absolutespiritdotco

“NOT BE DECEIVED BY APPEARANCES”

The mind (the “I,” thought, the ego) claims, “I know, and I act based on that knowledge—but they do not.” It then insists that others “ought to” act in a certain way—specifically, the way “I” do.

But does the mind (the “I,” thought, the ego) truly see reality as it is?

If it were seeing reality as it is, where, then, does this arrogance—born of ignorance that presumes a clear separation between those who “know” and those who do not—actually come from?

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The mind (the “I,” thought, the ego) never sees reality as it is.

This is because the mind (the “I,” thought, the ego) is nothing more than a hodgepodge of information in the brain: it consists of past experiences, patterned interpretations of sensations, perceptions distorted by the projection of the past, interpreted memories, and deep-seated, unconscious attachments, identifications—entanglements with emotional energy that has neither been recognized nor sublimated. It is a collection of patterned thought processes and emotional habits.

Yet, because the mind (the “I,” thought, the ego) abhors what it deems “bad” or “wrong,” it pours all its energy—as a “doer”—into a desperate attempt to improve itself, its life, and, by extension, the world.

Consequently, not only is it incapable of seeing facts as they are, but it also becomes highly adept at self-deception—at maintaining a “false self” of the “I”—blindly insisting, “I see things as they truly are,” and “I am right.”

It takes a great deal of time for anyone, as awareness, to clearly perceive that the “pain” and “sadness” underlying its own words and (re)actions, as well as the “self” it desperately tries to protect from further harm, are, in fact, both the greatest obstacles to spiritual awakening and the ultimate tools for it.

Until that realization dawns, awareness continues to misinterpret reality: at times blaming others and insisting that the problems lie outside, and at other times—as a reaction—turning that blame inward, hanging one’s head in the belief that the “self” is the root of the problem.

It is precisely for this reason that one continues to struggle, striving to become “someone” or to maintain a sense of being “someone.”

In this way, one remains trapped within a relative duality—floundering, suffering, and writhing in anguish.

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The answer is always within. Yet, truth cannot be found in thought, in the mind.

Nevertheless, at the level of mind and body—even regarding things that never reach into the conscious mind (which accounts for less than 10% of total consciousness)—Awareness, deep within and beyond it, always sees, hears, and experiences it all.

The mind (the “self,” thought, the ego) within a relative duality, rejecting one side while craving the other; yet, the undeniable truth is that duality always requires the existence of its opposite.

Even more paradoxically, this relative duality is the very manifestation—the outward appearance—most essential for Awareness to recognize its own true nature: pure Presence.

Thus, the non-dual truth is always here and now; it is never hidden, and “The Self” can never vanish from existence, nor can it ever be lost.

Nevertheless, an important fact that the mind—the “I,” thoughts, the ego—overlooks is this: it is not the case that “you (the narrative of “I”)” must strive to transcend into “The Self.”

Rather, by carefully revealing that the very narrative of “you” or “yours”—the “I” or “mine” in the brain—is an illusion, it will surely become clear that existence has always been “That” all along, without needing to do a single thing.

Existence is, ever-present, and always unchanging “Pure Presence”; in truth, there is not even the slightest moment where it is anything other than “That.” (OM 🙏)