What is Self Knowledge?

Self-Knowledge is the pathway to the realisation of oneself, which brings the individual to his true self beyond the limitations of the mind and body. Self-Knowledge is neither the philosophy of an individual nor the beliefs of a religion or philosophical school of thought.

Self-Knowledge will not give you a new identity, it will help you to go beyond all identities, including the false identity of how you perceive yourself. Self-knowledge gives you freedom and liberation. Freedom where no thoughts, emotions or other peoples actions or words disturbs you. Freedom from the bondage of your own mind.

Can you say that no person in this world disturbs you? There are over seven billion people in the world do they all disturb you? However there are probably at least ten people you know who cause or are capable of causing you some form of pain or suffering, yet they do not affect me, why?

Self-Knowledge is the revelations of the truth of oneself, which by definition requires the individual to reveal the truth for themselves through the guidance of the teachings.

_____________________________

The knowledge revealed in the scriptures comes under a term called Sastra, translated as, this knowledge cannot be gained from anywhere or anyone else. Meaning, because this knowledge is within you, you cannot gain it from any external source and once this knowledge (abadhita) is gained it is never subject to change.

The knowledge of the Self and all it encompasses is already within you, but at this point you do not realise this. It is only ignorance that separates you from the truth of who you are.

We are like the musk deer. Enchanted by the smell of musk and not realizing it is in its own navel, the deer runs everywhere in search of that smell until it get exhausted.

Similarly the truth of who we are, full consciousness, is in us, yet we are running in search of it in every direction in the external world looking for answers, for solutions not realising all the knowledge we seek is within us.

The key to our continual happiness is within us, we will come to understand it cannot be found in the external world.

_______________________________

In some way we are all searching, for the elusive peace, happiness and the truth of who we are. We hide this for a while, studying, being busy with work, building a career while all the while working towards some future projection of happiness, contentment and fulfilment. Or perhaps you may have dedicated your life to your children, being very busy with the needs of your children. We are very good at being busy, sacrificing our own needs in the process.     

And when any opportunity arises for us to stop, to relax the mind and body, something very deep in us called fear gets us up ‘doing’ again. Because to be silent might just mean we open our minds to the reality of how we are actually feeling, empty, alone, low self esteem, filled with negative thoughts.

We are doing so much towards happiness but why do we feel so unhappy?

_______________________

No one has to tell you that you should seek happiness, it is natural and it doesn’t feel right when we are unhappy. Yet why do we experience such unhappiness and emotional turmoil? 

By happiness I am not referring to the externalised state of happiness with the flip side being unhappiness. Rather the happiness we seek is an unspoken desire within each of us, the search for the natural state of our being which is peace, joy and contentment.

There is that vague question, why do I feel my life is a compromise, why do my relationships constantly fail, why do I repeat patterns of behaviour that I do not like about myself, why can’t I stop or change them, why does fear undermine everything that I do?

There is no distance between where you are and where you want to reach. You are already there and there is no reaching. Like the musk deer it is ignorance that separates us from this truth.  

That is the irony.

Since this distance is created by ignorance, knowledge combined with experience becomes the means. Knowledge alone is not enough it must be experienced to reveal the truth for your self. Any knowledge has to take place in the mind and it is recognised it is necessary to prepare the mind. 

To prepare the mind means to go beyond the limitations of the mind, as you know it at this stage, in order to access the truth of who you are.

_______________________

Close your eyes and come to the silence of the breath

Receptivity and openness

A Zen story tells of Nan-in, a Japanese master, during the Meiji era that received a request to meet with a visiting university professor. The professor came to enquire about Zen. Nan-in agreed to meet with the professor and offered him tea. The monk silently prepared the tea, as the professor watched in growing irritation. The monk slowly began pouring the tea into his visitor’s cup. The professor watched incredulously as the monk kept pouring the tea as the cup overflowed. Stop, ‘he said, it is overfill, no more will go in’!

Yes, said the monk smiling, like this cup you are full of your own opinions and speculations. How can I show you Zen unless you first empty your cup? I cannot teach one whose mind is already overflowing. Your mind is not free to receive.

When a mind is closed we only see what we expect to 'see' we do not see or question at all, we drop into judgment and closed minds…When the mind is open and we see or hear something new, we have to halt in our 'footsteps' and question further, an internal enquiry. We need to come to a place of receptivity and openness before we can have the freedom to begin to understand and learn.

Namaste

Silence is Natural

To be silent is natural, it has a natural fulfilment you do not need to do anything to be silent. To talk, act and think requires effort.

Silence is our natural state of being. I cannot state I am being silent because to speak I am creating sound. I simply am the silence. Sound is noise, it has a beginning and an end. It is finite.

Sound can only be produced because of the silence and space that exists. Sounds and objects are surrounded by the same silence. It is only when sound appears does silence come into being. Silence is all permeating.

Try hitting a surface in front of you now, you are creating sound. Now stop, are you aware of the silence that appears? Were you aware of the silence before you created sound?

It is silence and space that gives form to all things. This same silence is the substratum for the thinking mind. A Mala chain when swung will always return to its centre, stillness. Representing the return to the self, stillness and silence.

How often does your mind rest in silence, which is your natural state of being?

Or is it more normal for you to have constant thoughts running through your mind?

When students begin the study of Self Knowledge they are universally amazed with the concept of a quiet still mind as a natural state of being. Their minds are so very rarely quiet, it is that constant thought activity that exhausts and drains them. When they come to experience the silence their lives are transformed.

Begin to take the time during each day and evening to simply sit in silence using the breathing meditation to bring you to this space. Remember you are making a conscious choice to sit in silence, therefore let no thoughts disturb you. The breath will always bring you to the present moment. Just close your eyes, still your mind, invite the silence.

You may find when you first begin to do this you feel extremely tired, exhausted perhaps. This is normal, your mind and body have been in a state of stress from constant mind aggravation for years. We were not designed to function in this manner. You have been controlled by thoughts and senses whereas you were designed to be master of both mind and senses.

This will increasingly become a place you return to, it provides deep peace and relaxation, the stilling of the mind in order to find the clarity beyond the mind. It is the substratum for the portal to the Self.

Be gentle with your self through these processes, you have spent a lifetime being lost and dictated to by your thoughts, building up layers of protection to cope, it takes time to peel back the layers.

Let these silences occur with no expectations; it is enough to simply be present with the breath. Most of us live in a state of constant exhaustion, how often do you wake up refreshed and invigorated?

You can think of these silences, as ‘time out’, as a place to begin to reconnect with the self.

_______________________

Close your eyes and come to the breath

The Emotion of Fear

Fear undermines everything we do in life.

So where does this emotion as a clouded thought, fear appear from?

It appears from everything you have unconsciously been taught or picked up, from the state of separateness from your self.

Fear is an emotion that does not actually exist; it is a creation of your unconscious mind. The flight or fight response we have in our body is real. It is activated when we need to act quickly in order to survive. The flight or fight response is not activated by thoughts but by the intelligence of the body.

The fears you feel are a false creation in your minds based on unreality.

And there are an infinite number of fears you can create for yourself. If they weren’t so destructive and debilitating we could reflect on how imaginative our minds are.

Our society has based itself on creating separateness, from ‘the gods’ as being separate from us, from the false association of the mind implying the mind some how controls us, from the unknown.

We hide from the silence of our minds as if dangers lurk there, trying to replace the silence with either activity or thoughts we think will make us happy while trying to block thoughts we think will make us unhappy. We are giving energy to something that we have created in our minds that are not even real.

If we can let go of the projection of the emotion of fear, and sit in the silence of our being you will move beyond all emotions that hold you back, including fear.

Let us review what is the mind? It is not material like our brain or body, it is not physical it is a creative entity capable of extraordinary ability. You are not your body or mind they are vehicles for the expression of your self.

The mind was designed to receive instructions from the higher self, the intelligence within, while utilising the thoughts, the logic of the brain and senses to enact.

Instead in ignorance we have taken thoughts, which are merely suggestions attached emotions and created chaos.  Remember we were designed to be master of our minds.

Verify this for your self, the next time you begin to feel an emotion which you will come to recognise causes a physiological change in your body that something is not right, stop, identify and catch the thought, stop engaging, delete, come to the silence of the breath, this present moment and feel the difference. Your breath will begin to deepen, the shoulders will begin to relax, and you will feel calm and in control once more.

To engage in emotions is to give them energy that results in a depletion of your self and begins an exhausting process. Why would you energise something that is destructive and not real?

Self-knowledge empowers you, you will come to recognise that there is nothing to fear in this world, in life.

_________________

Close your eyes and come to the breath

Self Knowledge Book Release 2013

Hi guys,

An update ... next year my first book will be published based on my Self Knowledge discourses, titled Self Knowledge - The Pathway to Lasting Happiness.

I’ll let you know closer to the time of publishing when it will be available.

Please post any comments or questions you have, it helps to then apply this knowledge in your own lives. The questions you have will invariably be the same ones that others are thinking.

Namaste

What do you desire in Life?

As we begin our enquiry into revealing our natural state of happiness we need to know where to look. Once the destination is clear the journey can begin. At the moment it is probable that you base your happiness on external people, external objects, external places (even though you may think you don’t).

If I were to ask you, what do you want in life?

You may reply, happiness.

I would reply fantastic, then be happy.

Your reply may be, how can I be happy when there is so much war in the world, when my neighbours dog barks all night, when there is a tsunami in the world, when I get such a high rates bill, when my ex wife is suing me?

What you are actually saying to me is that in order for you to live happily all eternal objects and people must meet your perceived needs and desires.

While you continue to base your happiness on external people and external experiences you will be bound to suffering.

It is impossible to ever find happiness under these conditions, because the nature of the world is constant change.

You are unconsciously basing your happiness, contentment on, whenever you have a perceived need or desire then that must be met in order for you to be happy.

Think about that statement, think of someone in your life who currently causes you unrest at this moment. Whoever that person is, whatever they are doing or saying, they are simply being ‘them’.They cause me no unrest and probably no one else who is reading this blog, so why you?

Because you are unconsciously basing your happiness on that person meeting your perceived desires and needs of how they should be and that is gross ignorance because we do not control anyone else in this world only ourselves.

In consciousness you can see that they are simply being ‘them; then you can choose to continue to be associated with them or not.

You carry your happiness within you; it is not dependent on any external source, you create your life no one else does. 

Until you realise this, you are setting your self up for constant suffering and pain because you cannot control anything in this world except your self.

You can begin to take control of your life now. 

This week as you go about your life, sit back a little, take on the role of the observer. Notice when conflict arises rather then reacting, question yourself. Is the negative emotion you are experiencing a result of someone not doing what you want?

Namaste

_______________________

Close your eyes and come to the breath

The Importance of caring for Yourself

Who is the most important person in the world?

You are, because if you are not here nothing else exists. This does not mean that you are more or less important than anyone else. We are all equally important, no ones needs are greater or lesser than yours. When you recognise the importance of caring for yourself this becomes the greatest gift you can share with others.

You may have travelled on a plane at some point and be familiar with the words of the air host,’ in the event of the cabin pressure falling please ensure you place the oxygen mask on your self first before helping others.’

You must care for your self first in order to be able to care for others.

Your life is a gift and you have a duty to yourself. You may have been told to care for others first, to not be selfish. So we were taught to sacrifice ourselves for others, why?

 I recall many years ago waiting at my children’s Montessori primary school to pick them up. There was a mulberry tree that was very popular with the children who would compete to find the ripe black mulberries to eat. 

On this particular day I was waiting with another mother.

She walked over to the tree and reaching up she began to eat the rich ripe mulberries, I said ‘shouldn’t you keep those for the children’?

As she popped a ripe red mulberry into her mouth, she turned to me and said ‘why’?

I couldn’t find an answer.

You cannot sacrifice yourself for others or there will be nothing left.

Caring for our selves is the first step in valuing ourselves.

And what of respect?

If you cannot respect yourself how can you expect others to respect you?

And love, how can you expect others to love you if you do not love yourself?

Consider for a moment, if you were to recognise the true nature of oneself, a divine being with a life purpose, who has the potential to offer so much to this world and your loved ones surely you would care for your self first and foremost to allow for the realisation of the self?

When you recognise the true nature of yourself you are able to give not from self-sacrifice and depletion but from an endless source of manifestation.

So what does it mean to care for your self? It means to value your self worth.

It means that you as an individual have natural desires and needs and they need to be expressed. You count! You have the gift of a voice; use it not to comment on others for they are not yours to comment on but as an expression of the self within you.

How often do you wake up in the morning and decide what can you do for yourself today? Perform a little checklist, consciously quieten your mind through breathing, do a little review how is my body and mind feeling? What does the body need today, rest or exercise, what type of exercise, what food will nourish my body today?

 You have one life, one reality that you create for yourself, let your voice be heard or others will step into the void and short-change you. 

The path of illumination – Self Knowledge

This body of knowledge is known as Vedanta or Self Knowledge and was recorded in the ancient Indian texts such as the Upanishads, Tattva Bodha, the Bhaghavad Gita and other Hinduism texts written over 5000 years ago.

The knowledge revealed in these ancient texts was written in Vedic Sanskrit, a refined language that often does not have an English translation. Furthermore the texts were written from the knowledge of enlightened teachers, which is beyond the comprehension of the unconscious mind. The content of these texts has continued to elude most who attempt to read them.

In these scriptures the enlightened sages revealed the immortality of the Self, the natural state of being where one exists with insight, clarity, peace and happiness.

The nature of a child is to be curious about everything that he/she sees, hears, touches, tastes and smells, but the child does not question who is the seer, listener, toucher, taster, smeller or experiencer.

The child who does not question the ‘questioner’ grows up to be the adult who gets used to challenging everything and everybody except his own self, the ‘I’

As there are millions of people who never even question their perceptions, there are billions who never even question the perceiver, the thoughts or the thinker.

Herein begins the role of the observer.

Discover a little about your Self

When students begin studying Self Knowledge after a few weeks I ask them to reflect and write, what is it that has brought them to Self Knowledge, what are they seeking in life?

It may well be something not quite tangible that cannot be expressed in words yet I would encourage you to look within and find all those dreams, aspirations, things you desired or believed in at one point in your life that have not yet come to fruition. I emphasis that these be your dreams and aspirations not someone else's impositions on you. And if you should find when you do this, that there is simply nothing there that is okay after all this is the journey where you will find your Self.

Invariably this opens up a whole new realm of realisations often taking the students by surprise, are there really so many things in their life they wish to change, do they really suffer all these anxieties and feelings of uncertainty and fear? In reflecting and writing it helps them to come to their first truth and realisation about themselves, that is how much they shroud and hide how they feel.

I invite you to do this now, take the time to find a comfortable quiet place and choose a time when you will be alone and not rushed. Make a little ceremony of it, perhaps making a cup of tea or coffee a glass of water, pause, close your eyes, observe your breath, and then begin to write. Wait for the words to be revealed, they will. You may be surprised by what your reflective writing reveals.

Disciplining the Mind

Disciplining the mind means not allowing your thoughts to control you, to succumb to them or allow them to overpower you.

You recognise that thoughts in themselves have no power over you; it is you who has in the past empowered them with your imposition of happiness or unhappiness. It is you who has given your thoughts the power to prosecute you. In Sanskrit this is called jiva sristi.

Disciplining the mind means to stand by your decisions. Disciplining the mind does not mean removing all your thoughts; it means you do not allow any thoughts to control you any more.

If you wish to sit down in silence then you so, when a thought arises I want a cup of coffee, or I must go and hang out the washing you remain sitting in silence, not allowing your thoughts to control or dictate to you.

Perhaps you might like to make an intention, every time your phone rings, rather than reacting straight away, pause catch your thoughts, catch your breath and then consciously choose to pick up the phone.

Each time you do this you break the chain of constant thoughts and literally ‘have a breather’, a break from the constant activity in the mind.

It is easier to master this discipline with objects first as they do not react, humans do.

Om Shanti

What is the natural state of your mind?

The natural state of the mind, is simply silence, stillness. That is, no thoughts rumbling around.
In this natural state the mind is open to receive the higher wisdom and intelligence that is available to us.
Ask yourself, how often is your mind completely silent?
If you find there is a constant dialogue in your mind there is literally no space for anything new or fresh to enter. You close your minds like a vault and what is inside of this vault?
Invariably it will be a collection of negative falsified damaging thoughts, not a nice environment.

The solution is logical and simple, open your minds to let the light of knowledge and truth in, what ever you hold up to the light is transformed by the light.

Set an intention to 'check in' on your mind throughout the day to become aware of what is actually going on. Take on the role of the observer and begin to practice stilling the mind as a conscious choice.

om shanti shanti shanti

Detachment is a valuable tool

The biggest hurdle for students at the beginning of their study is that they tend to fall back into reactive patterns despite their intentions.

They have mastered their minds sufficiently to be able to still their minds and return to the silence however by not realising how strong their preconditioned patterns of attaching to thoughts and projections really are, getting lost in their roles continues for awhile, like a ball rolling down a hill it has a certain momentum.

If you have had a strong emotional attachment to a thought or pattern of behaviour that has been repeated time and time again, which has invariably been experienced as pain and suffering it has a stronger imprint. This usually applies to long-term relationships including family members.

Remember people you do not know do not cause you any problems.

You will find initially it is easier to observe and master your thoughts around people you have not formed relationships with.

Be gentle with yourself, you are releasing years of old inbuilt negative patterns, celebrate each time you maintain your awareness and see every experience an opportunity for growth. 

The ability to remain detached is valuable it helps you to not only see your own thoughts and responses it allows you to see others as they are, without judgement, simply observation.

What do you need to do to detach?

Simple, return to the silence and space within the mind, if there are thoughts hanging around (they will be falsified ones) just release and return to the space and silence that gave form to those thoughts. This is your natural state of being and receptivity.

_________________

Close your eyes and come to the breath

Understanding the nature of your mind

We have a beautiful mind.

Our bodies consist of an extraordinary sophisticated integration of senses, of action and perception, a physical body, a brain capable of immense intelligence and logic and a mind to express the potential and reality of the Self and all it encompasses.

This is the potential however very few of us come close to this realisation because we simply do not understand the nature of our minds we believe we are our minds.

The mind is an extraordinary creative instrument, take a moment now to watch a thought, yes you can do it, a little like a passing image on a screen.

Does it not beg the question, who is doing the watching, the observing? 

Thoughts in themselves are merely suggestions, they are finite and small, the potential to utilize these thoughts lies in the space and silence which gives form to them, the same space and silence which gives form to everything in this universe. Instead we falsely attach to these thoughts, thereby reducing ourselves to the limitations of what ever we identify with. We have been told that our world is a creation of our own thoughts and that we can change it, yet no one has told us how to actually do this, up to now those words have been empty. Self-knowledge logically reveals how to understand the nature of your mind and move beyond all false attachments. 

The regular practice of stilling the mind not only opens up the portal to the higher self, it allows you to experience silence and peace the natural state of the mind.

Namaste