Welcome to the
eighteenth
issue of Light-Up-Your-Life
Newsletter.
The aim of this newsletter is to guide you as you discover
the very source of Happiness and Wisdom. This source is
so deep that it is unaffected by the conditions of your
environment, your body, and mind.
If you feel that your thoughts cause you pain and suffering
you may be surprised to learn that it is easy to find the peace
that you are looking for. For more information read, Do your
thoughts bother you?
And don't forget to read the last article in this newsletter,
Freedom is now . You will find out how close you are to
your real freedom.
See our new e-book, "Making Your Wisdom Come Alive."
for a guide that will take you to the core of the universe.
In “Making Your Wisdom Come Alive” we take you, step by step,
through the process of putting aside limitations, and waking up
to your own true nature, so that you can stand in this Freedom
and Bliss without interruption.
So don't delay your happiness and freedom. Get to the core of
life itself and live in peace.
For more information use this link:
http://www.light-up-your-life.com/wisdom.html
If you have questions or comments please send an e-mail to:
michael@light-up-your-life.com.
We look forward to your comments and questions.
If you missed an issue of our Newsletter click on:
http://www.light-up-your-life.com/Newsletter/newsletterindex.html
September 1st is a celebration of the day that Ramana
Maharshi arrived at Arunachala, the hill where he spent
most of his life meditating, and transmitting the knowledge
of the Self.
Here is a poem that he wrote which tells how he felt
about this hill where he lived. As you will see he lived
there in more than one way.
1. Ocean of Nectar, full of Grace, engulfing the universe
in Thy Splendor, Oh Arunachala, the Supreme Itself be
Thou the Sun and open the lotus of my heart in Bliss!
2. Oh Arunachala! in Thee the picture of the universe
is formed, has its stay, and is dissolved, this is the
sublime Truth. Thou art the Inner Self, Who dancest
in the Heart as ‘I’ ‘Heart’ is Thy name. Oh Lord!
3. He who turns inward with untroubled mind to search
where the consciousness of 'I' arises, realizes the Self and
rests in Thee, Oh Arunachala! like a river when it joins
the ocean.
4. Abandoning the outer world, with mind wide open
to meditate on Thee within, the Yogi sees Thy Light,
Oh Arunachala! and finds his delight in Thee.
5. He who dedicates his mind to Thee and, seeing Thee,
always beholds the universe as Thy figure, he who at all
times glorifies Thee and loves Thee as none other than
the Self, he is the master without rival, being one with
Thee, Oh Arunachala! and lost in Thy Bliss.
From, The Collected Works of Ramana Maharshi,
edited by Arthur Osborne
Copyright Sri Ramanasramam 1979
Give the perfect gift to your friends, your loved-ones,
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Lately several people wrote me to ask how to get rid of
the turmoil in their mind. They say "Now that I know
about Awareness and happiness how do I experience it?
My moods seem to go up and then they seem to go down.
Sometimes my thoughts get so loud that it is hard to keep
a grip on my thoughts. So how can I fix my mind so that
I can be the Awareness and enjoy my innate happiness?”
A secret weapon
We are lucky because we have a secret weapon. We
can use this weapon to take all of the power out of the
mind. Because of this weapon we don’t have to stop our
thoughts, change our thoughts, or repeat the good
thoughts again and again. If you’ve had the experience
that the more you try to stop your mind, the louder it
got, then this meditation is for you. That's because
attempting to stop your mind is like putting out your
hand to stop the ripples in a pond. The more you try to
stop them the bigger they get.
Your Awareness is not in your mind
So what is this secret weapon? It is your own innate
Awareness. The reason Awareness is a secret weapon
is
because your Awareness is not in your mind. Very
few people know this, but when you become friends
with your own Awareness you are on your way to an
unexpected freedom. Unexpected because it comes
from a totally different angle than you would think.
It comes from this side of your mind.
But first things first, how do you know that your
Awareness is not in your mind? You are aware of
your mind, aren’t you? Awareness is the subject
and your thoughts are just another object in your
Awareness aren’t they? So the seer, your Awareness,
is different from that which you see, your thoughts.
Why do you forget about Awareness
Well then, why do most people pay attention to their
thoughts and why do they seem to ignore Awareness?
You see with your eyes, but without looking in a mirror,
you can’t see your eyes, can you? In the same way
you cannot look back and see Awareness. So this
teaching acts like a mirror that points to Awareness.
Because they can't see their Awareness without this
mirror, people miss something that is really very
obvious.
There is also another reason why people miss Awareness.
The mind is loud, the mind is in motion, and you see the
mind. So it is easy to identify with the thoughts going
through your mind.
On the other hand Awareness is subtle and still. It is
not limited by anything that you see. Since it is free
of boundaries and still, it is easy to miss. But once you
get to know Awareness you will see that it is a lot more
substantial than it may at first appear. It is also the
source of knowledge and peace.
How do you know Awareness
But if this Awareness is so easy to miss how can you
know Awareness? You know it directly because that's
who you are. Your knowledge of Awareness is so direct
that you don’t need a thought to know that you are
Awareness.
This knowledge is just like the knowledge that I am a
man. I don’t go around thinking and repeating to
myself, “I am a man. I am a man.” But if someone
challenged me and said, “No, you are not a man, you
are a gorilla.” I would answer, “No, I am not a gorilla.
I know by my direct experience that I am a man.”
You are not a thought
If you think that you are a thought, or a series of
thoughts like “I am a doctor, or a mother, or a daughter,
or a meditator.” I say, “No you are the Awareness and
not what you see.”
So now that I introduced you to your secret weapon,
how can you use this weapon to end these bothersome
thoughts? The first small step that I hope you will try
when you feel all of this suffering is to not do anything
with your mind. Don't use your thoughts as a sign that
you are stuck. Don't try to make them change or even
hope that they will change in this way or that.
Shift your identity
Rather what I'm asking you to try is to shift your
identity from your mind, which seems to be in turmoil
and motion, to the more subtle Awareness, which is the
still background on which all of these changes take
place. Just wonder, "How am I aware of my thoughts?
By what power do I know about all of these negative
thoughts?"
The doorway to Awareness
The doorway to Awareness is the sense of “I”. Whenever
there are thoughts there is this sense of “I” that comes
along with these thoughts. For example, “I am stuck
in my thoughts.” Or “I just can’t get rid of this negative
thinking.” This sense of “I” even comes along with
positive thoughts like, “I love you.”
Therefore, when you feel all of this turmoil, instead of
focusing on all of the thoughts coursing through your
mind, look for that "I" thought, the apparent subject
of your thinking. Notice that you are even aware of the
the "I" thought, which is just another object in your
Awareness. Then see how you are are really the
Awareness and not any of the thoughts, either
subjective or objective.
Practice making this shift
Spend some time everyday and look into how you are
the Awareness and not the thoughts in your mind.
At first this shift will seem like attempting to ride a bike
for the first time. It may seem hard to keep your balance.
But with practice, remaining as Awareness will quickly
become natural. You won’t lose what is natural to you.
Then without doing anything to your mind, you will see
how this Awareness can lift you out of suffering. You will
also find that your thoughts will loose the power that
they had
to cause suffering. And even your mind will
rejoice in your freedom.
Mysterious Awareness is obvious
I am confident that with a little exploration you will find
that this mysterious Awareness is really quite obvious.
You will see that it is just what you were looking for in
a million different places. Your innate Awareness will
be the end of suffering and the beginning of peace and joy.
To find out more about finding your own Consciousness,
which is free from the ups and downs of your mind go to:
http://www.light-up-your-life.com/wisdom.html
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Since I talk a lot about how to get from the suffering
that you feel to freedom, I’m afraid that you might
start to think that freedom takes time.
The good news about this teaching is that you are
already the freedom that you seek. That’s why
Self-Knowledge is the cause for celebration.
So what causes suffering
But here is where it gets confusing. If you are already
the peace and freedom that you are looking for, why
do you still at times experience suffering? If you have
to blame your suffering on something you can blame
it on ignorance.
What is ignorance anyway
Ignorance however is a very unusual substance. For
how many years have you been ignorant of Michael
Gluckman, the author of this newsletter? But then in
an instant you saw my web site and then saw my name.
In an instant you knew who I was. In that instant your
ignorance become knowledge. That is the speed at
which you can find your innate freedom.
How fast can you find freedom
Indeed ignorance no matter how old it is can disappear
in a flash. It is like a room that was dark for a thousand
years. The instant you turn on the light the darkness
is gone.
Furthermore, even if it appears that you struggle with
this teaching, to Awareness there is no time. The speed
of awakening is outside of time.
The proof is that you are Aware of time, aren’t you?
Time is just an object in your Awareness. For this
reason you are outside of time. When you wake up
it feels like you were always awake and that now
is all that ever existed.
Practice with energy and joy
So even if you feel that you have to practice, meditate,
and explore to find your Self-Nature, you should know
that practice does not go on forever. In an instant you
can wake up and be free. So practice with the energy
and joy that comes from the knowledge that your
freedom is at hand. And you will become a member of
the band of famed sages who live in the past, present,
and future. These sages have stepped out of time.
Practice does not go on forever. Wake up to the joy and
freedom that was always yours.
Please feel free to contact me with questions or comments
at: Michael@light-up-your-life.com.
Sincerely,
Michael Gluckman