Illusionary Self:

We are all taught to live life in a certain way. Our whole schooling is based on it. We are taught to conforming to rules and boundaries that keep us in check creating limitations to what we can and can’t do. We are taught to strive after, to achieve, to try harder or work harder, work long hours, to excel and not give up or to give in for that matter. We are taught to be the best you can be so that you get a job and life that you want if you just worked hard enough. This has created who we are today and that is what we identify with.

At present, you identify with that person – you identify with the thoughts and emotions that appear in your mind, so you believe you are that person separate from everyone else. You hold this identity of yourself in your mind and make all decision from there. This mind person is what we call the illusionary person or the “Ego”. You have desires and wants based on what you have been conditioned to do and think by the world we live in.

Therefore, your world view from the mind ego point of view is to serve yourself and to control your environment as best you can. You believe that the more knowledge, material wealth that you acquire will make you happy and it’s the mind self or Ego, that is in control and we live life through that lens instead. So, as your thoughts and emotions keep changing so does your Ego mind centre based namely on your past learnings and experiences. You act and behave based on your Ego mind believing that you are a separate entity living life.

Sufferings are then caused when life and people don’t behave the way you want them to. Your learnings and experiences that drive your thoughts and behaviours are now becoming counter-productive. To remedy this, you attempt to control your environments which leads to emotional fears, survivals, unhappiness, anger and frustration until life has wound you up in knots and you feel stuck with no way forward or out because you are fully identified with the Ego. The mind ego is in total control. You have forgotten that you are in fact pure Consciousness, free of identifications and limitations, are boundless and can create your life if you only knew how!

You must wake up from the identification that is you and become alert in order to abandon your identification with the thoughts and the workings of the mind in order to shake off your illusionary existence. Only then will you discover the quiet Presence behind the illusionary and constantly changing small mind Ego. You will recognize a real and unchanging aspect of your Self. It is characterized by deep silence and tranquillity.

When you submerge into the quietness, you immerse yourself in your own true essence, the Consciousness Awareness that is the true you – Boundless and limitless. The duality between you and the world ceases to exist, and in that moment of Presence you are amalgamated into one unity with yourself and the universe. The emphasis shifts from” I am this and that,” to” I am,” that is free of form.

The Signs of Awakening

When you submerge into the quietness a gap is generated between the Mind’s identification and that which you truly are. Attention starts to Shifts from the mind to your Consciousness and awareness of it. The mind does not stop but becomes quiet from the chatter and thoughts and empty of the endless thought streams and emotions that once occupied it. In the quietness and stillness, you become aware that there is something else that exists and that this has always been there – your true essence, nature, spirit or awareness. You are just not consciously aware of it.

You experience it already walking in nature, walking the dog or driving a car. Within this gap you have the ability of seeing as if you were an external observer. You are Consciousness free of thoughts and form. That recognition is not the result of the analytical work of the mind, it comes as a series of realizations inspired by the inner quiet and stillness of the mind. However, it can be then lost once the activities of the Mind start again.

The mind is not all bad. It functions to keep the body functioning without any intervention from your conscious mind and help you survive and solve problems. However, in today’s world our minds has gone to the opposite extreme with endless thoughts, anxieties, fears and worries which colour your life and attracts those exact certain situations to you.

As you cultivate a practice of silence and mindfulness you experience increasing amounts of silence between thoughts. In that silence you experience your consciousness without form, a Presence without thoughts. You experience your true authentic Self. It is vast and never ending… You begin to feel energised with the vitality of your essence, you feel lighter and you begin to see life with new eyes … you realise that you are in fact your own a creator and able to create your own reality renew.

You start to see and recognize the activities of mind for what it is and you allow that which does not serve you to fall away. You recognize that with the mind, you are not able to reach beyond the mind. Once you have ceased to identify with your mind and find presence, then the light of your Consciousness shines through.

In continuing with your practice, you start to become aware of the minds unconscious conditioning and how it has influenced your reality. You are able to see the benefit of working through each and every limiting aspect.

Some people are able to eliminate these on their own however, some need help or guidance to navigate through the issues as they present.

This is what Awakening is. It is felt throughout your body, heart, mind, and soul. With it a bright light shines in the inner most depths of us asks and us a potent question: