Perhaps, we are not yet absolutely tired and depressed yet. And if this is the case, your very own example shows that you should let us get tired and depressed so we can finally arrive to a better state. And how do we become tired and depressed ? By seeking the useless things … which is exactly what we are doing. I say, we are perfectly fine … at least based on this reasoning.
Haha you have a good and funny intellect Hubert. In many ways it is very similar to my own I must say.
What you stated above is very true, yet it is a mind-game to keep you occupied, to push the acquiring of truth further away into some projected future. It is the classic example of the intellect applying a principle of truth to a situation in which it seems to ‘fit’ or apply to perfectly, yet it’s true meaning is misused since it is not captured or understood by thought. Allow me to explain.
A phrase or principle of truth that has been (mis)used many times before by the intellect, is: “Everything is perfect as it is.” or : “accept everything.”
These phrases indicate a principle of truth, a characteristic of truth if you will, yet it cannot be applied in the way the intellect likes to apply things. This is the exact same process by which religions are formed and at some point inevitable escalate into extremism and provocative systems of belief.
[U]So let’s take the principle or characteristic of truth, of a seeker seeking after the useless stuff in order to reach a state of being tired with the useless:[/U]
What you say is true: You are all perfectly fine, I am fine, you are fine, everybody is fine. But does that change anything? Is that what you wish for deep down? Perhaps it is because you are not presented the option to expand your experience big time right in front of you as we speak, that you feel fine with the way things are now. But whether it is true in relation to our situation or not; it remains plain reasoning.
Yes you do arrive at being tired of the useless stuff by looking after the useless stuff. But here follows both the catch and your opportunity to take that leap: We need the light of awareness in order to get fed up with the useless. If we do not learn to see things as they are already along the way, then we will never get tired and fed up with the useless.
You see, I would still be intensely indulging myself in the useless if I did not use the light of awareness while still being engaged with the useless. It is not merely by being engaged with the useless that we become tired of it, it need to be coupled with seeing how things truly [I]are[/I] useless while still indulging in and after the useless. So it is not enough to be in the process, [I]we also need to see this process of following after the useless, as actually being useless, while still being in the process.[/I]
[U]So while the intellect can justify itself by saying:[/U] [I]“we must get fed up with the useless by chasing after the useless, so what to do, we are doing just fine”[/I], while true in relation to its own level of occurrence and experience, this will only keep open perception at a, for the intellect comfortable, distance. Constantly pushing the experience of liberation further down the fictitious line of ‘time’.
Now, I am not suggesting you are blinding yourself to the above degree, but it is something to look out for. It is what we say to ourselves internally to justify our behavior, that overlooks and keeps us missing the openness of perception that is right here, free from belief.
[B]We can choose not to believe in what we say to ourselves internally[/B]! Let is just all play out. let the monkey mind play its games, we do not have to change or alter any of it, for that would only give it illusory power of being something real or important. Instead we leave it alone altogether. We do not suppress it either because that would again indicate that the monkey-mind has power or substance of its own, but it has none. It has no importance or value, so we can just be at rest with whatever arises as thought, speech and emotion. We do not have to act, react or conclude anything based on the arising and dissolving stream of thoughts. We can just rest as we are, even while the stream is active. This is done simply by not believing in anything that arises. Remaining perceptually open like this will introduce and familiarize us with who we truly are underneath and throughout every experience.
Thinking about spiritual truths and sentences and applying them to our lives mentally, justifying or condemning things as they appear either internally or externally, will keep us running around in circles even if it makes us appear more spiritual on the level of experiences (states of mind, meditation, etc.).
So I would kindly suggest you to observe whatever your mind has to say that excuses itself from being free. [I]Often remarks that belong to this category are those that include a certain sense of time-span.[/I] For example, we can justify or condemn our existence by applying the thought: “Oh this is all my personal karma, I just need to take it, someday I will be free, but only when my wheel has stopped and all is purified.”
[B]But really [U]any sort of thought[/U] that justifies you not opening up completely to what’s here right now…,[/B] [I]even when presented to you by someone in a very obvious and practical way[/I] (not necessarily referring to myself), [B]…should not be believed in.[/B]
The behavior of putting things off, keeping them at bay using a belief in time and space, will only deny your birthright to experience the most simple and natural experience there is: being yourself, exactly as you are, without believing in thoughts of condemnation or justification of any kind.
Whenever you recognize truth as truth, whether read, spoken by someone, or experienced for yourself, in that moment accept it fully and be the openness of that present moment. Just fully accept that truth without hesitation and consideration. Consideration is intellect and intellect is time. And time, as you may know by now, is illusion; blinding.
[I]You may start to notice from now on,[/I] [I]that whenever you recognize something as truth, the mind or the intellect will immediately have something to say about it[/I], or about how or when to apply it for yourself, or why you should or should not do so and why it is or is not right to do so at this time. We have trained ourselves so well in studying spirituality, that even when in the face of plain and simple truth about our true nature, we will immediately try to explain that openness to truth to the structural reference points of our concepts of spirituality. We will say: Ah yes, I recognize that as the truth, however, according to this and such, it belongs in this place and comes only after this state of mind, so I am not here yet.
… How can you ever not be here already?
Everything that indicates a strong or dependent sense of being time-bound belongs to the intellect and could be seen as false or empty of truth/nature/benefit. So while these justifications and condemnations are not good or bad, there can be the choice not to belief in them even as they appear.
Love,
Bentinho
