I want to work with you today on this Truth of the right action. It's common for people to ask questions like: “How do I do the right thing? How to get it right?” They haven't yet understood what an approach to the Truth of Self-Awareness is. They believe they need to get it right, to do the right thing.
Another frequent question is: “How do I do the right thing?” It's basically the same question with different words. Another question is: “How do I act under pressure?” Or: “How do I stay calm?” We're going to investigate with you here this issue of action, and the importance of it.
What is action? For most of us, action presupposes the presence of someone, always, necessarily, present in the action. So, in every form of action, the central idea in us is the one of an author, a doer of the actions, an agent present in the action – it's really been like that. We first have the idea from the concept of an identity present; then, there is this “I” here present to act. There's an idea, a target, a goal, a purpose, an intention, a motivation, a reason, and then comes the action. Thus, the idea, in general, is “I want, “I will,” then comes the action. So, the main idea for us is always of an agent present in the action.
Now notice: when our actions are born out of an idea, they are actually mere adjustments to a program, a plan, or a predetermined idea. So, what we call an action is actually a reaction. An action that arises from thought in us is determined by this element, which is thought, the thinker. Then, there is this thinker in its thought that follows an action. We don't even know the nature of this thinker, the truth about this thought, and about the action.
So, notice how interesting it is when we want to get the action right without understanding what it represents, without understanding the nature of this “I” that wants to act, to get it right. That is a really fascinating subject, understanding what comes first. What do we have first here? Do we always have the action or this “I,” which is the agent? Because if this “I” comes first, that action, I'll repeat, is just an adjustment to an idea. But if this action occurs without this agent, this “I,” we have a free action.
Maybe, at first, you'll find it difficult to accept this as a possible Reality, a possible Truth in your life, the understanding that true action is only correct action, only Real action when it doesn't produce conflict, suffering, disorder – and that's not how our actions have been. First, we want to get it right to not have problems, and I say that when this action is born from this agent, which is the “I,” the ego, the “person” – as this action is just an adjustment to an idea that comes from this “I,” from this person, it will, surely, on some level – because it is an action of adjustment to an idea – produce suffering and confusion.
Our lives are full of problems. We have problems of all kinds, in all sorts of forms. We want to live a life without problems. Is it possible to live without problems? The answer is yes; it is possible to live without problems. But it's not possible to live without problems if our action is born from this center, the “I,” the ego because it's an action that is already from contradiction, from a reaction that comes from the past.
Let's calmly look at this and investigate it. Let's find out what an action free of the ego is. What is an action free of conflict, problems, and contradictions? What is an intelligent action truly in Compassion, Love, in that Freedom of flowing with the instant, with the present moment, without friction, conflict, or resistance? See how important this is for our lives.
Every human being is in search of Happiness, and as our life consists of actions, from the moment we get out of bed in the morning, we are already in a movement of action... Everything is action. Notice this – everything is action. These gestures here are actions; this speech is also an action. Understanding these words is an intellectual movement of understanding language, words in action. So, life consists of actions. Then, a happy life, a life in Happiness, Love, Peace, and Freedom, consists of a life where our action is an Intelligent action. Necessarily, the presence of an Intelligent action is a free action – free of conflict, dilemma, desire, and fear – therefore, it needs to be an action free of this center, which is the “I,” the ego.
So, let's first investigate the truth of action here. First, the action is what happens here and now. But what comes first? We have just asked: is it the agent or the action? Let's take a very simple example: when a thought arises, it is a movement in the brain of images. Thought is always a remembrance, a memory, a recollection. You don't have a single thought that isn't a memory. Thus, when a thought arises, it is here and now, an action of the brain itself. When that action arises, at the instant it does, at that exact second it arises, there is no “someone” to do something with that thought.
We have an illusion present with regard to this question of action and here relating to this issue of the thought's action when it arises since we believe that we are the ones thinking. In reality, when a thought arises, what is happening at that very second is that the brain is reacting to a stimulus – whether external or internal.
So, having investigated the nature of action, let's now also do it with the nature of thought. Notice how interesting it is to discover this here. When your eyes perceive something externally, the brain immediately reacts. It receives a stimulus, and when it happens, it can react. In general, it reacts as a thought, a memory.
When you see a tree, when your eyes come across a tree, a memory may arise, a memory of a tree that you also had in your garden when you were a child. That is a brain reaction to this particular sensory experience of looking. When this happens, it happens automatically. Notice how interesting it is: there's no “someone” seeing the tree; it's a reaction of the brain cells to this vision, to this sensory perception. Notice that at this moment, at the very moment of “looking at the tree,” of identifying the tree, the leaves, the branches, that is the moment of action. In this moment of action, there is no experiencer, no “I,” no person, and no “you.” In that exact second of perception, in that fraction of a second, there is only an observation without the observer, the experiencer, the “I,” the ego. In that moment, we have action.
So, note: what arises first is action. Action is what happens. After this moment of direct perception, which is pure action, at that instant, there is no “I” element, no author, no doer, no thinker, and no experiencer. A second later, it appears, and the memory of childhood comes up; then, at that moment, this whole sense of action, of perception, is altered because the observer element, the thinker, the experiencer, which is the “I,” has arisen. See how interesting it is to investigate the Truth about action. Thus, what comes first? What comes first is action – the action of seeing, of perceiving. Then comes the name, the story, the memory, and the sense of an “I,” which is basically the past presenting itself with its history.
We say that all action lies here and now, always at this instant, without the past. Only a second later does the past appear. When there's sadness, it's a feeling, but along with the sadness comes the story of that “me,” that “I,” that sad “someone.” So, this action is no longer a natural, simple, direct, real action because the “I” element, which is the agent, is already present, and when it appears, it wants to do something with the action; it “likes,” “dislikes,” wants to reject it, to get rid of this state or to experience this nostalgia for childhood.
So, when the sense of an “I” appears in the action, this “I” is the doer, the author, the manager of the action, and the ego element. Then, our actions, in general, when they start from this center, which is the “I,” the ego, are actions that feed and sustain the illusion of a present identity, which is the ego. The question here is this: is it possible to have a life here and now free of this element that is the “I,” the ego, that comes from the past, that in the face of the action of the instant, of the present moment, always arises to try to change, alter, do something with it?
So, we're here working with you in the end for this “I,” ego, for this agent, this doer, this experiencer. Then, life consists of this movement here and now, where this action takes place without this sense of an “I” present. We can eliminate this illusory element, the ego, from our lives. We need memory, recognition, and this practical, objective action for a few simple purposes. Taking a child to school, driving a car, writing something down – these all require the presence of knowledge and experience. Knowledge is memory itself, but it's something simple.
In a practical sense, in this dream of life, we need to deal with action on this level, but on this level, there is no conflict, no problem, no suffering. But when I look at you, and in that instant, in that look, the past shows itself, this background, which is the “I,” the ego, recognizes in you someone that this “I” doesn't like; when this is present when I have this “like or dislike you”... If you've insulted me if you've assaulted me with words, those words have been recorded and stored in the memory and next time I meet with you, which is direct and simply action, the “I” thought will emerge saying “I don't like him, I don't like her.”
It is possible to have an action free of the “I,” the ego. It is possible to have an action free of this experiencer, this observer, this doer. A direct and objective response to this instant, to this moment without the element of the past, then we have the Truth of action free of the “I,” the ego. That is the Reality of your Being here and now expressing itself as pure Consciousness. That is action free of the past. It is possible to be at this instant without the past, which is the experiencer, the “I,” the ego, then life is happening as a free action because the sense of an “I” is not present. This is the free action of the ego.
So, that's the subject we're working on here with you, showing you that, yes, it is possible to live a life without conflict, contradiction, suffering, and, therefore, within a new action, an action free of the past. For this purpose, we have these meetings here on the channel. Some call it the Awakening of your Being, the Awakening of God, the Realization of God; some call it Spiritual Enlightenment, a life free of the ego, a life where this action is Love, of Presence, of Truth.
So, that's the subject we're working on with you here on the channel. We have online meetings to work on this together with you. You can find our WhatsApp link to participate in these meetings here in the video description, OK? We also have face-to-face meetings and retreats. If this is something that makes sense to you, take the opportunity and leave your like, subscribe to the channel, and see you, OK? Thanks for meeting us, and see you next time.
No comments:
Post a Comment