack bar represents

the distractions and detours

that can happen

even after you have begun to search.

[Angela]

It'll feel better when it quits hurtin'.

-- Grandpa George