Welcome to Day 11 of our 40 Day Retreat 2009.
The goal of life is to be Self-Realized, it is to experience our full potential as a human being by manifesting all that we are in the human experience.
I have been speaking about witnessing, and the different levels of witnessing. I have been speaking about the different bodies and that state when the witness becomes a pure witness. We experience that state of freedom inside, being able to manage all the bodies we have. The last day, I spoke about seeing with the eyes of the wise. The Self is like an actor on the stage, not like the ordinary actor that we know but a different kind.
We Cannot Just Jump Into Witness State
Today, I would like to stay on the subject of understanding why we do not just jump into this witness state by the desire to be there. It requires more. If you say “let me go into the state of the witness” and you sit quietly and you begin to observe, do not expect that immediately you are going to jump into that state. In fact, even after several days or months of practice you may still find it difficult.
Is there a secret to shifting to higher states of awareness? There is! For years people have been trying to get into this state by reading books and being inspired and practicing what they have read. Still they have a lot of difficulty in coming to the state of realization. You may intellectually understand something and you may practice the things that you think will help you to go there, but it does not necessarily mean that you will go there.
The Blocks to Achieving Higher Awareness
What are the blocks to achieving this state of higher awareness? I have been saying to you that just coming into this human form puts us into a place of ignorance. Assuming this human form we have lost connection with that Divine Source that I have been speaking about. We can feel it; the idea of separateness, fear, loneliness, inability to manage the mind and doubt in the mind. We feel the effects of the separation from that power inside of us.
Secret to Shifting the Consciousness is Spiritual Awakening
What I would like to say to you is that the secret to shifting the consciousness is spiritual awakening. Unless that spark of light is lit inside of you, you will remain in darkness. I want you to really contemplate this. You can practice for years and years but unless that spark is lit within you, there is no chance that you can jump into a higher state of consciousness.
What we need is to seek spiritual awakening. Only when we become spiritually awakened will we begin to become conscious of more within us. Some of us are born spiritually awakened. That is why we can feel more than the ordinary person but we may not have it stabilized, so we cannot manage all the information that is coming to us and manage all the energies that we can feel. Help is necessary!
On the spiritual path, spiritual awakening is necessary. You need to determine whether you are reading and practicing and nothing is happening and if you find that is so, then you need to seek a little more.
How do we become spiritually awakened? How can we begin to feel more within our being? Of course, a desire is necessary. You need to continue to nurture that desire to be spiritually awakened.
The Comforts of the World Pull us Away From the Goal
Life itself has a way of pulling us away from that goal. All the comforts of the world and the pleasures of the world, they tend to have this pulling effect to take us away from that goal. We are surrounded by so much comfort and the spiritual goal seems to be a little difficult to achieve. We are more attracted to the comfort whilst it exists and we tend to defer the spiritual goal because it is a little bit hard. Only when life begins to become uncomfortable and a little miserable then we begin to think maybe that spiritual goal is something we need. Are we going to wait for the pain and misery to be there, and then shift to the spiritual? Or, will we be wise and think, this comfort thing I am not too sure about it, it feels good but it does not last long. I become too attached to it. I do not feel that this is the absolute joy that I am looking for. This cannot keep me happy all the time and sustain me.
What about when my body grows older and my stomach, bones and heart do not work as well, how am I going to be happy with this situation? When you are able to reason out these things and can see or project the future and see what it is likely to happen then you will begin to think, “Let me prepare in a different way for my future. Let me go find something that can really keep me happy throughout all the phases of life”. A little bit of intelligent work is required; churning of the mind a little bit, inner processing. When you can do that it is better than when life challenges you and things are uncomfortable then you seek the spiritual journey. To get to that state of spiritual awakening, once the desire is there, you need help. To jump into that higher state of consciousness it requires a shift and we need help. I want you to think of that; how difficult it is without help, surrounded by all the comforts and the pull of the world.
When We See It in Those Who Have It, We Become Inspired
What happens when you get help? When you have a desire for this and you seek out those who have it and who can identify that, you are seeking true happiness. The self-mastery in those who have it therein lies the possibility. When you see it in those who have it, suddenly you begin to think, “Yes this is what I want!” It becomes a possibility. We become inspired and then change begins to take place. Then we begin to think “This is nice I like what this person has, wow… I can see it. Look at how this person is able to master the mind. Look how confident this person is, how radiant. Look how this person deals with the challenges of life in a different way. I like that!” We begin to study the lives of those who have found it, the kind of strength, and the self-mastery they have. We become inspired.
Suddenly the comforts and the pleasures of the world cannot pull us as they used to because now we are exposed to something different. We have to keep our association with that inspiration. If you are able to do that, that is keep it, then it will deepen your desire and it will make you surer of the possibility. When you associate with the wise, with those who are more enlightened, more powerful than you are, then the desire grows stronger to want to be there. What is more exciting is that we human beings are touched and impacted by the energy of individuals and groups. A group of people can inspire you and individuals who are very strong can inspire you.
Spiritual Jumps Can Happen!
When you look at the great athletes for example in the Olympics how do you feel? When you go to a gym and you see all these people involved in exercise and they look so healthy and radiant, how you do feel? When you look at people who are very confident and they are wise thinkers, they can solve problems easily, how do you feel? When you see people full of love and stable in this love, how do you feel? Something in you awakens and if you stay around these people long enough and learn the secrets from them and be guided by them, then spiritual jumps can happen.
Contemplate what I am saying! Seek out these people and these groups. Continue to associate with them so you can be inspired and your desire can grow stronger and you will believe in the possibility that you can transform your life. Follow them, listen to them and practice what they are saying to you, therein lies the secret. Spiritual awakening will happen in a very natural way, not only will you learn how to do it, but you will also be spiritually awakened inside, touched by the presence and the light of those who live in a higher state of consciousness. That is the secret.
Of course one needs to be wise because we have all kinds of leaders today. Some will show you, they can mask, they can lead you to think that they have it when they do not and then they may want to sell things to you. Things come at a price. You need to be very careful. Be watchful of these people.
When you want to select a guide or a group or individuals to associate with; study them, study their lives, observe their personality, their energies, observe how you feel in their company, observe what happens inside of you in their company and do it on a consistent basis. Stay with that observation. Some point will come where you will know that this is what you want to follow. When you feel that inner awakening, that inner drive inside, or inspiration that comes from these individuals or groups, then you know that this is right for you. You need to be very careful in selecting those whom you associate with and those whom you allow yourself to be guided by. You need to be very careful with that.
Where Are You? Have Your Practices Been Bearing Fruit?
These are the steps for spiritual awakening. Spiritual awakening is an important part of the journey. Think of where you are in terms of this. Are your practices really bearing fruit? Are you really associating with those who can lift you and who can inspire you? Are you reading the books of those who have made the journey and those whose lives are inspiring? Do you feel inspired to continue this journey? Have your practices been bearing fruit? These are questions that you need to ask. Where are you on the journey?
I will follow up this talk with the responsibilities of a student. You may have the best teachers in the world but if you do not do certain things to make you more receptive, or if you do not look carefully at the student-teacher relationship and take responsibility then you may stagnate on the journey. That relationship is very important.
Today, I mainly wanted to tell you about spiritual awakening and how important it is on the spiritual journey. How important it is in shifting the consciousness so that you can become more aware of all the things I have been saying to you. It happens only when spiritual awakening takes place.
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