You’re not your mind… you’re what is AWARE of the mind. New MJ Awakening Blog September 30, 2016

“Whatever is there in the mind, you are the witness of that mind. And the witness is ever separate from the mind. The very fact that you’re the knower of the mind means that you are not the mind.”

-Swami Sarvapriyananda

This quote by Swami gets to the heart of the matter from the perspective of Vedanta. Are you your mind or are you the witness of the mind? Of course, the mind will insist, “Of course I’m my mind, what else?” But if you are the mind, what knows of the mind? For example, if I know of this cup of coffee next to me, then I know that I am not that cup of coffee. I am what is aware of it.

This is not something to be taken on belief, but must be confirmed in one’s own experience, repeatedly, until it becomes obvious and clear.

Michael Jeffreys

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What is THE essential quality of this moment? new MJ Awakening Blog September 27, 2016

The goal of Self-Inquiry is NOT to tell you what you are… only to reveal what you are not. This is no small point. What you are you already are, but what you are not BUT IMAGINE YOU ARE is what is causing the confusion and thus suffering.

We cannot put into words what we are, but we can know for certain that whatever comes and goes, be it a body, a thought, a feeling, a sound, or a sensation, is NOT essential to the existence of this moment. That which is essential never comes or goes so anything impermanent cannot be You.

What is THE essential quality of this moment? Meditate on this.

Michael Jeffreys

How strong is your fire for Liberation? New MJ Awakening Blog September 23, 2016

How strong is your fire for Liberation?

In Vedanta we call this Mumukshuta, which means “yearning for final liberation.” If you are not getting results from your spiritual studies, either A) what you are studying is not the ultimate truth or B) your desire for ultimate truth is not hot enough, not focused enough. A light spread out is diffuse and not nearly as powerful as a concentrated light (e.g., a light bulb vs. a laser).

If I am still interested in attaining worldly desires then naturally my fire for liberation will not be very strong. So, in your heart of hearts, where is your true allegiance? To the world (reflected ever-changing Brahman which comes and goes) or to the Source inside you (changeless eternal Brahman which has never come or gone)?

Your honest answer tells you everything.

Michael Jeffreys

 

You’ve NEVER been a thought… and you’re not one now. New MJ Awakening Blog September 20, 2016

The problem is not the thought, “this sucks.” The problem is that you are mistakenly identifying as the one whose having the thought. But can this entity that’s claiming to have the thought actually be found? No. Why? Because upon earnest investigation, it’s seen clearly that the idea of being the claimant is simply another thought!

 

What are you then? You are that which is aware of all thoughts, feelings, sensations, perceptions, etc. Now here’s the kicker: the mind down plays this. It doesn’t take awareness to be anything important or valuable, so it simply discards it since it can’t see it, taste it, or touch it.

 

Freedom is seeing that whatever the mind is claiming, you are always aware of that. Once you see this, you stop reacting to the thoughts because you no longer mistake them to be you. You’ve NEVER been a thought… and you’re not one now.

Michael Jeffreys

You are prior to any thought and this has always been the case… new MJ Awakening Blog September 17, 2016

Can that which is seeing be seen? Can that which is hearing be heard? Can that which is feeling be felt?

Allow your attention to rest not on thoughts, but on the empty, changeless, shapeless, colorless space all thoughts appear in. In other words, learn to discriminate between thoughts and that which is aware of thoughts. One moves, comes and goes, the other does not. You are not a thought. You are prior to any thought and this has always been the case.

Michael Jeffreys

You are always what is aware of the seeker, so the seeker cannot be you… new MJ Awakening Blog September 12, 2016

The one who is trying to figure it all out, to find enlightenment, that gets a hit or mental high off the realizations, epiphanies, and spiritual insights…that one has to go too. Why? Because it too is still an identity and thus a subtle form of separation/dualism (and not so subtle when you see it).

Non-dual is one without a second. Seeking, which is twoness (the seeker and the sought) is motivated by the false idea that what you are is not already fully here and present. But you are always here and always present… you are what is aware of the seeker, so the seeker is not and cannot ever be you.

Michael Jeffreys

The “me” is like a bucket with a permanent hole in it… new MJ Awakening Blog September 8, 2016

The “me” is always aggrieved, always feels slighted, always on guard, always keeping track of the “score” and thus is NEVER at rest, never truly at peace.

The “me” is like a bucket with a permanent hole in it… no matter how many times you try to fill it, it never works. In other words, there is no hope for the “me.” There is nothing that you can do to fix the “me” because the hole is permanent, i.e., the “me” will NEVER be satisfied.

 

Seeing clearly that the “me” is not actually you is the only thing that truly works. Not taking the “me” seriously. This is freedom… this is peace… this is love… not for any reason, but because that’s this moment’s nature when the “me” isn’t around.

 

Michael Jeffreys

Peace is the realization that all objects in the play, animate or inanimate, are Brahman… new MJ Awakening Blog September 1, 2016

Peace is realized when it is understood (not just intellectually) that Brahman is the only actor in this play and thus plays all parts, including all animate and inanimate objects.

Ego is nothing but Brahman temporarily forgetting its true nature and imagining it’s separate, special and unique from the totality, i.e., not Brahman. But this experience is only ever in imagination, in the dream of separation, not reality. In reality all is Brahman… there is nothing that is not Brahman.

Michael Jeffreys