There is something fundamental here for us to investigate: it is the difference between learning something-anything else out there, in life-the difference between this form of learning and learning about ourselves. Therefore, there is a difference between learning something and learning Self-awareness. The truth of this learning about Self-awareness is something different from any other form of learning.
When you learn anything else, you learn by starting from observing and studying it, acquiring knowledge; and soon after knowledge comes experience, and with experience, specialization. What differentiates this encounter with the Truth of What Is You, which is revealed through Self-awareness, through comprehending ourselves, from any other specialized, specialized learning, is that here we need another element; the element present is perception.
Contact with life requires perception, not knowledge, not experience and specialization. To learn a technique, such as mechanics, electronics, languages, or any other activity, you need knowledge, experience, and that's where this specialization comes from. Here we are faced with something different; we need an initial foundation. The foundation, yes, is contact with the observation of what is present here-contact with it, experiencing what is present here. But we don't need knowledge, that means, information about it being stored.
We are functioning, psychologically, on memory, and this is our problem. We lack a true vision of who we are, of what thought has constructed about us, because we are living in memory, living precisely in thought, trapped, precisely, in knowledge and experience, and we need to free ourselves from this, because this condition of knowledge here and experience here puts us in direct contact with life in a mechanical, automatic, unconscious way.
Note that all technical knowledge, all specialization, coming from memory, gives you a mechanical skill. Thus, thought present within us is the element of knowledge and, also, of mechanicity for the person. This mechanical, unconscious condition, which resides in thought and, therefore, in memory, is the life of the "I," it is the life of the ego. Since here, together, we are investigating how to go beyond the ego, how to discover life free from the "I," we need to discover what it means to learn about ourselves, what this new way of learning is, which does not consist of accumulating knowledge or experience.
Based on the past, we are acting in life; everything we know, we know based on acquired knowledge. Technically, we need this form of learning. However, psychologically, this form of learning, this format based on knowledge and experience, has shaped us within a conditioning. We are constantly repeating this system; we have been shaped by a thought pattern, which is the thinking of this social structure, this worldview.
Thus, every behavior we have based on this form of learning based on knowledge and experience is pure mental conditioning, pure psychological conditioning. Observe how you react when someone upsets you; observe how you react when someone makes you sad, how you react when you feel loved, when they like you. Every response we have is a response from conditioning.
If I praise you, your response is conditioned; you feel good, comfortable with me, and you respond. Where does this response originate? Automatically, mechanically, and unconsciously. Yes, because this "I" consciousness, this ego consciousness, is acting inattentively. Just as you feel good when you're praised, you feel bad when you're criticized. When you feel bad, it happens unconsciously; when you feel good, it also happens unconsciously.
Therefore, your life is shaped by the behavior of a mind that reacts inattentively. The presence of this inattention is the presence of duality. Here, the term "duality" is the same term they call Advaita in Sanskrit. Our psychological condition of existence is one of separation. The mind functions within us in this unconsciousness, in this mechanicalness, reacting to the present moment in inattention.
Therefore, there is a separation between you and the present moment, between the perception that is present here and an element that is the perceiver; it is the presence of duality: the presence of the element within you that we call the thinker and the presence of thought. Here we face an illusion, the illusion of separation. Therefore, the presence of this separation, this duality, is called dvaita.
Here, the encounter with the Reality of non-separation for a new mind, free from separation between thinker and thought, between experience and experiencer, between perception and perceiver, is what in India they call Advaita, non-duality. We are living within a principle of duality, of separation. Breaking with this psychic, psychological condition requires the presence of Self-awareness, because that is when we are facing the beauty of the encounter with Meditation.
So, what is Meditation? What is Meditation? It is the presence of the awareness of non-duality, the awareness of Advaita, of non-separation, that reveals itself in this learning. True contact with the present moment requires the presence of perception. When there is perception, there is not the presence of the perceiver; it is only perception, it is only perceiving, it is the clarity of the present moment, where everything is seen, not from the past, because there is not the element called thought to judge experience, to be the sensor censoring the present moment. There is only a clear vision of this instant, of this moment.
The clear vision of this moment brings self-discovery, self-revelation, brings awareness of the moment. So, the truth of learning about ourselves is, in reality, the unlearning of this psychological background, this pattern of conditioning that we carry and to which we are constantly responding from itself; responses that are constantly coming from a background, where we have the presence of this thinker, this experiencer, this "I."
The great truth about this is that this entire response, since it arises from thought, thought is the basis of this illusory condition of separation, because there is no such thing as "I," this "me," this ego. What is present is the response of mental conditioning in this format of thought. Thus, the mind within us is the conditioned mind, the mind within the pattern of duality, of separation.
We have no real response to the present moment because we are unconscious, inattentive. There is no presence of Attention, no presence of Real Intelligence. Every present response to any stimulus, to any situation, to any person, to any external condition is something that always comes, arises within us within the model of thought, which is the model of the past. When you talk to people, there is no Attention in this conversation. Clearly, everything we talk to someone is based on the knowledge we bring.
In a way, knowledge is necessary, technically, professionally, within simple relations, but we place the psychological element within these relations, due to the presence of this inattention. In the absence of Attention to our reactions, our contact with people is a contact born out of the past, this background of egoic conditioning. All my contact with him or her, centered on the "I," the ego, on this image that thought has constructed about who I am, which is the belief that thought has established about me, all the contact I have with him or her, is within this self-centeredness.
We lack the presence of Divine Reality. When we are inclined toward this search or quest for Truth, a question eventually arises within us, and the question is: How to find God? Here, the fact of this contact with the Reality of That which is You, based on Self-awareness and this vision, which is the awareness of Meditation, already lies the answer to this question. You cannot find God outside; He is not somewhere to be found. There is no such thing as a place where God is found, to be found.
Here, this moment is the moment of Revelation; here, this moment is the moment of realization of the Reality of your Being, of Divine Truth. Clearly, this is something that requires the presence of Self-awareness, of this new learning, and this learning requires the presence of perception. To perceive the present moment, without the past, is to be aware of what is unfolding here, without the perceiver, without the thinker, without the idea, the belief of someone present. It is precisely when someone appears, it is precisely when someone arrives that the element of separation arises, the belief of the division between this "I" and the "non-I" occurs.
We are constantly looking at the world from this separation, this duality. The end of this duality is the vision of Divine Reality. This encounter with God is the awareness of this Being; it is not you having an encounter with God, it is the Reality of this Being revealing itself. When the "I" is not there, when this feeling, thought, sensation of someone is no longer present. Comprehending life is the Truth of the Revelation of your Being. Learning about Self-awareness, learning about non-duality, learning about God is something here and now.
The Reality of God is the Reality of this Being, which is the Truth about You in your True, Real Nature. This is what we are here working with you on the weekends. We have two days together, Saturday and Sunday, to get closer to this vision. These are online meetings on the weekends. I want to extend an invitation to you: here, in the video description, is our link to participate in these online meetings. In addition to the online meetings, we have in-person meetings and also retreats. If what you just heard makes sense to you, here's an invitation: give a "like," subscribe to the channel, and leave a comment: "Yes, that makes sense." Okay? See you soon!
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