O Processo Espiritual

Self-inquiry or inquiry into the self: what is this? Well, to start with, the seeker needs to have already a certain level of Freedom, of Silence or else it becomes something else that has nothing to do with self-inquiry. To begin with, the world as you perceive it, this vision of the world... There's this normal vision of the world that which is observed, separating it from the observer. But "this world", let's refer to it as the observed and as the apparent observer, which is the body-mind complex. Let's go strict to the body inside of this scenario. So wherever this body is, there's the world. This world is not an innocent thing. It's not something that has a lot of things to give you, as it is promising, that you can go to or not. If you go you're there, and if you don't go the world is there with its things and you're here. It doesn't work this way. The world is the complete image and it has nothing innocent about it. Because of these ideas that: "you have an amount of time", "you need to be happy", "there's no time for this", (you think that) Happiness comes from circumstances, from the world. So it's very difficult not to engage. There's this belief that the world will give you something. You look at spiritual laws -- the understanding of God and all of these things -- and with these beliefs on your mind, that this is real and it has something for you, it's very difficult to find sense in it, real sense.

And complaining is unavoidable. But the only goal that this really has is to play this game of knowing who you are. In this game, it's there to provoke, to make you believe in its own existence, to distract you from yourself. As your attention moves towards this world, expanding infinitely, distraction and illusion persist. As attention removes, "I won't go to this place", illusion starts dissolving. Not without a fight, of course. So, whatever you're seeing, whatever is being observed is there for the purpose of distracting you. Nothing else. It is tailor-made, it will distract you as it touches you in your particular ways. So what is this self-inquiry? Who am I? You say in normal language -- normal language is quite revealing... You say: my body, my feelings, my mind, my thoughts, my soul, my God. Everything is mine. So from this, there are certain things that are already clear to you and you don't even notice, most of the time. But some of you do. At least this meaning is for sure: if it's my body, I and the body are different. It is mine, so I'm not the body. If it's my thought, I'm not the thought. It's mine, (so) I am previous to that. If they are my feelings, this isn't mine also, I'm not the feelings. I'm not the soul because it's mine. I'm not God because it's mine. So who am I? If you abstract from this world, which is a distraction, and you go to this intimate space of perception, before thoughts... If you're not the body, whatever is connected to the body is irrelevant. Whatever is connected to feelings and thoughts is irrelevant, so let them go. People ask "who am I" in a way in the same natural functioning of the mind, which is outgoing, trying to find answers. But this comes from seeing, from Revelation. This "who am I" is the door to Truth. It's like a small child that gets lost somewhere. He stays put is one place until the parents find him. So it is with Truth. Truth finds you when you stay still in that place, in that particular place. Where is this place?

When you ask the question "who am I?" you will see that attention moves towards one place, towards a body of Silence, towards a body of Stillness. And this is where it has to remain. As you remain there -- now you have forgotten the world, nothing else matters -- and you're staying in this body of Silence where attention has moved as you asked the question or just said "I" it moves to that place of Silence, of Stillness, that body of Silence. It has many names, it doesn't matter. And you stay there. As you're there, impressions will arise -- emotions, sensations, feelings, thoughts -- so that attention moves in their direction. The world, the gross part of the world, is just an extension of this subtle part in this intimate space. This is why those who practice meditation close their eyes. To remain their attention where it is really important, where the game is. If your attention is in this gross part, you're not seeing anything. So attention remains in this intimate space of perception. If you remain silent, "I want no thoughts, no sensations, nothing" you will be able to stay in this for just a little bit. And you will see immediately thoughts arising, so this is where the game is, where illusion starts and it ends, in this point. As attention is moving with thoughts, like riding a wave, illusion persists. As it remains quiet, by the lack of your importance, illusion starts dissolving.

All the noise -- and I will explain this later -- all the noise which is there: sensations, feelings, emotions (emotions are a strong one), thoughts, all of this that has a power holding the convictions that you are the body and that the world is real as it is, all of this arises as you remain in that Silence, in that Stillness, trying to take you out from there. The world will make threats after threats after threats. Threaten you everything which is dear to you, all the things you don't dare to touch. It will try to scare you the most. If you succumb, then... Well, that part you know already. If you don't, this one is what you're looking for. This body of Silence is Identity. This is what you're looking for. First, all these impressions arise and propagate, and attention flows after them like planets and stars, which are expanding. If the focus is changed, if you hold on to this "who am I", the so-called world starts collapsing in that center of Silence. Instead of going outwards, it will start going inwards and collapsing, collapsing. All fears, all needs, all beliefs collapse and dissolve in this Silence, without any importance being given to them. There's no point in asking "who am I", "who am I", "who am I"... "Who am I" and "I", and attention comes back. If the eyes are open and the gross world is being observed Stillness remains, resting in the place remains. If you're engaging in conversations (whatever that means) it may seem outwardly that you're engaging in a conversation but inwardly it will be something else. The seeker of Truth is always unseen, it's very difficult to detect him, because it's in this intimate space. So imagine you are in a conversation. Someone else is telling you things and you're looking, but you're not really in that conversation. If attention wants to move towards that object then previously that object will distract you, because you're giving importance to it. Now that you have a certain amount of Silence, of Freedom you will look at the object and by the object standing there, speaking and a lot of things, it will come to you that "you" are there, "you" seem to be there, because "I" am here, "I" am the important part.

So attention goes to the object, hits the object and comes back again. And eventually it will not connect to any object. As any importance is being given... Because this is automatic, until it stops being automatic. It seems automatic, it seems irresistible (these forces), but they are not. You just have to be persistent. And previously cut a lot of beliefs, a lot of things -- we will go into this later. So before the world was entertaining you. Now that you know one or two things, it will help you. You will use it, as playing squash, like a wall. You hit the ball against the wall, the ball comes back to you. The ball is your attention. The more it is possible, the more you will remain at this Silence. All these impressions that will take you, again and again, will collapse in this body of Silence, of Identity. And everything melts there. This is where Revelation... "I"... Attention goes to that sacred place and remains, no matter what. Storms will come, because this is part of the world. All of you have seen this in small amounts, others in an intense way. The more you test it really, the more you will see. The more you comply... This awareness that seekers talk about: "stay in the now". The "now" means for them "what's happening now", Be aware (means) "be aware of what's happening now", "don't interfere" or "go with the flow". If you're going to the slaughter house, makes no difference if your eyes are closed or open. You're going to the slaughter house and you're going to be butcher. If you're aware of it or not, it doesn't make a difference in the end game, so it's the same. Now, Awareness is this place, this body of Silence, of Identity. And this is where you stay. For the majority of you that are doing this: "there's nothing here". "There's nothing here" because the beliefs that everything is there in the world are much stronger. This "here" is not a product of belief. If you turn this into a belief, the only use it has is if you're remaining here. But as a belief it is difficult. It is an inquiry. You have to go there and see. Remain as long as needed until Revelation or Seeing happens or comes, whatever that means. This is why it's inquiry, you have to investigate and only by letting everything else go. "Who am I?"atua No. Observe. Observe where attention moves when you ask the question. This is the purpose of the question: for attention to move. And as you're there, remain there. By the lack of your attention, of the importance, the world starts dissolving. Not without a fight, like I was saying before. If you're trying to make a change to see how this world is acting and uses the actors possible, the ones that touch you the most, so if you want to do a change, people will say "no, you can't do this, you're too radical". Radical... Because of others, everybody wants to follow the middle path.

This is naïve. You are all radicals. Everybody is a radical to someone. If these objects, if these "someones" become our dear, well... Understand this firstly: it's very difficult to find someone (whatever that means) that is helping the world. This helping the world settles in a lot of beliefs. But deep down, this is about your needs with the world. It doesn't matter how good you are. Deep down, in the core, this is about your expectations of the world, your needs from the world. This is why you need to be close to others. "Oh, I'm helping them". No, you're taking your share. But this is not the moment for this now. For those who are doing this honestly, sincerely, or have now understood and want to go, understand: the world will rebel. So if you're doing this change, everything will come to stop you if it is something real. If it isn't, the world will applaud: "yes, that's good, that's good!". The majority will agree. There will always be disagreements, but those who are precious to you in some way, some form, some group that gives you support, whatever, Eventually, the more you come closer, the more you become freer, the more intense the world will come at you to bring you back, to take you back. It's in that intimate space that everything happens. Not there, here. All these... How do you say this in English? All these demands that others are making... Because you've always seen this: some people point things at you, and this doesn't touch you. Others can point the same things, and this becomes important. It's always about you, not about others. This is about the importance you give to these others. It's always tailor-made to test you: it will touch you where it hurts. As this pain arises, it's very difficult not to succumb, but not impossible. It's a matter of beliefs, a matter of the amount of Freedom you've conquered till now. We will go into this in another one. You have to be prepared that the world will come after you in the way that really touches you. It cannot get more personal than this. Whatever beliefs you hold dear, they will knock you out. All these things, they wait. You may be for a while remaining here and nothing, but slowly, slowly circumstances are building-up, building up. They will wait for the right moment, the moment of more fragility, then it will hit you.

Understand this: the world that you're observing, the gross part, is just an extension of this intimate space of perception, and it has absolutely nothing innocent about it. It's more or less a game, a fight between reality and illusion. Hum, just a way of putting things... The world will fight for its existence. When I say "the world" (I mean) the body-mind complex. It's in this intimate space that everything happens. Things can come from the outside but if the beliefs are not here, if importance is not being given in this intimate space where it arises, then it just collapses in this body of Silence. As it collapses, all these beliefs, all these materials that are here -- as sensations, emotions, feelings and thoughts -- they will come out and dissolve. Like a magnet, you see? Like a magnet, identity trying to define itself, believing that it is which is being seen, intensifies its power of attraction and builds pieces of iron and starts getting a form, a bigger form. So it is with this apparent identity. The normal seeker is built of inputs, inputs, inputs -- by this need of definition based on a wrong perception that "I'm the body, so I have to define myself through the body". Remaining at the center, at Identity, is like taking the power off the magnet so the iron pieces start to fall down, fall down as it reduces the power until nothing else is left. Nothing else. Remember this: "identity", "who am I", "staying in the now", "being aware" have nothing to do with this flow of attention -- outward flow into the gross world. It is remaining in this body of Silence, not giving importance to anything, (that) fire will start arising. This creates so much fire that it burns these beliefs to the ground.

This is not metaphorically -- it is fire, intense fire. So your mind (or what you call your mind) is designed to survive. You see? So it will pick up the spiritual teachings and transform it into something that can... Everything can be used in this way. This is why I'm always pushing this: seekers of Truth and seekers of well-being. Because they are opposite in nature, in understanding. The biggest part of the quest (whatever that means) is to become a seeker of Truth. The rest is easy. In this illusion (whatever that means) you have things that are there to help you and things that are there to stop you. This continues up to a certain level. But when you've reached a certain level of Silence, where you can remain in this body of Silence, in this Stillness, then all these things drop. The world becomes to you as it is: unimportant. It stops touching you. When you reach this point, then reality and Truth have to reveal themselves. Not by force, but by Love and Reverence towards you. OK.