Not effort or
the absence of effort,
neither choice nor
the impossibility of choice,
neither self nor not self,
neither nothing nor something,
neither emptiness nor form,
neither unborn nor born,
the third thing... - John Astin
Why does it matter
where I look,
or how long my gaze
remains there
when everything
I behold is That,
this unspeakable
Mystery
that lives
as everything? - John Astin
That which we seek is, by definition always something else, is it not? Whatever we are looking for is always some other time, always some other place. We are never seeking the state we are for that state is already present! And though we traverse the inner and outer worlds in search of that elusive “something else,” there will never be a “something else.” There will always be only this. . .
Now, it would be easy to hear such a message and then try to put an end to all the searching. But of course, the effort to not look for something else is to look for something else. The struggle to be free of the search and “accept what is” is, ironically, to turn away from what is, to turn away from the experience of “not-accepting.” But turning away from what is and seeking out some other experience or state of mind is to simply seek out some other experience or state of mind. In other words, it is not actually a problem. It is simply the way life moves, simply what is. . .
So, what would become of the search if there were no effort to end it? What would happen to the experience we call “seeking” if all the spiritual manipulations and strategies to make it disappear were to cease? . . . - John Astin
. . . So-called “powerful” experiences are really no more important or worthy of attention than seemingly less powerful or significant ones. The mind’s tendency is to divide the world up, to split reality into what it likes (and thinks is worthwhile and desirable) and what it dislikes (and sees as less worthwhile or desirable). There are those experiences mind deems to be meaningful and extraordinary and those it considers to be quite ordinary, maybe even meaningless. But presence or awareness - the mystery that is awake - does not see the world this way. It is radically and unconditionally open to things and experiences, as they are, regardless of their particular taste, texture, or feel. This that is Awake sees beyond the mind’s preferences. It recognizes that every moment is a gift, every moment the miracle, not just the ones that match our particular preferences and desires. - John Astin
But then, in a moment of grace, something else revealed itself. It was suddenly seen that the entire experience of seeking was being sustained by one simple belief, one idea that was holding the whole thing together: “This should not be here. Seeking should not be happening.” That was it, one little thought…
And in the instant that was seen, the whole thing fell apart. Seeking unraveled itself, for it was so obvious that it was only the resistance to seeking, the very effort to become free of it, that was keeping it alive. For what is seeking when there is no resistance to it? What is resistance like when there is no resistance to it? What are fear, and anxiety, and insecurity when there is no idea that those experiences should be other than they are (or if such ideas are present, there is no idea that such ideas should somehow disappear)?
What happens to the experience we call “suffering and separation” when there is no effort to liberate ourselves from it? - John Astin
The path to God, the path to ultimate reality is as Krishnamurti said, a "pathless path." In the end, there is no path to the ultimate because there is only the ultimate. Everything is made of That, the source and suchness of all things - every tree, every person, every flower, every atom, every star - all of them made of the same ineffable mystery, the wetness in every wave...
We may imagine that we are on a journey back to God, but how can there be a journey to something that is everywhere and everything? We walk to our temples and mosques, our churches and synagogues, our yoga centers and meditation cushions, to find God, to find Truth, but what is sought is already present, present before the first step is ever taken, and present as that very step. What is sought is here before the first thought ever arises to seek It, and It is here as that very thought. Truth is present, before the mind ever imagines it has been lost. But Truth is also the imagining, God seeking God...
We seek God but there is no escaping God for there is only God, only Spirit dancing as everything that is seen, everything that is touched, everything that is felt. We search for something else that will make us happy, some other experience or moment, but the happiness and freedom we seek is already here as this - this experience, this state of mind, this moment. Every breath, every sensation, the clarity, the confusion, the seeking, and the end of seeking, all of them God, all of them the Truth, all of them, enough. - John Astin
When I get this one question answered, there will be no more questions.
When this one desire is finally satisfied, there will be no more desires.
When at last, I have found what I’ve been searching for, there will be no more searching.
We’ve heard it all before, haven’t we, heard all the false promises of the me? It is the voice of a hungry ghost, an emptiness that will never be satisfied because there is nothing there to fill. . . - John Astin
