GC: Hello, everyone! We are here for another videocast. Once again, Master Gualberto is here with us. Thank you, Master, for being here. Today I will read an excerpt from Joel Goldsmith's book called "A Parenthesis in Eternity." In an excerpt from this book, Master, Joel makes the following comment: "Only through meditation can you go deep into your being." Regarding this subject of meditation, can the Master share his vision of what meditation is?
MG: Gilson, Meditation is the approach to Life. The real approach to Life consists of the vision of non-separation, of non-duality; this vision of non-duality, of non-separation, is Meditation. We cannot put into words exactly what Meditation is - look, we have just made a statement here that does not say much. What we need to do, regarding this issue of Meditation, is to become aware of what Meditation is not. The investigation itself, the investigation itself or this study of this psychological condition in which we find ourselves, in order to discard it, is already part of a real approach to Meditation.
Every time we present to you here these various aspects of this sense of "I" and the illusion that it represents, we are getting closer to Meditation, because as you begin to become aware, to realize the illusion of this movement, which is the movement of the conditioned mind, with its old patterns of beliefs, behaviors, mistaken views, opinions and evaluations, as this becomes clear to you, you get closer to the possibility of emptying this psychological condition of the conditioned mind.
Therefore, when you ask: "What is meditation?" ... By investigating that which is not Meditation, we get closer to the answer of what Meditation is, of what Meditation represents, because the truth of Meditation is That which thought does not reach, it is That which is present exactly when thought, in its old pattern, has disappeared. Getting closer to the Reality of God, having the awareness of this Presence here and now, free from the egoic mind, is Meditation. So, we have to approach the Truth of Meditation in the same way that we approach the Reality of God.
We cannot have a description of God. Any description deals with words. Words are expressed thoughts; a set of thoughts forms an idea. On this basis, people are trying to describe God. It is very common for people to talk about the attributes of God. See, we are just playing with words. This Reality, which we call God, is beyond speech, beyond words, beyond thought. So, whatever we have to say or are saying does not do it justice, we are still dealing with ideas, with concepts, with beliefs. So, the Truth of Meditation is something to be verified, but it is not something to be described.
All we can tell you here is what Meditation is not. For example, any movement that we make will still be a calculated, idealized, planned movement, adjusted within a thought program, for a technique, for a system, for a meditation practice. So, we are dealing with something mechanical. What I can tell you is that this is not Meditation; however, people are making use of these mechanisms. What they find in this so-called "practice," "meditation technique," is relaxation. They have a moment of stillness, of silence, of relaxation, but this is a silencing, a mechanical, technical stillness and relaxation.
Why doesn't this give us a real basis for the truth of Meditation? This is because the truth of Meditation requires the absence of all movement of the "I." So, we are faced with something outside of the known, outside of the mind, and therefore it cannot be something mechanical. We cannot have, in the truth of Meditation, an element of practice. So, what is Meditation? It is the presence of That which is Reality without the meditator. When Meditation reveals itself, there is no "I," therefore anything technical, anything practical, requires the presence of a system, a program, a model. The true approach to Meditation is, precisely, this work of emptying all this pattern of unconscious, willful, mechanical behavior, of the "I" itself. This is why we have shown you that the basis for Meditation is to bring to this moment the vision of what is happening to you at this moment. See, this is not something mechanical, it requires the presence of Attention on our reactions.
All this movement within us is something that has this dynamism, it is something that is happening at every moment. At every moment, something new is emerging to be seen, observed, and verified. So, the truth of approaching Meditation requires the presence of Self-awareness, and Self-awareness is this look at what is happening to us here and now, it is not something separate from the movement of Life itself. So, you do not set aside a moment to meditate, the moment of Meditation is here, in this instant, at every moment. When a thought arises, an emotion arises, a sensation arises; when life arises, when everything happens in this moment, this encounter with the emergence of all this is either the encounter from this look free from the past or from this background of memory conditioning, of thought reaction. When this occurs in this format, there is no Meditation. The encounter with this moment is new, and we are always bringing from the past our responses that come from this background of memory, from this background of thought. So, attending to this moment requires an approach, to this moment, free from the past.
So, this is the basis of this Attention that brings the vision of Self-awareness and that opens this portal to the truth of Meditation. And notice this interesting thing: while you talk to someone, while you drive your car, while you perform intellectual or physical work, at that moment we are facing Life, attending and responding to this external world, and we are also in contact with our reactions arising internally.
Can we approach the external world and this internal world - the external world of activities, work, physical and intellectual occupations, and this internal world of thoughts, feelings and emotions - can we approach all of this without bringing a response from this background that is the idea of someone present in it, which is this "me," this "I"? Just looking, observing, without reacting? Just being aware of what is happening internally and externally? This, Gilson, is the real way of approaching Self-awareness, Meditation. So, there is nothing mechanical here. It is necessary to attend to this moment. This requires this energy of Attention to our reactions, so that we don't get confused by it, so that we don't place an identity present in this observation. A thought appears, an emotion arises, a sensation happens, and there is only looking, listening, observing, without the "I."
So, you ask what meditation is. We are showing you that this Meditation requires the presence of this Attention. This present Attention is the presence of Self-awareness. Now, what Meditation reveals is beyond this psychological condition, and we can only become aware of it from this observation, verifying and listening to the present moment without interfering, without getting involved with it. We have been working on this in our online meetings, in our face-to-face meetings, in our retreats: how to have an approach to Life, in Life, without the "I." So, this is Meditation. So, this is the real way of this approach to Life, this Divine Life, this Life of God.
GC: Master, we have a question here, from a subscriber to the channel. Juan makes the following comment and asks: "Hi, Master Gualberto. It's been five years since I felt eternity in my spirit, but I disconnected from that essence, and I can't get it back. I'm feeling very depressed about it. Can I still get back to that essence?"
MG: So, from your description, what you had was an experience. We can have, at times, some glimpses of something beyond the known, of something beyond the mind, but these glimpses appear and disappear. When they disappear, they stay like this, they stay in memory. You say: "Five years ago I lived this," that is, a memory, a remembrance. This is how our experiences are. See, Gilson, we don't need experiences; we need, at this moment, a direct approach to what is present here and now, emerging as thoughts, feelings, emotions, as Life happening externally and internally. We need to learn to get closer to this for this realization. That is when we can truly break away from this element, which is the element that lives off experiences, that lives off recollections.
So, we can spend an entire life having glimpses of states outside the egoic mind, but they are only glimpses. Yes, the Nature of Being, the Nature of Truth, in each one of us, is this Reality outside the "I," outside the ego, but what we need is to discard this illusion, this ego-identity, and this is not possible just by having glimpses, going through experiences. What we need, yes, is to get closer to ourselves, to study our reactions; and, here, studying is becoming aware of them, learning to look at them without getting confused with them, without getting tangled up in them. So, yes, we are approaching the basis for a vision beyond the "I," but it is not a glimpse. We need to bring this into our day-by-day lives, into our daily lives.
People, at most, may have glimpses at times, especially when they dedicate themselves to some breathing practices, meditation. but this always remains at the level of memory. This is why I have always insisted on the importance of approaching Meditation in this moment, here and now, because it is at this moment that Life happening is revealed. So, you can identify yourself with this or disidentify with it; you can learn to look without the observer, or you can continue to confuse yourself with this element that looks from the thinker, the observer himself, which is what we have been doing. Approaching this moment without this background is the basis for going beyond experiences.
So, here I recommend that we leave these experiences aside. These experiences are just memories! Let's leave that aside, let's work right now towards this vision of what is here and now, without this background that is the "I," the "me," the ego, which is this thinker, this observer, this one who looks and evaluates, compares, judges, likes, dislikes... Bringing Attention to this moment is placing ourselves at the base for Self-awareness, for this approach to Meditation. See, we put it this way, but, in reality, it is something happening simultaneously. There is not a step-by-step process here; it is something emerging at this moment as a block. The awareness of this Attention is Self-knowledge; this is Meditation, Real Meditation. Therefore, it is not about - I want to repeat this - it is not about experiences. Experiences are just like that, they remain as memories, as remembrances. Let's leave these experiences aside. Let's discover, right now, this awareness revealing itself here and now.
GC: Master, we have another question, from another subscriber here on the channel... from a female subscriber, in fact, Ione. She makes the following comment and asks: "Let me ask you a question: How can I always live in a state of peace? How can I not be discouraged by negative words? How can I always be at peace with the light?"
MG: Gilson, look at the question: "How can I always live in a state of peace, without being discouraged by words? How can I not be discouraged by negative words?" See, our idea is wrong. We need to work on ending this self-image, this image we have of ourselves, to, in fact, free ourselves from the image we have of others. When we are free from this self-image, which is the image that thought has built within each of us about who we are, we free ourselves from the image we have of others. At that moment, we break with this conditioned mind that gets hurt, that gets sad, that gets upset, that gets sad, that is always reacting to others, based on these reactions, which are reactions of this self-image.
An approach, Gilson, to the Truth about us is the end of this self-image. And if That is present, you are no longer a "someone" present to feel offended, hurt, sad, angry at the other. So, the elimination of this sense of "I," of the ego, which is this self-image, is the presence of Peace.
We want a formula to find this Peace forever, to never again be hurt, offended or wounded by another. Note, as long as this self-image, this sense of "I," of the ego, is present, all of our movement will be a movement of self-defense, sustained by fear, by the fear of being hurt, by the fear of being wounded.
Divine Reality, the Reality of your Being, is not this mind of the "I," it is not this egoic mind, which is always hurt, wounded, offended, and then reconciles and forgives. So, we have several tricks to continue maintaining our relationships, which are relationships that occur between images: the image I have of who I am in this relationship with the image I have of him or her. As long as this is present, we will always be hurt, wounded, we will always wound and hurt, and live within this condition, which is the condition of the ego. The approach to Self-awareness is the discarding of this psychological condition, which is the condition of the "I," which is the condition of self-image. Is it possible to live a life free from the ego, so that we will never again be hurt, wounded, offended, angry, envious, jealous, or afraid?
See, this requires the presence of something beyond the "I," beyond the ego, beyond this self-image; and this is revealed when we approach Self-awareness, the basis for a Real Vision of God, the basis for the Awareness of Happiness, Love, Freedom, Intelligence, all of this present within our relationships with the world, with others. But, Gilson, all of this begins, first and foremost, within us. All this contact we have with the world around us only shows us our real psychological condition of dependence and fear, of suffering, and of sense of separation, and of this self-image that is always stuck in this pattern, in this old model of suffering. Breaking with all of this is becoming aware of Divine Reality, it is becoming aware of the Reality of God. This is what we are working on here with you, this is what we see together in these meetings.
GC: Thank you, Master, our time is up. Thank you for this videocast.
And for those of you who are watching the videocast until the end and want to delve deeper and experience these truths, we invite you to participate in the meetings that Master Gualberto offers. These are intensive weekend meetings in online and in-person formats, as well as retreats. In these meetings, Master Gualberto answers our questions directly, live, and shares this State of Presence that the Master lives in, because, in this sharing, we end up taking a ride on this energy, and this helps us a lot to investigate ourselves, to observe this crazy mind, full of thoughts. So, here is the invitation. In the first comment, pinned, there is the WhatsApp link to be able to participate in these meetings.
And, Master, once again, thank you for the videocast.
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