Beauty in the Random
Is life a game of pure chance?
Every individual we meet has been through another; intertwined to our very birth. Like rain drops trickling on my face - some fade, some leave impressions, some absorbed altogether. All by a whim of fate and chance, we meet specific individuals whom become part of our life situation.
The woman at the grocery store in line, I will never see again. The driver behind me on the highway, that happened to be driving in nearly the same spot and same time as I. The classmate I see twice a week, but never gain the courage to greet. The classmate I do greet - and get to know. The mysteriously attractive man I pass on the sidewalk, offering a glance of acknowledgment. The close friends I met 2 years ago. The best high school friends I no longer see.
A product of society and situation. Is this who we are? Is this how we define ourselves? -- Not quite.
"Knowing yourself as the awareness behind the voice is freedom." - Eckhart Tolle
Defining yourself based on conjectures and images of other human beings met throughout the course of one's life situation whom are nothing more than facades of the mind-made conceptualization of self is ludicrous.
At times, the desire to cling to these past images ignites. Do not let the mind fool you into its trap - thrive in the beauty of this moment. It's the only moment which truly exists - and that is reality.
(Following conversation excerpt from Wake Up And Roar by Papaji.)
Is enlightenment or self-realization just an awareness, a self-evident awareness of being?
Yes, it is awareness. Total awareness or Being, same thing. No difference. Total awareness. Everything is there. And you are that awareness.
I have this awareness. Yet, as everybody knows, your realization is much deeper than mine. What is the difference?
You make the difference. Otherwise, there is no difference.
Maybe that is the point. I do not accept [my awareness] enough. But I have it.
Do not accept enough? [Laughs] I accepted it and then there was no problem. If you accept, there will be no problem. If you accept "I am free," then you are free. If you accept "I am not free," you are not free.
Every individual we meet has been through another; intertwined to our very birth. Like rain drops trickling on my face - some fade, some leave impressions, some absorbed altogether. All by a whim of fate and chance, we meet specific individuals whom become part of our life situation.
The woman at the grocery store in line, I will never see again. The driver behind me on the highway, that happened to be driving in nearly the same spot and same time as I. The classmate I see twice a week, but never gain the courage to greet. The classmate I do greet - and get to know. The mysteriously attractive man I pass on the sidewalk, offering a glance of acknowledgment. The close friends I met 2 years ago. The best high school friends I no longer see.
A product of society and situation. Is this who we are? Is this how we define ourselves? -- Not quite.
"Knowing yourself as the awareness behind the voice is freedom." - Eckhart Tolle
Defining yourself based on conjectures and images of other human beings met throughout the course of one's life situation whom are nothing more than facades of the mind-made conceptualization of self is ludicrous.
At times, the desire to cling to these past images ignites. Do not let the mind fool you into its trap - thrive in the beauty of this moment. It's the only moment which truly exists - and that is reality.
(Following conversation excerpt from Wake Up And Roar by Papaji.)
Is enlightenment or self-realization just an awareness, a self-evident awareness of being?
Yes, it is awareness. Total awareness or Being, same thing. No difference. Total awareness. Everything is there. And you are that awareness.
I have this awareness. Yet, as everybody knows, your realization is much deeper than mine. What is the difference?
You make the difference. Otherwise, there is no difference.
Maybe that is the point. I do not accept [my awareness] enough. But I have it.
Do not accept enough? [Laughs] I accepted it and then there was no problem. If you accept, there will be no problem. If you accept "I am free," then you are free. If you accept "I am not free," you are not free.