There is an appearance of multiplicity. But behind the appearance are clues pointing to oneness. . .

Monday, October 8, 2007

Your friends won't notice


Nothing changes in the life of the seeming individual, once it is noticed that witnessing is all that is ever going on. A life, with all its ups and downs, with all its selfish interactions and illogical behaviors, will go on just as before.

There never was an individual there. So why would the story of the life change? Why would it get “more lighted,” or more peaceful, or more “spiritual”? Why would dramas and upsets disappear? That “life” is not yours – it is not a reflection of you.

Do not make the mistake of thinking of yourself as the owner of a life. You are not. An owner is not there, period. It is absent, to the very core. There is no owner, no individual, no reference point for any events in that life to refer to.

Where does the individual come from, then? Who is the individual who is thinking that there is an individual?

It is only being created right now, in a mistaken thought. It does not and never did exist over time, as an objective thing. Until you imagine an individual right now, it never was. See that all reference points only emerge from this one, current, mistaken thought, presently. And in the next new moment, all reference points vanish. It’s always a new day. . .

I remember some conversations. I remember some events. All kinds of memories are arising right now – a constant stream of them flowing through my mind. But I can’t find a person to whom they apply. I notice that this thought contains a reference to an event, but I was never involved in that event. I’ve always just been here, right now, where nothing is ever happening.

I have no reference point for what that event means. Some bodies talked and interacted. I was there as witness, but I have no idea what was going on. The only way I could make sense of what went on is if I assume an “avatar” of some kind, a fictional personality with certain traits which make it want to attract some things and avoid other things. Then, all the events have meaning and fall together as story. But I have no such personality. I am no one. The events fall away as they occur, into nothingness. Right now – always right now – I am free of all of it. So are you.

Everything falls silent. It all comes to a complete standstill. Nothing is happening. There is mental activity; any thought can arise. There is physical activity; all kinds of things can happen. But all this activity – mental and physical – is simply swirling gently within this utter stillness. The stillness is total.

This stillness does not need to be identified with. Let go of trying to “identify” with the witnessing presence. There is no one to do this. Witnessing is happening, and it’s impossible to be unaware of. So forget about it. - Annette Nibley

No comments:

Counter