Knowledge and Religion

Diving into the Unknown

I am curious to find out why many of the people that I talk with and write to hesitate to take up the path of Self Knowledge. After all, when you look into it, you find that the source of happiness and the Consciousness that lights up the world come from you and not from the world. Another way of saying this is that wisdom and happiness come from the place where you actually experience them, not from the things that you see.  

Self-knowledge sets the meaning of life on its head. Meaning in life does not come from what you do or what you can get; meaning comes from what you are. It’s just that we are so close to our self-nature that we look right past it and identify with the things that we see like our body and the thoughts in our mind. And thus the path of Self-Knowledge is the discovery of the most fundamental quality that gives meaning to life; this quality is what you really are.

What you are is greater than any thought _____________________________________________________________________________________

Making Your Wisdom Come Alive is a guide to waking up to your innate freedom. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory. See our fully revised second edition.

For more information go to:Amazon.com

Also, now you can read this book on your Kindle or other electronic device. Please go to Amazon Kindle.

 ___________________________________________________________________

So where’s the hesitation? Your mind cannot conceive of your Self-Nature. Mind just draws a blank. That’s because you see your mind — but you mind doesn’t see you. The steady unwavering flame of Consciousness which lights up the mind is your real identity. Unchanging and without motion, it is however, impossible for your thoughts to grasp. And thus you have to know yourself in a different way: you know yourself by standing as yourself; not by creating a structure in your mind.

This makes self-discovery an adventure. That’s because you can’t preconceive or theorize about your identity. All that you can do is experience it; and it is by this direct experience that you know your self-nature. Do you know what you discover? Your self-nature is much better and much more inclusive than you would ever have thought. If on the other hand you try to think your way to your real identity, you will never get it right.

Usually you think of an adventure as traveling to an unknown place. But this is discovering the place that you know the best. And yet when you discover the place where you really stand, it feels completely new. As I told you, it doesn’t fit into a state of mind.

Let go of limitation and find your real home
Here’s why I think that people fail to take up the path of self-discovery in earnest: First, if you stand as the thoughts in your mind you may think, “This self doesn’t really exist.” That’s why I write this blog; to show you and prove to you that your real home is beyond the thoughts in your mind. Or second, you may encounter fear of the unknown. And that’s why I write that your self-nature is the source of the happiness that you hope to get in a million different ways. Rather than scary, your self-nature is a very friendly place.

But there comes a point where you have to put this blog aside and dive inward to your very core. To dive deep, let go of the things that you are used to identifying with like the body and mind. If you can find a way to let go of the limitations that you see, you will be in for a surprise. You will find that which was never born and will never pass away; that you are the steady flame of wisdom. Although you will have finally come to rest in your true home, you will not find the words to describe you newfound joy. Still you will know for sure that you are standing in the place where everyone hopes to be.

Asking Questions
If this blog seems a little theoretical to you, ask questions. Then you will see how the explanations in this blog apply to your life. And the freedom that you find will be real. Questioning is the key to your freedom. You’ll see that when you question limitation, it falls away.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com.  I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it. When you can ask, you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering. Of course, to preserve confidentiality your name will be left off.

Also for more detailed explanations and examples read through these blogs or get my book, Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. 
 
Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

On Facing Death

This is a wonderful question. Is there an answer for the one thing that we all have to face? Find out below:

Question:
A 17 year old friend of mine recently passed away. He slipped in a track event and hit his head on a metal bar. I can still see the blood running down his face as the medics came to take him away. I can’t stop crying and wonder what I can do.

Our Response:
You have our sympathies at the loss of your friend. It is good however, that you are willing to acknowledge your emotions and face death head on. So many people try to ignore and avoid looking into the one thing that we will all face. Moreover, you don’t know how long your life will last. There is no such thing as a contract with God guaranteeing a long and healthy life. But here’s the good news: There is an answer for death and you can find it in this lifetime.

Knowing this, you do not have to block your emotions. Rather you can use them as the fuel and determination that you need to challenge conventional wisdom and to look at life afresh. After all, conventional wisdom says that you are limited to a body and of course the body will die. But are you really limited to a body, or is there more to you than meets the eye? The way you find this more-ness is by discovering what you really are.

You are space-like consciousness
To give you a sense as to what self discovery is like, if space said, “I am afraid that when this room gets demolished I will die,” what would your reply be? “No you are much more that this room. You exist inside of it, outside of it and even in the walls. When the room gets demolished you will merge with all space, and become like you are even now.”
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Making Your Wisdom Come Alive is a guide to waking up to your innate freedom. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory. See our fully revised second edition.

For more information go to:Amazon.com

Also now you can read this book on your Kindle or other electronic device. Please go to Amazon Kindle.

 ___________________________________________________________________

You can give this same advice to yourself. That’s because you are the space-like consciousness that sees limitation. You are not the one caught in it. Whether it is the body or the thoughts in your mind, you are more than the limitations that you face.

You are the still reference point for change

Freedom from Suffering

Hidden in Bill’s question on energy below is the opportunity for us to soar to the magnificent heights of our own Self-Nature:

Hey Michael,
Sorry I haven't gotten back to you sooner. What a strange year I have had. Basically I've been walking around the past year convinced that just about everyone can hear my thoughts, that people were trying to steal my soul (which stemmed from a popular song) and that basically my death was imminent. What a crazy terrible year! I was thinking today and realized that basically sounds schizophrenic. And the better part of me knows it. The past month or so I've been steering towards normal, and it's getting better. My energy level is much lower and easier to manage and live with than earlier in the year when it was really hard to get things done. Just two questions for you, am I having a kundalini awakening or did my sticky figuring mind just get the best of me again.

And 2, if it is kundalini, is a normal run of the mill life out of the question? I feel like that’s one thing I did figure out the last year, I have a lot of work and lessons to learn still and am hoping I can live a long basic life. Thanks always for listening.
Bill

Hi Bill,

Thanks for updating me on your life and meditation practice. For the purpose of this answer, I am going to assume that you chose to pursue Self-Knowledge. This does not mean that you will never have energy experiences like Kundalini; but if you do have them they will be a mere a side effect, and not the main goal of your meditation practice. If these energy experiences occur, just step out of the way and let them pass through. Don’t attempt to harness the energy, block it, or encourage it. Energy experiences can teach you valuable lessons, but they are not the real purpose of life. Just let them go and return to your practice of self-discovery.

As you are seeing, your thoughts are not a reliable home; anything can happen to them. Side effects from medications, chemical imbalances in the body, and diseases can cause radical changes in your thoughts. You may be able to prevent these changes or you may not. But don’t worry, there is hope for you. Here’s the key: your real home is not in your mind, it is in your Self-Nature. Did you know that your real nature is the Consciousness and Bliss that’s right at you center. You don’t perceive this Consciousness and Bliss like you see an object or a thought. You know Consciousness and Bliss in a more direct way — you know it because you are it.

Your identity does not move
It is easy to overlook your real identity because unlike thoughts, your identity does not move. Thus the only way to know your-self is by being your-self. So call the movers and get ready to move into your new spacious mansion, a house that is not bounded by the thoughts in your mind. This will surely be your last move. Whether it’s schizophrenic, soul, or even death, none of the definitions that the mind comes up with apply here. This is the Peace that passes all understanding. Here you discover that the peace and normalcy that you are looking for comes from what you are and not from your thoughts.

There is one other thing to investigate. As you may know from reading my blogs the frameworks that people look through skew their experience. I want you to give up the framework that the world and the people in it are out to get you. People often pickup this concept from their family when they are children; it is us against the world. Sometimes this concept comes from other problems that their family has. But once they learn that the world is their enemy, people seem to drag it around like huge rock around their neck. But there is a way out. If you can take a conscious look at this framework it will fall apart. You will notice that this concept is just a bunch of thoughts glued together by your belief in them.

We are connected by love
For instance your belief that people can hear your thoughts and are somehow using them to do you harm or kill you. But you don’t even like your thoughts that much, so why would others be interested in them? And even if they were interested in your thoughts why would they kill you because of them. At the most they would wish you another kind of death: the death of limitation so that you can be reborn as your innate freedom.

When you meditate on this you might start off by noticing that when people experience happiness it is in the same place as you, right in their heart. As with love, the wisdom that you find in the world comes from a place that rises above and is beyond thoughts.

You can experience heaven right here on earth
In the end you will get a deep sense for the meaning of oneness. The quality of connection between human beings is so deep that it is unfathomable. I think you will find that if you let go of this one little concept that keeps you, the world and people separate, your meditation practice will soar to such heights that you will never again care about Kundalini. Whether you have these energy experiences or not will make little difference to you. That’s because you will find that you can experience heaven right here on earth.

Asking Questions
If this blog seems a little theoretical to you, ask questions. Then you will see how the explanations in this blog apply to your life. And the freedom that you find will be real. Questioning is the key to your freedom. You’ll see that when you question limitation, it falls away.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. Of course, to preserve confidentiality your name will be left off . I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it. When you can ask, you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Also for more detailed explanations and examples read through these blogs or get my book, Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. 
 
Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Born to Eternal Life

It is in dying that we are born to eternal life

You might recognize this as the last verse in The Prayer of Saint Francis of Assisi. This verse is a description of enlightenment, so you may wonder what it means.  Does it mean physical death or is Saint Francis talking about another type of death that you can experience now even while you’re alive? Today I am going to describe what it’s like to die before you die. Let me assure you that even if I describe it here, when you experience this, you will be surprised.  That’s because it’s beyond the mind’s ability to anticipate this death. But that being said, it is well within your ability to experience dying so that you will be born to eternal life, and never die again.

The reason that this type of death may seem subtle is because of what you really are. You are not an object; after all, objects are things that you sense, they are not what you are. Moreover, compared to eternal life, objects are too limited. When you take them as your identity, they are like a shoe that doesn’t fit, they become irritating. When you die to limitation you finally get to feel the relief of coming home.

The relief of coming Home
If you take your space-like boundless identity and project it onto the things that you see, then you will feel limited by these things. This is like assuming that a clear crystal is red because you see it against the back-drop of a red curtain, or assuming that the nature of water is brown because it is mixed with mud. But here’s the secret that most people overlook: the one thing that you can’t see, that is what you are.

The Mind in Meditation

Recently I was excited to read a book on meditation because the author had some experiences and was not merely an intellectual. But I was disappointed to find that he had two separate pockets, one for his meditations, and one for his experiences. Even though he had deeper experiences, the author brought lock stock and barrel into the traditional misunderstandings about meditation. And in the end he admitted that you shouldn’t meditate too much or you will limit your experiences.

The reason for this author’s confusion was that he unknowingly was talking from two different centers. His meditation advice came from a state of mind, and his experiences come from his original state transcending thought.

Make your meditations into a one step process
So his meditation process involved first purifying the mind and then looking into your awareness. Here’s where those of us with self knowledge can smile a little, because we can see exactly what he is doing. He is relegating awareness to a state of mind, while in reality Awareness transcends all states of mind as Awarness is another name for your own self-nature. Once awareness becomes a state of mind then comes the endless preparations necessary to find this awareness. And your meditation practice seems to go up and down with your thought waves.

So here are some of the prerequisites that he gave with the hope that you can stabilize something that is naturally in motion. First eat the proper diet, then breathe correctly, relax the various points called chakras, and then quiet the mind and finally you are ready to look into awareness.

Before doing anything, look afresh
But here is the real secret for purifying the mind. If you simply take a fresh look at your mind, you will find that it is intrinsically pure. And that’s before you do anything to it. Of course we know what our thoughts say, but did you ever take a look to see what your mind is in itself? Is it really just a bunch of thoughts? What color is it and what is it shape? What is the sound that belongs to mind in itself?

If you run a blank you will have come face to face with that crystal clear thing called mind. A little discovery like this will bring the thing that you hope to obtain much closer to what you are now. In the end you will see that a pure mind is not the opposite of thoughts. With or without the thing that you call thoughts, your mind is already the purity that you are looking for.

You shine by your own light
Furthermore, once you discover the nature of your mind, you will not have to look for a separate awareness. The nature of your mind is awareness. It is clear and shines by its own timeless self. Although you can’t see your mind as a separate thing, it sees all. You know it because you are it, without the need for a separate knower. This is a description of your bright ever-shinning original mind.

So in your meditation abide as the thing that you are, and you can do away with the prerequisites. And best of all you will find that your deepest experience and your everyday meditations will be exactly the same. Although thoughts and your deepest experiences may at times may seem separate, in the end they get sewn into one pocket. And the name embroidered on that pocket is “I”, unseen yet abiding forever in its own light.

Asking Questions
If this blog seems a little theoretical to you, ask questions. Then you will see how the explanations in this blog apply to your life. And the freedom that you find will be real. Questioning is the key to your freedom. You’ll see that when you question limitation, it falls away.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it. When you can ask, you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Also for more detailed explanations and examples read through these blogs or get my book, Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. 
 
Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants, can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Freedom from Limitation

Most people that I talk with don’t realize how free they can be. If a person could find a way to clear out the frameworks that seem to keep him or her in limitation, their true potential would reveal itself by itself. In case you think that you are a limited person, did you know that you are the source of wisdom and bliss? The freedom that we talk about here is remarkable; it is complete freedom from the situations that seem to cause suffering.

This freedom has the quality of being unexpected but welcome. It does not depend on changing the situations that you blame as the cause of suffering. In other words if you change your partner in your relationship or not, whether you change your job or not, whether you work or retire and even if you are sick and in pain you can still be at peace. That’s because the freedom described here comes from the depths of your being and not from the situations that you face. Indeed this freedom is even deeper than the condition of your mind and body.

What you can see you are free of
So you may wonder, “How can I clear out the frameworks that seem to keep me in limitation?” The first step is to simply recognize them. The limitations and suffering that you take to be natural are not natural at all. The thing that glues them together is your belief in them. When you can finally see frameworks as frameworks and not as reality you dissolve the glue that holds these frameworks together and they disappear. Now here’s the most interesting thing: there is no other step necessary; you don’t have to use positive thinking or the force of will. That’s because you are the seer of limitation, not the one caught in it. So when you recognize a limited view as limitation and not as reality you automatically return to your natural place as awareness, free from the limitation that you see. 

So use your natural curiosity and question suffering. After all only peace and joy feel natural. Suffering has a cause and you can find that cause. You might see it as your view of the world, the view of your mind, or your view of yourself. Once you see these frameworks you’ll be in for a surprise. The situations that are supposed to cause suffering just won’t bother you anymore.

You don't have to apply force to make this fundamental change. All you have to do is recognize limitation for what it is—assumed limitation. The rest of this practice occurs beyond your mind and will. Returning to your natural freedom, all of the problems that life seems to bring get released. You are left with nothing but freedom and a joy that your mind just can’t fathom. And you think, “I’m supposed to have problems and here I am in utter joy!”

Asking Questions
If this blog seems a little theoretical to you ask questions. Then you will see how the explanations in this blog apply to your life. And the freedom that you find will be real. Questioning is the key to your freedom. You’ll see that when you question limitation, it falls away.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Also for more detailed explanations and examples read through these blogs or get my book, Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. 
 
Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Dying into the Deathless Spirit

Below is a quote from Gitanjali  (an offering of songs) by Rabindranath Tagore. I am sure you will find that the beauty of these words shine forth by themselves. I hope you will enjoy them fully,  by resting in the place that they point to.

Gitanjali

I dive down into the depth of the ocean of forms, hoping to gain the perfect pearl of the formless.

No more sailing from harbor to harbor with this my weather-beaten boat. The days are long past when my sport was to be tossed on waves.

And now I am eager to die into the deathless.

Into the audience hall by the fathomless abyss where swells up the music of toneless strings I shall take this harp of my life.

I shall tune it to the notes of forever, and when it has sobbed out its last utterance, lay down my silent harp at the seat of the silent.

by Rabindranath Tagore produced by Chetan Jain, Viswas G and Anand Rao at Bharat Literature

These verses are from near the end Tagore's poem where he heads towards the end of his life. Also these verses describe another type of dissolution into the unseen and unheard form that has no boundaries, the perfect pearl of the formless, your very nature.

These verses are a wonderful description of self discovery. With a little explanation you too can experience that which he so beautifully describes and die into the deathless. The problem is that here on earth we tend to forget the thing that we are, and take ourselves to be the objects that we see. The culprits that we identify with most are the physical body and states of mind. We also take our self to be the thought I. Self discovery is returning to our rightful place, our real nature. 

How can you possibly know that which has no form?
Now you might ask, “Why would I mix myself up with an object; after all I am what I am, aren’t I?” The answer is that you are that perfect pearl of the formless, the harp that plays silent music. This is something that is beyond the ability of your senses, and the thoughts in your mind to grasp. Senses and thoughts are designed to look out and see objects that are either physical or mental. There is no sense designed to look back at the ultimate seer, which is the steady unflinching Consciousness that lights up the mind and makes it knowable. If you attempt to turn your eyes around and look at Consciousness, you will just end up with a headache and not the silent Consciousness that you are.

So now you might ask, “If I can’t sense or think myself, how can I possibly know myself?” If you ask this question you are on the right track. You know yourself because you are yourself, without the need for a separate knower. Like the sun, you shine by your own light without the need for a separate light.

The still place that sees the ever-changing universe
Self inquiry is returning to the state that sees form but has no form of its own. It is a matter of disengaging from the little pets that you take to be you and returning to your formless state. Whether it’s a quiet mind or a mind that contains certain thoughts, the fact is that any state of mind is just an object that you see and not you. This means that the ultimate spiritual practice is returning to that which you are the whole time. Spiritual practice is not self purification.

The weather-beaten boat tossed on the waves is identification with the body. Dying into the deathless is returning to that which was never born and will never die. It is the still place that sees the ever-changing universe; and when the universe disappears, standing here you remain in perfect peace as the deathless spirit.  

For more detailed explanations and examples read through these blogs or get my book, Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. Also feel free to ask questions. Questioning is the key to your freedom. You’ll see that when you question limitation, it falls away.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Spending Time away From this Computer

This week we went on a retreat into the hills of Northern California. There was no cell phone connection, and no internet. We were cut off from the modern world. In some ways it was like being dead. Although we were doing fine, except for the beauty around us we were out of contact with the world. This leads to several questions: first of all, “When I crave all of the distractions that come with my cell phone, the millions of websites and the thousands of TV shows and videos at my disposal, what do I hope to find?” Or more to the point, “What am I running away from?”

If you have read these blogs before, you know and may have discovered afresh for yourself that the sparkling sense of existence that seems to come from the world actually comes from you. Also the happiness that seems to come from objects actually comes from the place where you experience happiness, your own self-nature. For more information on this go to: Inspire Me Today. 

You are the seer of limitation not the one caught in it _____________________________________________________________________________________

Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory. See our fully revised second edition.

For more information go to:Amazon.com

Also now you can read this book on your Kindle or other electronic device. Please go to Amazon Kindle.

 ___________________________________________________________________

So what happens when you find yourself away from the things in the world that keep you distracted? Are you at ease without your usual distractions? Or are you tempted to run back into town to watch that TV show, get your email, and make a phone call? But before you run anywhere ask why? Are you afraid of the thoughts coming up in your mind like “What happens when I die?” Or do you feel that the world is a scary or threatening place? Do you feel bored when you are not busy? The great thing about this type of questioning is that once you discover the thing that bothers you, you are on the verge of releasing it. That’s because assumptions survive by lack of questioning. When you recognize the thing that is really bothering you, by your wisdom, you are able to stop identifying with it. That’s when you return to your natural state of freedom as the seer of limitation.

I am sure that you know that you are the seer of limitation, not the one caught in it. Since your nature is freedom, limitation feels constricting like a shoe that doesn’t fit. That’s why when you identify with limitation you find yourself attempting to escape from it by running after all of the distractions you can find. But even the thousand TV shows at your disposal are not enough. If on the other hand you can inquire into and see the assumptions that cause your suffering, you can stop the frantic running and return to your home, your natural state.

At the time of death the world disappears, not you!
So if you enjoy meditation, I would recommend spending some time away from the world of modern electronics. Are you really missing something that’s important? Instead of picking up that cell phone to make a call, or clicking on one more link, just sit and enjoy bliss at its source. You will find that you can enjoy the wisdom and bliss that does not depend on the things in the world. This wisdom springs from your identity.

And you will know that even when you pass away nothing really changes. It is more like the phone line that connects you with the world gets cut. Although the world disappears your sense of existence remains the same. What you are you always were and always will be. When you wake up you find that the character in the dream was really nothing at all.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Expanding Your Mind

Did you ever have a mind expanding experience where life seemed to come in close and get amplified in ways that you could barely describe; an experience punctuated by waves of bliss? Are you curious about what actually happened to your mind? How did it actually expand? You might be surprised to know that your mind did not really expand. Rather what you thought was an experience, was really a glimpse into your natural state. But because it seemed to have a beginning and an end, you thought that that it was an experience.

Your next question might be how can I get back there again and that’s where the trouble starts. Your question implies that you are somehow separate from the state that you were in. Your assumption was that you were a person having a great experience. And based on that assumption, you look for ways to get back again. You might ask, “Was it the way I was sitting or that my eyes were open or closed; was it the tree that I was sitting under or the position of the sun as it set over the hills?” “Maybe,” you might think, “it was my breathing or the thoughts or lack of thoughts in my mind. Was it perhaps the drug that I took?”

Once you determine what you think the causes of the experience were, you try to setup and repeat those conditions, with the hope of returning to that wonderful state. And if you fail in your efforts you bring in self judgment: “I must be deficient.”

The five keys to the kingdom
_____________________________________________________________________________________

Give the gift of enlightenment when you give Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. This book points to the wisdom and joy that you find at your center. Here you can find the light that makes life shine in its full glory. See our fully revised second edition.

For more information go to:Amazon.com

Also now you can read this book on your Kindle or other electronic device. Please go to Amazon Kindle.

 ___________________________________________________________________

Today I am going to give you the four keys to the kingdom so you never have to come down and suffer again. So are you ready? First, you are what you seek! So if you want to expand your mind fully, and get back to your highest states, find out who you really are.

Second, you are not an object. Assuming that you are an object, life seems divided and you feel limited. When you look into it deeply, you will find that all the factors mentioned above as possible causes for your experience are just objects that you see and not the real conditions. Whether it is factors in your environment, body, or mind, these are only the conditions of objects. You are the space-like ever-free Awareness that sees them. You are not the one caught by their limitations. The cause of your experience was your identity, not some object that you saw.

Moreover you do not sense yourself like you sense an object by sight, sound, touch, taste, or smell. You are not a thought either. You know yourself because you are yourself. This is the essence of direct experience. As soon as you attempt to capture yourself in the same way that you sense an object, you bump into limitation and feel as if your experience is disappearing. 

The third key is that it is your view of the objects that you sense that keep you stuck in limitation.  For instance if you feel that the world is a dark or scary place, you will not be able to enjoy the oneness that underlies it and makes it up.

The forth key is that when you see a limitation as limitation and not you, you are freed from that limitation. The only thing you have to do is see these limitations for what they really are. That will take the apparent power out of them and you will naturally return to what you really are.

The most subtle object is the thought I. Once you see that this thought is just a thought and not the real you, you will have eliminated the anchor that drags you back into limitation. That’s when there will be nothing left to come back to.

Use these keys to return to your real experience
So in your meditations and in your life try to use these keys to free yourself from the suffering and limitation that you feel. When you seem to come down from your high experiences, take some time and determine what you are coming back to. Is it a physical body or a state of mind? Perhaps it’s a view of the world. When you finally see that limitation is just that – limitation, and not a real definition for you, you will be in for a surprise. Without even trying, you and your most expanded experiences will be one.

For more detailed explanations and examples read through these blogs or get my book, Making Your Wisdom Come Alive. Also feel free to ask questions. Questions are the bonus key to your freedom. You’ll see that when you question limitation it falls away.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

A fresh view for a New Year

Now at the New Year it’s time to take a fresh view of life. Some people think that its spirituality that makes life boring. After all who would want to sit all day and play the harp? But upon further examination I think you will find that it’s the constraints that we impose on top of life that give it that same old – same old feeling.

So what happens when you throw off those constraints like worn out clothing? It defies your thought process to come up with an answer, doesn’t it? When life becomes unpredictable in this way it becomes fascinating.  The only thing you can know for sure is that life partakes of a deep harmoney and will turn out just right.

Of course there is no guarantee that you will become rich or famous or successful in any way. After all if you could predict the results of looking at life afresh, then it wouldn’t be fresh. I can only guarantee that life is different than you think. That’s because the changes that you experience will come from a different and surprising angle.

Your experience is different than you think
You will experience the harmony that actually takes care of everything in the universe, even you. And this harmony does not come from objects. Rather it comes from a deep connection that you notice when you allow yourself to be present. In this presence you get to see the magnificent beauty that underlies the universe. From here you get to see the harmony that really takes care of us. This is where words fall short and you have to go by your direct experience.

As an example, here is an experiment that you can try to go you beyond the limitations of the thoughts in your mind, and to show you clearly how your experience is different from what you think: Where do you experience the world anyway? At first blush you might think that I am over here and the world is over there. But let’s sneak a peek into what you actually experience and see if it matches your thoughts. After all if the world was really over there then you wouldn’t see it.

This is where your wisdom comes alive
That means is order to experience the world it has to be over here. So where is it? See if you can experience the place that these words point. When you see an object, like a camera, your eye takes a picture of it. The picture is transmitted through the optic nerve, to your brain, and from your brain to your mind and you see your mind. See if you can find the place where you really experience the world. I think you will be amazed to see that the world is really in here and not out there. Incidentally, you can also try this experiment with your sense of hearing, and your other senses too.

So in your meditation practice and in your life try this experiment. You will then understand what I mean when I say that your wisdom can come alive. These words are not the product of a dead religion. They are the product of living experiential truth. When you find the place that these words point to, boredom will quickly leave, and your life will become interesting and exciting.

Asking Question
As always feel free to ask questions. It is only when you don’t ask that you get to live in assumed limitations. When you can ask you are well on your way to freeing yourself from the limitations that seem to cause your suffering.

Here questions about this article or other things going on in your life are always welcome; you can write us at michael@ananya.com. I love questions and try to answer them all in this blog. That’s because when you start to question limitation, you are on the verge of destroying it.

Please Tell Your Friends
Please tell you friends. Although we don’t have an advertising budget, we hope that everyone who wants to can find out about and wake up to this wisdom.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman