Pure Joy of Being (out of your mind)

You don't have to worry. You don't have to be happy. Really. Just be you. Breathe in. Pause. Breathe out. Pause. Relax.

Be who you essentially are behind the endless stories of your identity. You're a miracle. You are life. Happiness lies in the pure joy of being and breathing. You are human Being. You're always more than any thought or feeling or sensation that arises within your awareness. Yes, mind-made stories about you can be fascinating but they're not the real deal.

The real deal is this: being out of your mind-made stories is where your true identity is. You are the limitless space for all this that arises right now. So by all means, be "out of your mind" and have a miraculous day. Every day.

Reality and the self

The Questions, Part 3/3

Some reflections on reality and the self. What is real? Who am I?

http://youtu.be/ej9aRjy2Nkc

Feeling unworthy? Meaningless? Desparate? Lost?

The natural reaction is to fight against these unpleasant feelings. But you know what... Actually you don't have to fight. Instead of fighting you can just acknowledge the existence of these feelings. These feelings are true, they're part of you but they do not define who you actually are. Instead of being desparate you can acknowledge the feeling of being desparate. Instead of being lost you can see the thought of being lost. Can you see the difference?

The real you is big. I mean it's really really really B-I-G. It's huge. It's vast and it's limitless. There are no boundaries. No, I'm not talking about your ego. Ego loves categories, boundaries and restrictions. Ego is defined by boundaries. Ego is identification with conceptual mind and its endless stories. These stories tell nice and not-so-nice stories about you and your accomplishments and failures. The real you allows and accepts all feelings and thoughts as they arise within your consciousness. Actually you don't even have to do the allowance nor acceptance as it's already done. This moment is a living proof. This moment is the acceptance that you've already done. It's all done. The mysterious liveliness of this moment means that deep down in your soul you've already said "Yes, be it so".

The real you is more than any feeling or thought that tries to limit you. The real you is "I am" that manifests as this moment. The real you is all that exists in the Now.

The Wonderful Paradox of Knowing Thyself

Yes, it is essential to know thyself - "gnothi seauton", as the ancient Greek aphorism advises. But it is impossible to know thyself. You can never be the object of knowing. You are the one that knows. You are the eye that sees. Thus knowing thyself is knowing without the separate knower and the known. It is about transcending the dualism of subject and object.

You are not a noun. You are a verb. You are knowing. You are feeling. You are not-knowing. You are no-thing.

You are.

All.

That is.

Now.

You are the moment that arises now. You are the awareness within which this moment arises. You are the "I am" that witnesses this moment as it is.

(photo Sannastinoja, Mikkeli Finland 28.10.2013)

Being conscious - here and now

This is a test. I want to check if I'm able to think and express my thoughts in English. I'll also try to describe my thinking process. What is happening in my mind right now?

First some background. I've been using this iPad for a month. It seems that this provides me the sufficient computational needs so that I don't need any other computers at home. User experience is very satisfactory indeed and writing even longer texts is nice and easy as I have a separate keyboard (Logitech Ultrathin). My previous computer was a Windows laptop and as it broke I decided to try something completely different. At first I was about to buy a Win8 hybrid laptop (tablet+keyboard) but as they were sold out I chose iPad.

I've been using Facebook for 5 years and naturally I downloaded FB application for my iPad. A couple of days ago I noticed that Facebook asked me "What is on your mind?" Well, that is a serious question and as I love philosophy I started thinking seriously. What is on my mind?

At the present moment there are some perceptions of colours and shapes and with my conceptual mind I can refer to them as a "keyboard", "iPad", "cup of tea", "fingers dancing on the keyboard", "feeling the chair my body is sitting on", "feeling the table" etc. All these among many other things can be grasped within the conceptual mind.

But there is more in "me" or in "consciousness". I feel that my mind or my consciousness is not identical with its the contents. I can feel the "background" or the "space" within which the thoughts created by my conceptual mind arise. This means that the consciousness or "me" is more than the thoughts or feelings or sensations that arise. Actually the whole idea of individual or separate "me" or "self" or "I" is just a pattern of thought the conceptual mind loves to maintain. The ego identifies with the conceptual mind. It clings to it. The consciousness that is the "vessel" or "background" for all this is the real "me". This is a paradox because there is no "me" in the core of this being. "Me" or "I" is a concept that operates within the idea of duality; me - not me, I - not I etc. The pure consciousness beyond the conceptual mind is the true core of this being that you, dear reader, refer to as "gnothi seauton" and who sits here and writes these letters and words and sentences at this very moment.

So these thoughts were on my (conceptual) mind. These thoughts arised and were identified as I reflected the contents of this consciousness at this very moment. Now I sip some tea... wait a moment... Warm tea feels pleasant in my mouth. By the way, I wonder if it is really "my" mouth or is it more proper to say that it's a mouth that is an essential part of this body that this consciousness occupies? Anyway, it is very nice indeed to just sit here and enjoy the peace within. I hear some sounds, I hear the clock ticking. Actually I can hear two clocks. Second by second they both make a sound. These sounds don't mean anything. They're just sounds. Within the conceptual mind I can refer to them as "seconds" and "time is passing". But when I'm fully present here and now, time becomes irrelevant. Time is merely a convenient concept for reorganizing or memorizing things that someday were reality in the now or for planning things and ideas that are yet to come true in the now.

The only real reality (sic!) is the mysterious and miraculous now. Being present in the now somehow makes it possible to open a door that was and is always here within. Actually the door was always open, all I have to do is enter. I find myself in space within that is not comprehensible for the conceptual mind. Only some indirect sign posts or pointers can be said or written or thought about this core of my being. It appers to be nondual, timeless and eternal dimension of this being and the reality.