On the path to enlightenment. You are not your mind

How to find the path to enlightenment? How to walk the path of self-improvement, and what task should be worked on?
First of all, you need to constantly monitor your internal dialogue and work on turning it off, find an understanding of what exactly prevents you from doing this. The result of such constant observation will be the awareness of obstacles. After that you need:

• learn to use the will;
• use inner intention;
• make efforts and learn to remove what does not allow you to turn off the internal dialogue.

And the moment you can do this, you will be able to ascend to a new level.

What to do to break the circle of death and get out of it?

First you need to see what is the reason for walking in a closed cycle of births and deaths. Attachments lead to this. They force people to be born again and again, and, consequently, to suffer again and again and inevitably die. What is the cause of attachment? This is our restless attitude towards things. We forget that the material is not eternal, we harbor many hopes and become like people from the times of communism. After all, these illusions are not destined to come true. They can also be embodied, but in a completely different way, and not as in our ideas.

Disappointed in his hopes, a person says to himself: “Well, how long will this continue? My life is one of constant suffering. The utopias and unfulfilled hopes created during the building of communism I still carry through my life, and this only makes me unhappy.” A person will overcome both death and birth only if he can:

• give up your illusions;
• give up hope
• get rid of attachments.

After that, he will be able to break out of the circle of suffering and find a direct path to enlightenment. After all, birth gives rise to other illusions, and death in them again disappoints.

One more fact is surprising: people are attached to their hopes and fantasies much more strongly than to the surrounding things of the material world. Everything that allows us to live worries us much less than our own unrealizable illusions. And when a person manages to give up his dreams, renounce his hopes, he will come to the conclusion that he no longer wants to suffer and hope for anything. It is then that he will reach the state of awakening, the Buddha, will take the path to enlightenment and see the world in its real manifestation. This delivers from the cycle of endless suffering, birth and death.

What to do if you can only stop the internal dialogue for a short time? Are there practices that will help prolong this state?

First, the internal dialogue stop lasts for seconds. And in order to stop it, it is necessary to make huge efforts many times during the day. Watches will be a good helper in this matter. You can set the alarm to sound after a short period of time, for example, to sound every 5-10 minutes. This will always remember to stop the internal dialogue. In this case, the efforts will accumulate, and the gaps of consciousness free from thoughts will increase.

Concentration on your body and breath allows you to focus on sensations. Force yourself to control your inhalation and exhalation, to pay attention to the sounds around you, or to look at things with a defocused eye. Such practices impede internal dialogue and help stop it. But it takes thousands of attempts throughout the day to achieve a result.

Is there a way to quickly achieve firmness and confidence?

It is impossible to develop these qualities without taking the initiative. Passive behavior will only lead to the fact that you leave a sense of self-confidence. The more active and proactive you are, the more confidence you fill. Then there is energy to do things. You will be followed by people who take a more passive position in their lives.

In fact, our path does not begin with the acquisition of psychic skills, but with a subconscious desire to free ourselves from the heaviness and wretchedness of our consciousness. Outwardly, it looks like dissatisfaction with oneself and the world. Understanding that you are unhappy is the starting point for a shift in consciousness. When a person is satisfied with his life, he will not even think about changing himself. Why do something when it's so good? Letting go of the old energies in us begins with disappointment. This is a hard-won quality that has real power. Frustration and dissatisfaction with oneself is the final stage of the old cycle. A cycle is when a new energy comes to replace the old energy. In us, after stagnation, an impulse to move is born. Usually during this period the third center (will) becomes more active. We have the energy to shift our stagnant life. This state can be called our intention. At this time, we can really shift our consciousness. After all, we act according to intuition and will, and not under the influence of the mind and emotions.

Of course, we must determine who wants to change in us: the mind-ego or the power of intention. If the first, then nothing will come of it. The mind quickly lights up with a new idea, then also quickly cools down to it, because in the imagination everything is done quickly and easily, but in reality, strong-willed and physical effort is also needed.

If we act with intent, we will eventually shift our consciousness into a new perception. Of course, we still need to calm the mind in order to listen to our feelings without interference, since in this state it is easier to determine which energies are interfering with us. So step by step, spinning the flywheel of intention and "turning on" the consciousness of the body, we will overcome the kilometers of the way.

The beginning and end of a life stage is not difficult to determine. At the beginning of a new cycle, we feel a surge of energy. The world around us seems big and beautiful: with new opportunities for us. By the end of the energy cycle, we come internally tired and loaded with other people's programs. There is a lack of energy in everything: we quickly get tired of everything, especially of those energies that have already been worked out. It can be anything: from a specific person, from outdated views to the place where we live.

The spent energies of human life every year burden our path more and more. At this time, we become sensitive to falsehood and insincerity. Due to the discrepancy between the inner world and the outer, we can be irritable and emotionally unstable. Intolerance is growing in us. This suggests that we intuitively began to understand that our personal power is brazenly used against ourselves, forcing us to live by the opinion of the majority, the purpose of which is only to consume.

On this wave of intolerance, we need to decide on alien connections that interfere with life. First, to see the problems that lie on the surface of consciousness, which they have long known about, but did not admit to themselves about it. It can be an unloved job, an imposed debt to someone, or fear for the future. Then we track down all kinds of complexes, attachments in the depths of our consciousness and begin to work with them.

In order to really be happy, you need to be free from the opinion of society and from your already worked out slags (past experience). Our happiness directly depends on the amount of life force. If all the energy flows away to support other people's views and preferences, then we feel unhappy. We owe this, we owe that... Feelings of imposed duty are the hole where our energy flows. Another thing is when we consciously, voluntarily assume certain obligations to specific people or society. Here we do not lose energy, but rather strengthen it, as this is our choice. Again...is it our choice? After all, everything with which we come into contact in this reality has its reverse side. Therefore, you need to be attentive and sincere to yourself in order to see that this is precisely our desire, and not imposed from outside.

There are things we can't just pick up and throw away. This applies to strong attachments and desires. Sometimes you have to work on them all your life. Most likely, this world is just created so that we are up to our necks mired in all this "shit", and then steadfastly overcome it. Therefore, the main thing is to accept our situation and then there will be no haste and attachment to the correct path.

Usually, we famously "rush" into the battle for awareness and quickly cool down when we realize that everything is not as simple as they write and say. Years pass, and we are the same as we were. Yes... we have become more informative, acquired certain qualities: we have learned to meditate correctly, but in the very human essence, we have not changed at all. We are also emotionally entangled in the general network of society. Some positive calls in the form: love, do not judge, be humble and so on - do not change yourself. A person, while still in the old energy, under the impression of exalted words, tries emotionally to do something new. For example: without getting rid of the consumption program, practice visualization for wealth and harmony, thereby thinking that you are improving spiritually. He just saw new opportunities to satisfy his desires. Outwardly, a person seems to strive for spirituality, but subconsciously wants the same thing as millions of ordinary people - to consume. You can buy different brands, feeling cool, or you can collect esoteric souvenirs from different countries, go to India, to some fashionable ashram, to be closer to the "enlightened ones", thinking that it elevates you. A person who considers himself spiritual, in fact, subconsciously seeks everything the same as everyone else - bread and circuses. There is nothing wrong with this if a person is well aware of his true desires and actions, not hiding behind an esoteric facade, that is, he realizes that this is just another hobby.

Undoubtedly, wise words give us inspiration. But inspiration is an unstable thing, unsteady, like a mirage. After our take-off on the wings of emotional positivity, we will definitely meet with its reverse side - negativity. We will look for inspiration outside: in books, seminars, in the company of exalted people, but not within ourselves, because we subconsciously do not believe in our strength. This may be due to the fact that we do not yet have an individual experience of the Vision and we still doubt the chosen path. Faith in oneself comes after a concrete spiritual experience and overcoming the inert energies in us. For example, when we overcome our laziness, which the mind cleverly justifies by the practice of not doing, or when we begin to work with our health.

Therefore, it is better to sincerely accept yourself as you are, and not to seem better by imitating the positive images of the spiritual path. Now many have learned to speak beautifully, to "sculpt" a spiritualized face, and also to imitate the work of the heart center. But in reality they are no better than the people they think they are leading to the light.

If you remember the life-existence of the saints, then they sinned at the beginning of their lives, and when they "lit up", they began to teach others how not to sin, as if a person can bypass the stage of "sin" only by listening to the wise speeches of the enlightened. We are born already "in sin" - in a program where mistakes are life itself. Therefore, when you realize that you are standing on a pile of “shit” and that it doesn’t smell like French perfume, then go on your way ... If you think that you are standing on a flower bed, surrounded by love, then continue to stand further: why go anywhere? then move when there is a solid idyll around.

The first conscious step is a simple fixation with our attention of the old spent energies. We already feel with our whole body the stuffiness and wretchedness of our consciousness and a passionate desire at the level of the body to get rid of energy slags. Find freedom from everything false in us.

As soon as we realize this, something inside us, as if by itself, switches (it can even be a physical sensation in the body), and we feel how some force begins to push us forward into the unknown. This means that at this moment our long-suffering desire for freedom and the intention of the Spirit merged into one stream. At this time, cleansing practices, both energetic and physical (the practice of letting go), are well suited.

This is an important step, without which we will stagnate for a long time. Our intention resonates with the intention of the higher Self, and at this moment help comes to us in the form of revelations and additional energy. We are simply bursting with the desire to gain purity of consciousness. As they say - "God help us."

Spirit shifts our consciousness only when we are ready for it. Our readiness is the complete elimination of old energies and the acceptance of new ones. It is not the mind that determines our readiness, but the cells of the body. This means that we have worked off most of the karma, freed up space in the mind for a new portion of energy.

At the same time, when our attention is between the old and new energy (zero zone), the "third eye" (vision) opens, and we, according to our level of consciousness, receive illumination by the Spirit. It can be an astral exit, a meeting with the cosmic family of light, with your higher self, or simply an intuitive feeling of yourself as being out of form. The spirit, having shown us a "beautiful picture" of the divine world, finally convinces us of its reality. Because of what our faith becomes autonomous, independent of external factors, such as religion, or other teachings. Blind faith in authorities is being replaced by a sober attitude towards the world.

We can gain faith in our own Power only when we get an individual experience of enlightenment. In the meantime, this is not there, we intuitively look for the Force on the side. We think that she is hiding somewhere on the planet, at a seminar of a popular guru, or in channeled information - as if after reading the next message, we will suddenly be "torn" and we will be enlightened.

Enlightenment is like insight. Suddenly spontaneously (for the earthly consciousness) we begin to see the real living world. As if our eyes had just opened, although before that we were also sure that they were open and that we were seeing the real world. But after the spiritual eyes have cleared up, we immediately notice a big difference. The new world is huge and alive, shimmering with bright colors, fills the consciousness with love and understanding, and the old one squeezes out the last drops of luminosity from it with its mechanistic existence. After such a strong experience, more like awakening from a dream, a clear conviction is born in a person in the artificiality and primitiveness of the earthly world in comparison with the divine reality.

This conviction gives a person additional energy to overcome all difficulties on the way. Now he is not afraid of the forces that could turn him off the intended route, and there are no earthly riches for the sake of which he would leave his path. After such an experience, a person with all the fibers of his soul will strive for a new perception that he was lucky to experience.

The spirit has done its job - it has shifted the focus of a person's attention in order to show him a new boundless platform for development. It is enough for a person to catch a glimpse of the divine world, and he will go to it until the end of his earthly life. He finally finds a real goal to strive for. And this goal is not somewhere beyond the horizon, in some ghostly paradise or in a parallel civilization of the supermind, but in itself: in its focus of consciousness.

This state can be called the birth of the strength of a warrior. This is the fulcrum, or the core around which the further practice of the warrior will wind. This is another important step on the path to awareness. Only relying on our will, we can go further.

Enlightenment is just the bait of the Spirit. So to say, the Spirit catches us, people, on the live bait, having swallowed which we will never let go. And while we firmly hold on to the bait in the form of enlightenment, the Spirit, in the meantime, will test us for strength, palming off various everyday problems. For example, once you have declared that you are no longer afraid of anything, situations will surely arise to test your fearlessness. Or, say, after enlightenment, you can maintain your awareness when ordinary people live around you. A particularly strong impact comes from loved ones who will convince you every day that you are doing nonsense, while others are making a career and money.

Enlightenment cannot last long. After the lumen of truth, we will definitely slide back into our familiar everyday world in order to properly work out our dark side. Only by illuminating our essence, we will see that there is also a dark side of truth in us, which does not want a new world, it even fears it, like a mole of daylight. It is more accustomed to her to live in a narrow hole of squalor, which seems to her cozy and sweet. Indeed, for our dark side, this is a familiar habitat in which our understanding of happiness and love lives. It has its own smells and warm relations between similar creatures. Everything is native here, everything is our own. This dark side of consciousness is our earthly personality, which consists of the body, emotions and mind. It is with her that the enlightened consciousness has to work, for which the world of the human personality seems miserable and primitive.

After the shift of consciousness, first you need to calm the earthly mind, accustom it to a larger volume of light, which carries a huge portion of new information. Therefore, new knowledge is gradually adapted to human perception. Just as a person, after a long stay in darkness, must slowly become accustomed to daylight, so also must, after enlightenment, become accustomed to the universal intense light; otherwise his human mind can go crazy.

This is a new step towards a new perception - working with the mind.

We can say that from this moment a person embarks on the path of a warrior. He understands what he has to fight. This battle is not with an insidious enemy in the form of alien aliens, but with your own illusions and mirages. He, like Don Quixote, has to fight the windmills in his mind.

At this stage, we already see that the world is programmed for duality. As our planet has two poles, so our consciousness consists of the light side and the dark, or male and female energy. Therefore, whatever we encounter always has its opposites.

We can no longer categorically state that this is good and this is evil. That those people who meditate are better than those who do not know what it is at all. That a pacifist does more good for mankind than a war hawk; after all, in order to nip in the bud the fire of a big war, sometimes a small war is better. Our lives are a constant balancing act between polarities. As soon as the energy of good is squeezed, it instantly turns into evil, and our earthly love can turn into hatred. And so in everything we encounter in our earthly life, contradiction lives in our very being. We cannot just take and go to one of our halves, trying not to notice the other.

This is another step in our strategy - working with opposites. We learn to be tolerant and humble. Everything has its place and time. What was helpful yesterday may be harmful today. Let's say yesterday we talked about the secret with people close to us in spirit, and everyone felt good about it, since there was an energy flow. Today, the same topic in a conversation with unprepared people will not benefit anyone, on the contrary, it will exhaust us and may annoy others. Therefore, if you want to chat, it is better to "grind" the usual nonsense so as not to attract attention to yourself. So "nonsense" can sometimes be more useful than "wise" speeches.

In the process of life, one center (chakra) begins to dominate in us, then another. For example, when our consciousness is more shifted to the heart center, then at that moment there will be no real practice, because we feel good anyway. Even soap operas on TV seem cute to us. We may even shed a tear at naive love scenes, as our critical mind is lulled by excessive sensuality. At this time, all our spiritual practice will consist mainly of calls to love. It will seem to us that our words about love are very understandable and intelligible, because it is so natural. But as soon as the heart center calms down (so that we work out other chakras), when suddenly we ourselves find ourselves in a world without love. And then we begin to understand that love comes and goes according to its own schedule, and no matter how hard we try to love, nothing works out for us, since the heart center is no longer so active. Still remembering our love, but no longer having it, we begin to push with the mind, which can only repeat - "love will save the world", "we must love everyone and forgive everyone." The mind cannot recreate love - it has a different vibration. In order to attract our sensuality again, you need to shift your attention to the heart center again, and then maybe love will return to us.

When the heart center is not balanced with the will center, then the person is inactive in the physical world. He lives more with feelings. Also, without a strong mind, without sufficient sobriety, a person will create problems for himself from scratch. Because of this, there may be a higher chance of heart disease. The strength of the heart center is heightened sensuality, sometimes turning into unconditional love. This is the state that makes us human, not biorobots.

When our focus of attention shifts to the center of will, we feel how the force begins to push us to action. Our life becomes more active, dynamic. Sometimes it seems that we can really move mountains of inertia and quickly achieve our goal. And those who at this time are sitting in the heart center with an "idiotic" smile on their faces, we want to "kick" with our will - yes, so as not to "slow down"! After all, at this time we do not feel his love, we are at a different point of focus. For us, his sensuality is the usual naive stupidity that prevents us from achieving a happy tomorrow. At this time, we can even feel how we open all the doors with our "stomach" and it seems to us a little more - and our life will be in chocolate. Usually all major leaders have a strong center of will. If they also have a strong mind, they can achieve a lot in the field of modern (speculative) business. If only the heart center, with which it is impossible to deceive people, does not interfere. Therefore, if you want to have big money, sell your "soul to the devil", in the sense of blocking the heart center.

The strong side of the dominance of the center of will is activity in society, achievement of the intended goal, overcoming laziness. The reverse negative side of the will is when we try to control our environment, to impose our will on it, because at this time the will chakra is not balanced with the heart chakra, and therefore we do not have humility and sensuality to understand and accept others.

If only the “third eye” begins to dominate in us, then we can become too detached from the reality of the body into the astral labyrinth. At this time, we will be more involved in astral trips or vivid dreams, but not work on a sense of self-importance. Astral exits were given to us so that our earthly consciousness, having received otherworldly experience, would not be so strongly attached to the materialistic worldview. Usually, after a series of exits to the astral, most people stop exiting so that they can work more with the earthly personality.

To safely travel through the astral labyrinth, we must have a sober mind and worked out desires, otherwise our desires and unbridled emotions can drag us into the lower layers of human unconsciousness. Therefore, it is better to take care of your earthly things first. And lucid dreams, vision, when necessary, will definitely return. And it will not be some kind of lower astral with difficult meetings, but higher spheres where we can really benefit for our soul. And so we just run away from the lessons of life in the virtual reality of the astral plane. And most importantly, we must not forget that after death we will definitely find ourselves in the subtle world - in our native state.

Also, we can be obsessed with what we see, and we can become easy prey for various entities: from egregors to small astral settlers. Where do you think different messiahs and "divine revelations" come from?? Man cannot speak directly to God because of physical laws. The human mind is too small to contain even one divine thought. His mind will just burn out in a split second. If a person is convinced that God is talking to him, then most likely he fell under the influence of astral entities that use his consciousness as a gateway to access our reality. These are not necessarily negative channels... there may be light beings who have their own view of our reality.

Therefore, in order for our vision to be productive, it must necessarily be balanced by the mind, will and heart center. The mind will give sobriety, the will will give stability to consciousness, and the heart center will keep our vision on the vibration of love, and we will not find ourselves with our attention in the astral sump.

If we "settle down" in the head (in the higher centers, or in the mental body), then nothing real will happen except for reasoning and dreams. We will simply be carried away into all sorts of "fixed ideas" or into the philosophizing of the mind. We will increase the mind and internal dialogue, which will clog all other parts of us. The predominance of the mind over the rest of the consciousness is fraught with the creation of artificial worlds, cut off from nature. What we actually notice now.

The strength of the mind is logic: the ability to find the optimal solution, without wasting energy. The weak side is when the mind creates a separate reality from the physical body, since the physical world is too slow for it. Also, the mind, if it is not harmonized with other chakras, intensifies the mind with its internal dialogue. A person who is more fixed by his attention in the mental body becomes very intelligent by earthly standards. Usually these are dogmatic people who understand only their own point of view. All orthodox science consists mostly of wise men.

When the moment of strengthening the throat center comes, then we have the opportunity to manifest inner knowledge into words: into a form understandable to the human mind. We have increased inspiration and more opportunities for self-expression. We are also more interested in external contacts. And without balance with the center of will and heart, we can become too talkative and promiscuous in communication. We're just blabbing all the energy through the throat chakra. For example, when I write my articles, my throat chakra becomes stronger and my voice becomes hoarse and my throat starts to tickle. But since this is not mere chatter, but my intention, other centers are involved in this process. They harmonize my entire inner message. At least I want to believe it.

Well, if the sexual center began to prevail, then it would seem to us that the whole world is obsessed with sex. This especially happens in the spring, when a program is launched to enhance sexual energy in nature, so that there are more physical bodies in the dense world for them to be inhabited by different souls. If a person has weak higher centers at this time, then he will most likely waste his sexual energy on ordinary sex. Without the harmonization of the sexual center with the higher centers, human sexuality ceases to be erotica and the driving force of creativity, but turns into pornography, which deprives a person of vitality. Many have gone further, making the sacrament of sex an ordinary "fitness". This happens when the mind and the sex center dominate, to the detriment of the heart center. After all, it is logical for the mind to relieve stress with sex.

The average person is basically dominated by four centers. It is rooted, sexual, strong-willed and cordial. Therefore, sexual energy is likely to be transformed into creativity. It can be anything: from building a country house to composing another hit. After all, thanks to the same sexual energy, the Universe creates physical forms.

Now I would not like to describe the principle of operation of all chakras, there is a lot of information about this on the Internet, my goal is to focus on the moment of the predominance of some centers over others. For the human mind, the dominance of some centers over others occurs spontaneously. A person does not think about why his condition is constantly changing, since he is busy with more important things - consumption. In order to realize which energies we have more now, we need to be extremely attentive to ourselves, and then we will be able to understand them better. We have to track down which force (chakra) is currently intensifying. To do this, you just need to observe yourself in everyday life. It will be easier for us to practice if we know which center dominates in us. Then we will ride the energy wave of the chakra and will glide like a surfboard. After all, if some force dominates in us, it means that there is a reason for that, which means that we must work it out in full. For example, now the center of will dominates in us, and we, under the impression of certain teachings and people, are trying to practice vision in deep passive meditation. In this state, we will spend more energy on the struggle of our mind with the will, and not on achieving the goal. We will sit and try to force the will to enter into passivity with the mind, meanwhile, our will at this moment has a huge potential for external actions. Therefore, at this time it is better to do physical exercises or do something that you have long wanted to do - say, change jobs. Working with vision does not require volitional and mental effort, on the contrary, our whole nature should, as it were, fall asleep. At this time, only intention should lead us to the goal. It's like a little death or a lucid dream.

This is the next step - working with attention.

If we discard the sense of self-importance, then we will see that a person is a machine. And just like any machine has control levers, so a person has points of influence on his consciousness. In addition to points - chakras, external cycles also affect us: these are day, night, also seasonal fluctuations, and our age cycle. The seasons make us live by their schedule. They press on certain points in our minds for different experiences. For example, in the spring (East), our higher mental centers fall asleep and the heart, volitional and sexual centers begin to become more active. At this time, we want to feel more, create, be more active. In summer (South), we are attracted by nature, recreation, travel. There is a need in us to recharge with positive energy, to strengthen physical bodies. Autumn (West) has a sobering effect on us, the throat and volitional centers begin to work more actively. At this time, it is good to practice letting go (the dying of the worked out experience in us) and work with the will. In winter (North), the crown center and the third eye begin to dominate. At this moment, you want to be less active on the outside and more contemplative on the inside. I would say that winter is the best period for deep meditation and shifts in consciousness. It is easier to get knowledge from above, since nature itself contributes to this.

When we gain integrity, then in addition to harmonizing the chakras, we will be less subject to seasonal influence. Although we will still be influenced by earthly nature (the basic cycles of the matrix), we will already have a different rhythm of life emerging - the cosmic one. We will become people without age. All age cycles can manifest in us at the same time: from a child looking at the world with surprised eyes, to a wise old man whitened by experience. Again, it all depends on our intention and focus. And while there is no integrity in us, we will be different in each age cycle: as if we are not one person, but there are many of us. Therefore, it is so difficult for a 20-year-old boy to understand an adult 50-year-old man. They have different life stages. They are influenced by different Forces. Force pushes one to do, the other to non-doing. One needs to gain experience, the other needs to recapitulate and let go of their past. Accordingly, what is good for one is bad for another.

When the time comes, our energy centers will harmonize and there will be no more jumps from one chakra to another. All centers will have to work in full force and synchrony, in order to then merge into one brightest point, turning three-dimensional space into the experience of the already cosmic being that we will become. Integrity is the synchronous work of all chakras. At this time, we are not thrown from one state to another. We feel in reality three-dimensional: from all sides - at the same time - we see the same thing with its opposites as one whole. For example, we will see that there are negative desires behind the beautiful right words, or a good soul is hiding behind the outward stupid face. Also, we will no longer have excessive demands on people and, of course, on our loved ones. We condemn ourselves because we think that others are better than us, not seeing their ugly sides behind the external beautiful facade of our idols. Similarly, we criticize and judge others just because we think we are better.

The critic dies in us only when we begin to see in ourselves what we so zealously hated in others. No other is given. A person will not be able to accept his neighbor just like that, only out of one desire to be better. Only after passing through his dark side, a person begins to understand that there are only good and bad people on earth. The physics of our world just consists of duality - plus and minus. Therefore, it is useless to waste strength in order to keep one of the polarities in oneself. We are magnetic beings, with a negative and a positive pole. And those who aspire only to the plus, the Force will push them back, as the same poles are repelled.

For example, you want to be spiritual and kind people and you have an image that you look up to. Accordingly, you increase the demand not only for yourself, but also for those close to you. Let's say your husband (wife) does not want to become a vegetarian, and the more you put pressure on him (her), lecture him (her) about the usefulness of such a diet, the stronger rejection grows in him (her). Misunderstanding and irritation flares up between you, i.e. what actually happened? You wanted the best: to be brighter, cleaner together, but it turned out the other way around - a quarrel and disagreements. This suggests that sometimes our desires contradict the external currents of forces. Instead of accepting (when you connect a plus with a minus), we try to impose our own when we stubbornly want to connect a plus with a plus, which, in fact, should not be together.

This is one more step on the way - understanding that there are external Forces that are not subject to us.

Acceptance is not inaction and self-indulgence. A conscious work to separate the wheat from the chaff. We intuitively always know when we are trying to deceive ourselves. When we give out wishful thinking. And therefore "better the bitter truth than the sweet lie."

Each of our steps must be conscious, sincere and real, then it will be easier for us on our way to awareness. We don't have to go back (recapitulation) to remember our unconscious steps.

Alex Windholz: "Step by step, we walk the miles"

However, the arrival of some guests took place already on Sunday, the participants arrived for a festive service at the Pokrovsky Old Believer Church in Rzhev. After the service, the guests were offered lunch and accommodation at the Rzhev Monastery.

The educational session is not the first experience of holding such events. On July 25, 2001, the conference "Traditions of spiritual education in the Old Believers: history, modernity, prospects" was held in Rzhev.

The conference was attended by guests from Moscow, St. Petersburg and other cities. There were also representatives of the non-priestly consent, the ROC MP, and secular scientists. Based on the materials of that past conference, a collection of the same name was published, in which the reports of all participants were presented.

This year, lectures of the educational shift were held in the newly built chapel of the Rzhev Monastery.

Not only the laity, but also the clergy of the Old Believer Church attended the reading as listeners: Archpriest Evgeny Chunin (Rzhev), Archpriest Gennady Chunin (St. Kaluga) and others.

The first day of educational readings began with reports from the senior lecturer of the Higher School of Economics, an employee of the Academy of Sciences, head teacher of the theological school of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church in 2007-2014 A. V. Muravieva « The History of Orthodoxy in Russia in a Global Context (Byzantine Heritage and Us)" And " Fall of ConstantinopleXVcentury. - Fall of the Orthodox Empire inXVIIcentury. - The fall of state Orthodoxy in Russia inXXcentury» and messages of the candidate of historical sciences R. A. Mayorova « The emergence of Old Believer agreements, their development, the relationship between them».

A. V. Muravyov spoke about the Byzantine traditions in Rus' and their further development. In his second report, he compared the fall of Constantinople with the Schism of the Russian Church and with the fall of state Orthodoxy in the 20th century in Russia.

R. A. Mayorov told about the emergence of the Belokrinitskaya (RPSC) and Novozybkovskaya (RDC) hierarchies, the consent of wanderers, chapels and other non-priest directions and their features.

In the afternoon, with the message "" again spoke Alexey Muravyov.

The scientist's report caused a serious discussion among the guests present at the readings. After the discussion, the participants of the educational session were offered an introductory tour of the Intercession Church in Rzhev, which was conducted by Fr. Evgeny Chunin and V.V. Volkov. The guests learned about the history of the community, saw relics and a book depository.

On Tuesday, a report was read by the author of a number of studies on the history of the Old Believers, a senior researcher at the State Historical Museum E. M. Yukhimenko« On the nature of the controversy between the Old Believers and the official church - the style of dialogue and arguments". Unfortunately, Elena Mikhailovna herself could not arrive at the Rzhev Convent, her report was handed over to the organizers and read out. In the report of E. M. Yukhimenko, the main topics of the dialogue between the Russian Orthodox Church and the Russian Orthodox Church, their arguments and nature were voiced.

After lunch, everyone went on an excursion to the Rzhev Museum of Local Lore. In the afternoon, A. V. Muravyov made a presentation “ Archaism and modernity, archaism and modernization: why do today's Old Believers need “old times”? The scientist spoke about the Old Believers' perception of antiquity and novelty, and how in the modern world it is possible to preserve antiquity without conflicting with civil society.

In the evening, the head of the information and publishing department of the Russian Orthodox Old Believer Church, the editor of the Church magazine, arrived at the Rzhev Monastery A. V. Antonov who raised the topic On the way to the Old Believers: the mentality of the modern Old Believer».

His message caused a wide discussion and could not but please with its sincerity. Antonov spoke about the problems of the mentality of the modern Old Believer. Then there was a round table The tasks of Christians in the modern world in the context of history". Here the possibilities and forms of participation of Christians in the life of society and the state were discussed.

Despite some fuss and haste, Alexander Vasilyevich Antonov answered a couple of questions that concern a modern Christian.

- Alexander Vasilievich, why are there so many Stalinists among the Old Believers and not only now?

- This is a real disaster! All because there is no foundation, people feel insecure. They often say “Stalin is not on you!”. People who do not know what really happened are sure that under Stalin there was order and prosperity.

- Tell me, is patronage possible in the modern Old Believers?

- Why not? Of course available! For example, we have Robert (baptized Roman) Stubblebine.

- Yes, just the fruit of patronage - a chapel in the "Rzhev monastery".

July 29, Wednesday at the "Rzhev Monastery" with a report " Traditions and methods of spiritual education of the Church: Byzantium, Ancient Rus', Old Believers» an Old Believer priest, rector of a church in Rostov-on-Don spoke O. John Sevastyanov. The priest spoke about the traditions of spiritual education in Byzantium, also among the Old Believers.

This day was all devoted to the issues of education among the Old Believers. R. A. Mayorov spoke about the Moscow Old Believer Institute, about its creation, activities and life in the Russian Empire. Director of the Moscow Old Believers Theological School A. I. Shatokhin- about the experience of educational activities of MSDU. Shatokhin spoke about the modern life of the Old Believer theological school, its development and needs.

Also on Wednesday, a presentation of the children's Christian camp "Rzhev Monastery" was offered - 22 years of search and asceticism, which was presented by Protodeacon John Chunin. In the evening there was a round table Tasks and ways of spiritual education in the Old Believers”, in which Fr. John Sevastyanov, Fr. Evgeny Chunin, prtd. John Chunin, A. I. Shatokhin, E. V. Lakalina and others. The participants in the readings discussed the tasks and ways of spiritual education in the Old Believers, including the activities of the theological school and parish Sunday schools.

On the same day, the city television company “Independent Studio “Rit” visited the educational session near Rzhev.

On the next day of educational readings, a religious scholar, editor of the history of religion department of the Russian historical journal "Rodina" S. G. Antonenko made presentations on The Confessional Environment of Orthodoxy in Modern Russia" And " Sect Studies: Specific Features and Dynamics of Development of Modern Sects". Antonenko spoke about the contacts between the modern confessions of our state, about the nature of the controversy.

Here, R. A. Mayorov spoke about the evolution of the views of the official church and state on the Old Believers and about the phenomenon of common faith. Edinoverie is still widespread and causes a lot of discussion and questions, so the report of the researcher turned out to be especially informative.

The readings that day ended with a round table Goals, objectives and ways of developing interfaith contacts of the Old Believer Church". The participants of the round table discussed the possibilities and ways of interfaith contacts between the Russian Orthodox Church and other religious associations.

The last day of the educational shift was no less eventful than the previous one. Lecturer at the Higher School of Psychology, author and presenter of educational programs in Orthodox psychology and psychotherapy A. G. Fomin delivered messages " Patristic teaching about Man; forms of consciousness" And " Repentance as the basis of Christian self-knowledge". The researcher spoke from a philosophical point of view about these important topics.

After lunch, an excursion was organized for everyone to the Memorial Russian-German Cemetery and the Center for Patriotic Education in Rzhev.

At 16.00, the Director of the International Non-Commercial Foundation "Center for Geopolitical Expertise", Deputy Head of the Center for Conservative Studies of the Faculty of Sociology of Moscow State University V. M. Korovina« Active Forces and Trends in Russian Politics: The Possibility of a New Empire».

Korovin noted that the main thing for a Christian is, first of all, salvation, and then the opportunity to participate in the political life of his state. After the message of V. M. Korovin, a round table was held " The place of the Old Believer Church in the political life of the country; the place of the Christian in public life". Here the participants discussed how important it is for a Christian to participate in the public life of the country, and how he can participate in this.

Then there was a meal, during which many kind words were said to the organizers of educational readings and wishes for the further work of this undertaking.

At about 10 pm, the participants of the educational shift began to leave, and someone stayed at the Rzhev Monastery until the morning.

The meeting of the Old Believer intellectuals made a great resonance in the Old Believer information space. The materials published on the Russkaya Vera website evoked a massive response from our readers.

Particular attention was drawn to an interview with Valery Korovin "". And the performance of Alexey Muravyov "" received the largest number of comments. Readers of our resource posted 33 comments on the site itself and more than 150 comments in the official group of the site "Russian Faith", which anyone can join today. The address of the group "Russian faith" VK: https://vk.com/website.

WikiHow is a wiki, which means that many of our articles are written by multiple authors. When creating this article, 45 people worked on editing and improving it, including anonymously.

Every religion advises us to stay enlightened. Know that no special virtues are needed to become enlightened. Just stay conscious. The experience of extending our conscious affirmation cannot give us the power to control the material world. However, it can give us the strength to become absolutely free from suffering due to attachment to things in the material world. Being enlightened is not a special state of mind; it is the freedom of the mind and heart from all attachments, which gives the awareness of the whole human existence without the concept of differences in the world around us. Although it is difficult, it is still very possible to achieve through training and training of the mind. Just as earthly achievements are difficult, but achievable, so it is difficult to achieve enlightenment, but possible. If you cannot find it where you are now, where are you going to wander in search of it?

Many people feel that they must suffer in order to gain freedom. It should not be. We all belong to the universe, and the universe doesn't care if we suffer or not. We are our own key to absolute freedom. And there are as many ways to achieve enlightenment as there are beings in the universe. When we become conscious, we expand the scope, and when we turn away from consciousness, we limit ourselves. In addition, reality will always show us that we cannot move against our own laws. We are all free to choose the kind of "reality", we are hungry for knowledge, and none of us can break the rules. Every entity in the world has the same freedom of choice.

There are some of us who have preached dogmatic certainty in one particular way. But at the end of the path to enlightenment, it doesn't matter which way you realized it.

Obviously, there is no "how to do it" step by step guide that points the right way for everyone, at any time of the year. External events are not as important as how you react to them.

The more afraid you are, the stronger the feeling of fear or fear of pain becomes. Initially, fear is a warning of possible harm. It is only necessary to notice, and the problem will be surely solved, cast aside fears. This is one of the fundamental modes of "expansion" and "reduction"; when you start to study your life, you will find much more. To seek enlightenment, we must only accept the diurnal rhythms of expansion and contraction. Each of us has complete freedom of choice, you already know about it.

Consciousness is real, just as real as we are. Whatever we do by drawing from the cosmic consciousness (the One Source of All That Is, or whatever terms you want to use), we are doing it now. We were all born in the same place, we all return to the same place.

I hope you find some examples of simple relationships here to help you on your way.

Steps

We've all made mistakes. We are learning from them. Repeating the same mistakes over and over again is a hindrance to our own goals. However, we have the right to do so. We must ask ourselves, "What is causing the pain and suffering, and how can we root it out at a deep level?" Some say that only by receiving something in excess, a person can understand how much is enough for him. Being here and now, according to many, is the first step to liberation.

Seek the associations of arahats, wise men, and good dharma books.

Choose a time to relax. Often our life is very fast-paced, we experience stress and cannot enjoy the moment.

Pay special attention to the different smells you smell, the sounds you hear, and the things you see. Use the same approach in other everyday situations. Such actions often bring you closer to pure consciousness.

Practice meditating, you can do it anywhere, at any time, you just need to mentally concentrate at this time on a specific object.

Read what others write about enlightenment and spirituality in general. There are many great philosophers such as Gautama, Jesus, Lao Tzu, Suzuki Roshi, Mohammed, Dante, Francis Bacon, William Blake and others. There are many doors to Perception to talk about this topic, both directly and indirectly.

Learn about the Noble Eightfold Path and the 4 Noble Truths.

Always seize the moment and enjoy all the activities you do during the day (eating, sleeping and even taking a bath).

The actions listed here are the main possible useful tips. A real "step" on the path to enlightenment is to do something that is now an unconscious part of your consciousness. those. "integration". Practical steps towards integration can be found in the relevant sections of the wiki.

The path to enlightenment described by Shakyamuni / Gautama Buddha Himself, in the development of strength, concentration and wisdom.

Enlightenment is not a state of mind that you can come to by forcing yourself. We live by the eternal law of cause and effect: if you do something bad, you will get a bad result; if you do something good, you will get a good result. The main thing is the consciousness that has arisen regardless of what happens.

1. Approaching with the intent to ignite the higher consciousness is natural. Walking can ignite higher consciousness. Use walking meditation. Just as beginners learn to count their breath cycles for normal breathing, so allow higher consciousness to sprout. Walking cycles or steps can serve the same purpose. The same thing happens in music with rhythm, that is, the normal consciousness is consumed, which allows the higher consciousness to come as a flood to the musician, bringing a higher consciousness. Don Juan drowned in the vision of Carlos Castaneda walking. Carlos walked with Don Juan, eye to eye to bring down the vision, and avoid the general consumption of ordinary consciousness. This awareness of higher consciousness while walking will motivate you to walk/meditate more often.

   • As you become more familiar with simple awareness/consciousness, you will notice a decline in mental activity and begin to experience thought-free awareness much more frequently. This can be helpful, especially after some experience in free-thinking consciousness has contributed to the inducement (relaxation) of thought-free presence as a training exercise. It literally helps to return the body and mind to their natural state, which becomes freer from continuous thinking than all thinking throughout a lifetime for most people.
   • "Common sense" (or "intuition") is also your best guide.
   • Nothing is always right or wrong, "things" change. Choose what is best for you at the moment, however, remember that you are never alone, what you choose may or may not affect others. Kindness and good manners can be a good welcome. In a word, “compassion”, or give (do) the best to others - the best that you would give (done) if you got into the same situation.
   • "Expanding" drugs (or psychotropic substances) are definitely not the most reliable way to find enlightenment. They can be compared to using a helicopter instead of climbing to the top of a mountain, however, the fact remains and you can draw your own conclusions. Keep in mind that psychotropic substances are not the easiest way to achieve a certain degree of enlightenment, because a psychedelic crisis can occur. At the same time, fears may arise, remember, they can be overcome or dispelled. Ultimately, enlightenment must come to you.
   • Higher consciousness is available to anyone who seeks it. You don't even have to do anything. You won't get lost trying to figure out how free you really are.
   • Enlightenment is not a thing that someone else can do for you. No one can "save" you but yourself. The same goes for saving others. The rest is the will of God.
   • Cognition, or self-examination as it is sometimes called, can be a separate experience, but it is most effective for most people if you practice meditating daily for some time, often at least several months. This is because the "response" to a request always notices a pure awareness that does not change with experience, which in turn is constantly changing. The most common form of inquiry is to ask mentally, or simply by shifting attention (noticing): "Who (or what) am I?" - now, here, at this moment? If you find the answer to the question mentally, i.e. "I am a human" or "I am a soul" or even "I am everything" will always prove to be useless, because the true answer is consciousness, from the point of view of the subject, i.e. awareness, testing of all content, even some sense of oneself.
   • Self-awareness is the true "experience" of every moment, in any perception or mental activity. You will see that if you can get into something, no matter how subtle, and no matter how much you feel your "I" or "My" experiences, you are still an object to experience with the path of awareness. On the one hand, this is an experience that you can never have "before" or before self-awareness.
   • Thoughts that you have to achieve something act as a kind of barrier through which our natural essence is enlightened. What we just have to understand is that there is nothing more important than achieving "self" in the first place.
   • You are the key to your own enlightenment.
   • The process can take as long as you wish.
   • Remember, and experience, that consciousness is equally present in every moment of life; it just often goes unnoticed. Not understanding consciousness in all aspects (including thoughts, feelings, sensations from within yourself, etc.) is the means by which ignorance comes back to you again from time to time. Especially in times of mental and emotional disturbance, it can be very helpful to draw attention back to self-awareness: to the experience, to the aspect that is "in the know" instead of something unknown.
   • Try to experience yourself as pure consciousness (or cosmic consciousness), as well as energy (which is partly conscious and partly unconscious in an infinite variety of modulations) and as matter, which is in an unconscious state. As humans, we are a complex combination of matter, energy and consciousness. The highest state of consciousness is always available and always within you, and that is the state of pure consciousness.
   • Some "trance" statements may help your enlightenment, while others may mislead you. Remember that you are ultimately always in control.
   • Meditation and other body-based practices such as pranayama (breath control) are the basis for more advanced (refined, psychic) ​​practices. The benefits of more advanced practices are that they materialize faster and/or the benefits of enlightenment are more consistent in experience when calm thinking returns. With experience, meditation promotes a calming of the mind, an activity that will familiarize you with the formless aspects of your consciousness, which will more easily give you the understanding and enjoyment of real enlightenment. Enlightenment is not really something you "achieve"; excessive emphasis on superficial thinking is what brings back every second enlightenment. Please note that consistency in meditation (one or two fairly short sessions daily; twenty minutes each) is more important than meditation for long periods of time.
   • The path to enlightenment is paved through the enlightenment of the uninitiated.
   • What's real? Our feelings may deceive us, but our emotions cannot.
   • A (qualified) teacher who "was there" knows the way, and can tell you to beware - this is as much a responsibility as an asset.
   • Learn yoga, tai chi, or aikidokan, it might help.
   • Understand how practices can relate to enlightenment; they are not necessarily necessary, but can be a great support and help for enlightenment training. This does not rule out the proposal entirely. Everything is ready, and you can only perceive this reality with the help of conceptual thinking in reverse. However, most body-mind systems are driven by a deeper focus on form. Therefore, just as diet and exercise harmonize physical health, so specific methods can be helpful in enjoying the fruits of enlightenment in the current experience.

P brightening - what is it?

The beggar had been sitting by the side of the road for more than thirty years. One day a stranger passed by him.

Give me some coins, - the beggar mumbled with a toothless mouth, mechanically handing him an old baseball cap.

I have nothing to give you,” replied the stranger. And then he asked: - What are you sitting on?

Yes, nothing, - answered the beggar. - It's just an old box. I've been on it for as long as I can remember.

Have you ever looked inside? - asked the stranger.

No, said the beggar. - What is the point? There is nothing there.

And you look, - the wanderer insisted.

The beggar began to lift the lid. With great surprise and delight, not believing his own eyes, he saw that the box was full of gold.

I am that wanderer who has nothing to give you and who invites you to look inside. But not inside some box, as in this parable, but much closer - inside oneself.

But I'm not a beggar - I can hear from you in response.

Those who have not found their true treasure, that radiant joy of Being and the deep, stable, unshakable peace that comes with Him, are the poor, even if they own untold material wealth. They seek outside, grope in the dark in search of fragmentary pleasures or their own fulfillment, crave recognition and self-affirmation, seek security, desire love, and at the same time have at their disposal such an inner wealth that includes not only all of the above, but also infinitely more than the whole world can offer.

The word “enlightenment” gives rise to the idea in the human imagination of achieving a certain superhuman state, and the ego likes to present it that way, but enlightenment is just your natural state of feeling oneness with Existence. It is a state of connection with something immeasurable and indestructible, with something almost paradoxical that you, in essence, are, and even with something much greater than you. It reveals to you your true nature, which is beyond your name and body. The inability to feel this connectedness feeds the illusion of separation, the illusion of disunity both with oneself and with the outside world. Therefore, you consciously or unconsciously perceive and experience yourself as an isolated fragment. Then fear intensifies in you, and the state of internal and external conflict becomes the norm.

I really like Buddha's simple definition enlightenment as "the end of suffering". There's nothing superhuman about it, is there? As a definition, it is, of course, incomplete. It only says what enlightenment is not: it is not suffering. But what is left when the suffering is gone? The Buddha is silent on this matter, and his silence implies that you yourself will have to deal with it. He uses a negative definition so that the mind cannot turn it into something that can be believed, that you can achieve the superhuman state, that is, so that the mind cannot turn it into a goal that will become impossible for you to achieve. Despite this warning, most Buddhists continue to believe that enlightenment is for the Buddha, not for them - well, at least not in this lifetime.

You are using the word Being. Could you explain what you mean by that?

Existing is the eternal One Life, always existing outside the limits of myriads of its forms, which can appear and disappear, be born and die. However, Being, as the most intimate, invisible and unshakable essence, is present not only outside, but also deep inside each form. This means that right now it is available to you as your own deepest Self, as your true nature. Just don't try to figure it out with your mind. Don't try to understand her. You can know it only when your mind is calm. When you are in a state of presence, when your attention is completely focused and highly focused on the Now moment, then you can feel Being, but you cannot comprehend It mentally. Returning to the awareness of Being and being in a state of “feeling-awareness” is what enlightenment is.

When you say the word Existing, are you talking about God? If so, why don't you use the word God?

As a result of millennia of misuse of the word God it has lost all meaning. Sometimes I use it, but very rarely. By misuse, I mean that people who have never even briefly touched this sacred realm, who have not felt the boundless expanse with which this word is filled, use it with a deep conviction that they know what they are talking about. Or they oppose it as if they knew what they were denying. Such abuse encourages absurd beliefs, assertions, judgments, and selfish delusions such as “My or our God is only ours.” , there is only one true God, and your God is not true”, or as Nietzsche’s famous statement “God is dead”.

Word God has become a concept that implies the presence of restrictions. As soon as he sounds, the imagination immediately draws a certain mental image, most often reminiscent of a white-bearded old man. However, this is only a mental representation of something or someone that is outside of you, outside, and, of course, it is almost necessary that this something or someone is a being. male kind.

Not a word God, neither the word Existence nor any other word can serve as a definition or explanation of the inexpressible and indescribable reality that lies behind this word. Therefore, the only question that matters will be this: does this word help you, is it a clue that allows you to come to a sense of That to which it points? Does it point to the transcendent reality behind it, or does it fly too easily into your head as some idea that you start to believe, or does it turn into a mental idol?

The Word Being, just like the word God, explains absolutely nothing. However, the word Being has the advantage of being an open concept. It does not detract from the infinite Invisible and does not reduce it to the concept of some conditioned, finite object that has its own limits. It is impossible to form his mental image. No one can claim exclusive ownership of it. This is your very essence, available to you at any moment in the form of a sense of your own presence, awareness of yourself as I there is even before you identify yourself with this or that. Thus, this is just a small step from the word Existing to the feeling of Existing.

What is the biggest obstacle to experiencing this reality?

Identification of oneself with one's mind, which makes the stream of thoughts endless, and the thoughts themselves obsessive. The inability to stop the flow of thoughts is a terrible misfortune, which, however, we are not aware of, and almost everyone suffers from this, which, however, is considered the norm. This incessant mental noise makes it difficult to find the world of inner peace that is inseparable from the Existing. In addition, this noise creates a false, fictional self that casts a shadow of fear and suffering. A little later we will look at this in more detail.

The philosopher Descartes, making his famous statement: “I think, therefore I am,” believed that he had got to the bottom of the most fundamental truth.

In fact, he formulated the most basic delusion: he equated thinking with Being, and personality with thinking. The persistent thinker that resides within almost all of us is in a state of apparent and undeniable separation, existing in an insanely complex world of perpetual problems and conflicts, a world that reflects the ever-increasing fragmentation of the mind. Enlightenment is a state of wholeness, a state of being “one-in-one”, and therefore a state of peace. In unity with life in its manifested aspect, in unity with the world, as well as in unity with your deepest “I” and with unmanifested life - in unity with Existing. Enlightenment is not only the end of suffering and endless internal and external conflict, but also the end of a monstrous, slavish dependence on obligatory thinking. What an indescribable, incredible liberation!

Identification with your mind creates an impenetrable barrier of principles, labels, images, words, judgments and definitions that blocks any real relationship. It is wedged between you and your “I”, between you and your friends and girlfriends, between you and nature, between you and God. This is the barrier of thoughts that creates the illusion of separation, the illusion that there is a “you” And there are “others” who exist, as it were, completely apart from you. Then you forget the key fact underlying the physical manifestations of dissociated forms, the fact that you are one with all that is. There is. I put such a meaning in the word "forget" that you lose the ability to feel this unity as a self-proven reality. You can believe that it's true, but no longer You know that this is exactly the case. Faith can be comfortable. However, it becomes liberation only through one's own experience.

The thought process has become a disease. After all, the disease occurs when the balance is disturbed. For example, there is nothing abnormal in the fact that the cells of the body divide and multiply, but if this process continues, not in harmony with the body as a whole, then they will begin to multiply uncontrollably, and then disease begins.

Note: The mind, when properly used, is a perfect and unsurpassed instrument. When used incorrectly, it becomes extremely destructive. To put it more precisely, it's not that you might not be using it the right way - usually you don't use it at all. He is using you. That's where the disease is. You believe that you are your mind. And this is a delusion. This tool has got you.

I don't quite agree with this. It is true that I, like most people, have a lot of aimless thoughts, but still, when I do anything, I use my mind and do it all the time.

Just because you can solve a crossword puzzle or build an atomic bomb doesn't mean you're using your mind. Just like dogs love to gnaw on bones, the mind loves to sink its teeth into problems. That is why he solves crossword puzzles and builds atomic bombs. You nothing else interests. Let me ask you this: Can you free yourself from your mind at will? Did you find the "off" button?

You mean stop thinking altogether? No, I can't, except maybe for a moment or two.

It means that the mind is using you. You have unconsciously identified yourself with him, so you don't even know that you have become his slave. It is almost as if someone has taken possession of you without informing you, and you take this being possessing you for yourself. Freedom begins where you realize that no one owns you, that you are not an object of possession, that is, you are not a thinker. Knowing this allows you to observe being. The moment you begin to observe the thinker, a higher level of consciousness begins to activate. Then you come to realize that there is an infinite realm of mind beyond thought, and that thought is only a tiny part of that mind. You also understand that absolutely everything that really matters - beauty, love, creativity, joy, inner peace - arises outside of the mind. Then you start to wake up.

based on materials from the book: Eckhart Toll - "The Power of the Now".