Shifting from Intellectual “Knowing” to Embodied Experience

The more you do the freedom practice whenever the slightest trace of conflict or suffering arises within you, the more you shift from intellectual, “head” knowledge of what is needed for inner freedom, to the embodied experience of it. The 8th Century’s Shankara, from India, was one of the original masters of nondual wisdom, the understanding of reality as fundamentally one, indivisible Whole. He said: “The realization of truth is brought about by discrimination, and not in the least by ten millions of acts.” What he meant by this is all the spiritual techniques and practices, and all the good works in the world, will not set you free. Working with the body or engaging in breathing techniques alone won’t do it. Meditation won’t do it. Serious meditators can sit for twenty or thirty years and not find true freedom. Not even compassionate service to mankind will do it. Think of Mother Teresa, working to help the poor, sick, and dying in Calcutta who, when she herself died, was a somewhat tortured soul according to her diary, questioning her very belief and faith in Jesus. The above practices are beneficial—and more love and compassion are for sure needed throughout the world—but only this fundamental shift in perception, the “discrimination” Shankara talked about, will set you free. The shift, the distinction is seeing that the limited, ego-bound perspective of “me, myself, and my story” is not real at all, precisely because your story comes and goes, shifts and changes. The more you see this, the more you relax into the present moment, into here and now, and the more you experience the expanded vision of clear, thought-free, present-time awareness. The more you stay in your mind, however—“thinking” about what you may have just realized—the more your understanding remains at the level of the intellect. It is just more “story,” more belief, and the experience doesn’t become your embodied reality. To make the shift, you must see that you are the seeing. You must become aware that you are not your body, mind, or senses because these can be observed. Rather, you are what is observing. What you actually are is pristine awareness or consciousness existing here, now, and expressing through this unique instrument, this individual body/mind/self called “you.” You are the timeless, unchanging awareness noticing and responding to the endlessly changing drama that is life. You are the consciousness giving birth to the entire world between your ears, the world that you have always thought of as “you!” When you realize this, and when you are fully alive and present in this moment now, then your experience is embodied.

How Your Awakening Helps Heal Our World

The more of us that awaken to the realization of our true nature—to the Reality that we are underneath the ever-changing relative reality of daily life—the sooner we will see a world that really is peaceful and happy. We will see a world run by a spirit of joyful, creative harmony as we work together to solve our mutual problems and challenges, and address the as-yet unknown opportunities awaiting us. The more conscious and present we are, the more impact we have on our world. What is needed for each of us to realize our true nature? It is simple, although not necessarily easy. It requires that we individually awaken to the truth of our deepest being—to awaken to inner freedom, the freedom that does not depend upon outer circumstances. Fortunately, this awakening is happening with increasing rapidity throughout the world today. Young people and old, those who have been on a spiritual quest for only a short time, and those who have been pursuing it for many years, decades in some cases, are now waking up. Our future looks bright. What is it about awakening to our true nature—to our innate love and wisdom—that is so liberating? We truly do become psychologically and emotionally fearless, and we radiate a goodwill toward everyone and everything that is unconditional. We feel our connection to the Whole of creation, and especially our interconnection, or oneness, with humanity. Every single human being, we realize, is a reflection of us in our essence. When we strip away all the beliefs and stories that divide us, we truly are one. Collectively, we are the ocean, manifesting in these marvelously creative and diverse wave-forms called “humanity.” Increasingly, we bring our loving presence—or, what Albert Schweitzer called a “reverence for life”—to every moment, every encounter. After all, the freer we are, the deeper our love. Moreover, other people feel seen when we relate to them with love and caring. In romantic love, this is the true meaning of intimacy—into me see. Over time, this love only grows deeper and stronger, and its energy brighter, more powerful. Like the inner peace we experience when we’re awake and free, we discover that love shines on its own. We don’t have to go looking for it, and we don’t have to “try” to love ourselves, for love, we realize, is within us. When we are truly relaxed, feeling one with the natural ease, harmony, and flow of life, we discover again and again that it is, indeed, our very nature. And love always finds us, wherever we are, in almost all of our interactions—a look, a touch, a smile, a tender gesture, a kind word exchanged, a generosity given or received. The old adage that like attracts like is no truer than when it applies to love.

It's All Good

More and more today, people who are awakening to genuine freedom within themselves—who are realizing the love that is their true nature—are using the simple but profound phrase: “It’s all good.” But how can this be, you might wonder? What can possibly be “good” about parents, for example, losing their child to an accident, suicide, or murder? What can be “good” about a situation where your best friend has just died suddenly, or as a result of an illness? Or where there has been some other personal devastation, such as your losing a job you depended on, or financial ruin or some other crisis, or the person you thought you loved so deeply suddenly leaving you for another? On the surface, these events are severe blows—and, in the case of death, particularly of the young, tragic—and they need to be honored as such. You need to take the time to grieve and mourn your loss. But after the period of sorrow, of deep sadness is over—however long that takes—you will realize, at some point, that it is what it is, and you are here. You are here, right now, in this very moment. You will see how the sad or tragic incident served as a wake-up call, in other words. It is calling you to wake up to something deeper with you, a deeper level of love and wisdom that wants to emerge from within, and guide you in your life now. Maybe you will have a major realization, an epiphany, or a series of smaller awakenings or insights as a result of what has happened to you—something that will give renewed direction and purpose to your life. The more you are open to learning whatever lesson life has to teach you, the more the lesson will come. You have been through the fire of personal suffering, and it has resulted in your being even more present in your life—more awake, freer, more unconditionally loving. And you can now say, too, that it’s all, in the end, good. An interesting side note: “God” is only one letter away from “good,” so when you say it’s all good, maybe what you are really saying is that “It’s all God.” For those of who still believe in “God,” it is something to think about…

It is What it Is

The more we awaken to freedom, the more we realize this: it is what it is, things are what and how they are, and we simply don’t argue anymore with what is real in this moment. This does not mean we have to passively accept what is, however. The great thing about being human is that we have, much of the time, the power to change our circumstances if we don’t like them. If you are facing a situation that you don’t particularly like, you can change it, heal it, fix it, or—at the very least—learn to accept it and adapt to it. Adaptation to what is new or different is the main way that humanity continues to not only survive, but flourish. This is true of all living species. But still, the truth remains—in this moment, right now, your life and your situation is what it is. To realize this is itself liberating, freeing…

Progreesive Path Techniques

So, how easy is it to wake up to the truth of who and what you really are? How easy is it to become authentically, inwardly free—to realize that freedom, love, and harmony are your true nature? For those who wrestle with techniques related to “self” improvement—meditation, mantras, prayer, affirmations, visualizations, goal-setting, surrounding themselves with light, calling their angels—the way is often difficult, even arduous. Such methods, called the “progressive” path in nondual language, may bring comfort, solace, and even results, but they are still only band-aids. You have to keep applying them. After all, there is still this idea of a “you” needing help or protection.

The Deepest Wisdom

The deepest wisdom, sometimes called nondual wisdom, teaches us that it is the attachment to and identification with our personal “story”—especially the story of “I” and “me”—that creates all the emotional reactions in our body, and any suffering or drama we experience in our lives. Identification is when “you,” this “self” you take yourself to be, think or believe your “story” is real. Yes, our “story” is also the cause of much of the joy, happiness, and meaning we experience too, which is why it is very much a two-edged sword. When life meets our expectations—our “story”—we are happy. When it doesn’t, we are disappointed, and maybe even feel sad, miserable, or depressed. Unmet expectations create resentment, blame, and perpetuate the cycle of suffering. But as we get freer of our “story,” we abide more in the present moment, and we discover a deeper meaning in life, a more profound peace and harmony. We discover the joy in simply being. We find ourselves one with the flow of life and from this place—here and now—we can use the power of thought and intention to create that which is good, which serves our own and others’ well-being.

Self-Esteem

Issues around self-esteem are inevitable when we’re attached to, identified, with an image of “self.” When we take ourselves to be “somebody,” we tend to take everything “personally” and that is when our psychological and emotional problems begin—as exemplified in the story above, with the man who questioned Jean. But when we’re free of the personal “self,” our ego (because we have seen that it doesn’t actually exist), then we don’t take ourselves to be anybody. This frees us up to be, to live and to act as the beautiful, happy, creative, and loving people we really are. We are free to share our happiness with others!