Self-Discipline and Vigilance

Discovering the truth of happiness within you requires a measure of self-discipline and vigilance. You don’t have to be extreme in these behaviors; extreme anything is usually a sign that your ego is involved, and thus is self-defeating. All that is required is a modicum of self-discipline and vigilance.

You need enough discipline such that when you get caught up in your “story” and find yourself in conflict, suffering in some way, you can bring yourself back to the present, to what is here, now—the feelings and sensations in your body, and your current circumstances in this moment.

     

You have to be curious about your own suffering—like I was when I had my awakening. You have to be willing to look deeply inside yourself to find out where you are still not free. And you need tremendous self-honesty, the courage to face the truth about yourself, your own inner “demons,” the things that are not so pretty in your character or behavior.

     

If it helps, you can welcome the suffering, welcome it because it is showing you where you are not yet free. You can remind yourself of the mantra: I am not my thoughts… I am a wise, loving, powerful being.

     

Then breathe deeply and slowly, let the mantra fall away, and come back to the alert, relatively thought-free space. Close your eyes for a few moments and imagine yourself as being empty space. Experience what it is like to be this clear, spacious awareness, this conscious, aware presence you are.

     

When you do this—and you are literally, in a sense, doing beingness—and so long as you don’t get distracted by some thought or story again, you will have the experience of freedom. You will realize that you are, indeed, not your thoughts, but rather the ever-present, changeless awareness in which everything, including your thoughts, comes and goes.