Self Development Idea (21): Session 2: Experiencing Truth - by Lester Levenson (4th February 1965)

Session 2: Experiencing Truth (4th February 1965)

All we need to do is to let go of our concepts of limitation, and what's left over is the natural, infinite, unlimited Being.  Sometimes a subject is called truth, sometimes God, metaphysics, but actually, it's the subject that every human being, whether he is aware of it or not, is trying to learn. 

And that's why I like the word ‘Happiness’ instead of ‘God’, ‘infinity’, ‘truth’This thing called ‘Happiness’ is the very nature of this unlimited Being, and every time we're happy we’re allowing a bit more of this unlimited Being to express itself — to come out, or we're cutting off a certain amount of limitation of that infinite being, and then we say “I am happy.”

There is no Happiness that isn't a feeling of your real inner Self — that's what it is.  Therefore, I sometimes call the subject ‘Happiness’, that the goal is to attain a continuous Happiness with absolutely no sorrow whatsoever. 

When I define the word ‘truth’, I say ‘truth’ is that which never changes.  This constant state of happiness never changes, and as I said before — I'd like to make this practical, what is it that never changes?  Beingness just be; it doesn't change.  Existence just exists; it doesn't change.  

So, truth is beingness, but it's beingness being all beingness.  It's the very beingness that you are when you use the word ‘I’ with nothing added to it — just the word ‘I’, that feeling of ‘I’ — that's your beingness.  That's infinite, that's unlimited, until you put concepts of limitation over it, and hide it. 

So, the top goal is beingness being all beingness.  When we recognize that ‘you are me,’ or that ‘I am you,’ ‘I am all beings,’ as you let go the of the concept of limitation, this thing comes about naturally. 

Another thing that doesn't change is an ‘awareness that is aware of all awareness’ — that's the ultimate, can't change anymore.  Consciousness conscious of all consciousness. 

This infinite Being which some people call God, we are experiencing all the time, every moment, by just experiencing our Beingness.  But we limit it to this body and this mind.  But that beingness is actually infinite, that awareness is infinite, and all we need to do is let go of the concepts that limit it.

Now the first major wrong step we make is to say “I am an individual separate from all beingness.”  Then we have to create an instrument to be separate with — and that's the mind.  The mind reflects back to us as much as this infinite beingness as we want it to, that reflection is cut more and more.   The more we take on concepts of limitation.  We cannot grow into this infinite being because we are that, here and now,  but we can let go of all concepts to the contrary. 

Now, the reason why some of you have been so happy for a short period of time, and then all of a sudden, it seemed as though the sky fell, and is only because you were able to perceive this infinite being that you are.  But you weren't able to keep out all the accumulated concepts of limitation from the past that prop up every now and then.  Every time a concept of limitation comes up, you're not infinite anymore, and you're miserable.  Unhappiness is a restriction upon being totally free — unlimited.

So, these patterns of thought in the past — their tendencies, predispositions now — they prop up, even after we've seen, very deep, very deeply, this inner being that we are.  So, what we need to do is to keep throwing off these limitations as they pop up, until there are no more, then what's left is the infinite being that we are. 

The thing to do is to keep throwing them [these limitations] out until there are no more.  Some of us have been accumulating these things for tens of thousands of years, so they die hard, they don't go very easily.  However, being unlimited infinite Beings, by sheer power of will, a few people can just like that throw them all out.  It happens occasionally, or maybe few dozen people each generation do it, in the entire world. 

They are the so-called masters; they recognize that they are not limited by the body-mind.  They consciously exit their body when they die, which allows them to come back in a body, or not to come back in a body, as they choose.  The great spiritual leaders are those who have chosen to come back in a body, they didn't have to come back [from the karma perspective].  The rest of us must come back by force of habit, we have a desire for things here, and so we come back here.

Desire is the only thing that keeps us coming back to this state of life, which is the most difficult possible state to any being, as a state we're in now.  But as I've said because of that it affords the greatest of growth.  It's the post graduate course — we passed this course we get our wings, our degrees.

So even though it's extremely difficult, it's a tremendous advantage to be here.  Although it doesn't look that way until you understand this.  It looks more like a hell than a heaven — that's because of limitations, self-imposed, in the past that have now been relegated to the unconscious part of us. 

We’ve put it [those concepts of limitation] in the back of the mind, where we don't see it for the moment, but all those concepts of limitation are there, and are effective, and keep us confined, pressed down, bottled.  And consciously we want to be free — freer than a bird.  And so there's a conflict between this conscious desire to be free and the unconscious concepts of limitation.  And you feel unhappy, you don't see it because it's unconscious.

There's two ways of licking that, one is make the unconscious conscious and when you see it, throw it out.  There is an easier, faster, better way — by getting quiet, by turning your mind within yourself, asking “Who am I?  What am I?  What's this world?  What's my relationship to it?”  If you will stick with those questions, you will see this infinite Being that you are.  It's not easy because of a habit that's been going on for millenniums.  It takes a tremendous desire for this truth or whatever we're seeking to accomplish it. 

Most of us get the desire from being beaten so hard by the world, we finally get up enough gumption to want this, and then when it begins to make your life happier, then you want it because you know this is it. 
[Comment: And for those who are wiser, such as those come with a higher consciousness, they may not need to get beaten by the world, they will be somehow attracted to this path, automatically.]


There's no top limit to happiness, to joy.  And when you experience some of this joy gotten from going within, you will always want to re-establish a very happy state — which is the natural state.  No matter how much you'll get away from it, sooner or later, you'll be back on a path trying to establish the constancy of this happiness.

The basic law in this universe is harmony; God is absolute harmony.  When we are in tune with the universe, our life is completely harmonious — no effort is required to do anything, everything falls perfectly into line.  

When we see God as all, and we know God is harmony, everything is in harmony right now, and to the degree we accept that — is the quickness thereof. 

Another way of putting that I guess isto see God in everything, in everyone, everywhere [Oneness].  God is beauty, harmony, rightness, everything good, and accept that.  And then allow this God principle to arrange things for you. 

We have to get our little selves out of the way, the sense of Ego-ity“I am an individual, separate, not God to do things...”is what makes all problems.  The moment we let go of that sense of egoism - “Let it be God's world.  Let God do it.  He knows how…”when we do that, everything falls into line, can be a court trial, be anything, can be a sick body — the moment we accept that principle, everything harmonizes.  Radical reliance upon God will do it.  Let go and let God. 


I moved unusually fast because either I got the answers or I was finished [die from sickness].  But the method I used happened to be the very highest possible method“Who am I?” — that was the driving question.  “Who am I?  What am I?” 

I was so determined, my mind was concentrated.  And when your mind is concentrated the answers are there.  A concentrated mind is a mind that keeps out extraneous thoughts, holds only the thing you're interested in, and when you do that the answer comes.
  
Thoughts will come in, when a thought comes in, say “To whom is this thought?  Well, the thought is to me.  Who am I?” — and you're back on the track again.  And this manner you can keep knocking out these thoughts.  If you'll continue that you will be to a place where these thoughts don't come in anymore and you're free of thoughts. 

Many of us have experienced it for a certain length of time — it's a feeling of complete at oneness with everything.  It's a thing of no otherness.  It's a feeling a very profound peace, even though there's activity, you see no action, everything just is.  The very top state is one of very profound peace. 

See, first it's a an exciting joy, then it's a very exuberant joy — you can't contain it.  It begins to hurt because it swells up and wells up all the time, can get to be annoying and yet it isn't, because it's tremendous amounts of joy coming up, then it moves to a higher state of peace, that's why the Bible says that “the peace that passeth all understanding.”  It's a very deep wonderful profound peace, it is the most delicious thing there is, but you can't describe it.






Peace is the word that comes closest to it.  And see, because these states are not ordinarily experienced — there are no words for it them.  First is feelingness, it is feelingness, then it goes on, it turns to Beingness. 

When you first get interested in this path, everything is thought, thoughts, all mind thinking, and then thoughts take on a certain feelings, like a thought and a feeling at the same time, to thought-feelingness, and as you move, you get into the realm of feelingness, and then the step above that is the realm of Beingness

So, it depends on where you are, as to whether it's feelingness or beingness.  Actually everyone and it's every act seeking his real Self.  You will never ever be satisfied until we reach that state of knowing ourselves completely.





Go to:

0 Comments->:

Post a Comment