Topic: Why Self Knowledge

Hi Lena,

Thank you for your comments. Politics seems to be a collective conglomeration
of people’s desires and fears. So you never know how the political structure of
the world will work itself out. All you can hope for is that world leaders will have
a sense of compassion and the ability to see beyond their personal desires,
and to act in a way that is best for the world as a whole.

And what’s the best way to get beyond personal desires: to find the actual
source of happiness. This happiness lies in the place where you actually
experience it, not in the objects that you see. In www.light-up-your-life.com
I talk about the Kingdom of Heaven being within you. It’s about halfway
down the page.

The reason Self-Knowledge seems murky is that you can’t see yourself as
a separate object. You know yourself in a more direct manner. This is like
the sun knowing light without the need for a separate light.

Your mind just can’t grasp your innate Consciousness. The only way that
room space can discover its real nature is by standing free of the limitations
of the room. In the same way when you stand as the Consciousness that is
free of the limitations of the objects that you see, like your mind and body,
you become the freedom that you were looking for.

Unlike a murky swamp, when you stand as your innate Consciousness things
become very clear. All your questions get answered in a way that you could
not have imaged. So I hope that this gives you something to consider and
meditate on. And of course you comments and questions are always welcome.

Best Wishes,

Michael

How to find the right meditation technique

I thought that you might find this information useful:

Recently, I’ve received many emails asking, “How
can I start a meditation practice?” I hope that
the information below will help you to sort out
the possibilities that are in store for you in
your meditation practice. Also I hope that you
will get a sense of how to evaluate a meditation
practice and then get to the place that you want.

The most important tip for starting a meditation
practice is to decide where you want to end up.
Then you can look into what techniques to use,
and what teachers will help you to find an answer
to your questions.

I am always surprised when people just randomly
pick a meditation technique or a teacher and start
practicing. That's because there are thousands of
meditation systems and they can take you to millions
of different places. The realm of meditation
experience is even greater than the realm of
physical experience.

However, in one lifetime, you can only practice a
tiny fraction of the techniques in any of these
systems. So it's important that before you just
start practicing a meditation technique that you
get a broad sense of what you hope to accomplish
through your meditation.

Roughly, there are three categories of meditation
practices: First, those that affect the mind such
as for quieting it, relaxing, concentrating the mind
or improving the memory. At its heights you can
develop blank states of mind where time and space
disappear, like in Samadhi.

Secondly you can develop subtitle energy for curing
physical illnesses, or for obtaining states of Kundalini
or chi. If you hope to levitate or accomplish physical
actions like bending spoons with your mind, this is the
energy you will need to develop. There are also energy
states like the raising of Kundalini that can barley
be described by words. Although you may not be able to
see a persons Kundalini rise, this experience is very
real to the person meditating on it.

And thirdly at its heights, meditation can help you to
find liberation and put an end to suffering for good.
This is the path that I would recommend and I’ll talk
more about this path in the second half of this article.

Obtaining Energy States   
As an example, if you want to obtain one of the subtle
energy states that I described above, here’s what you
must do. You must find a subtle yogi or Kundalini master
as your teacher. The trick, when choosing a teacher is
to make sure he or she has obtained the state that you
desire. After all it is easy for someone to think about
these subtle states. It is much more difficult to be
in the place from which subtle powers emanate.

I have heard of many teachers who claim to have these
subtle powers. Yet, I have seen very little of it. If
you hope to obtain physical states like levitation and
moving objects with your mind you can just watch a
teacher to make sure that he or she can do these things.

If you want a more subtle state like an out of the body
experience I’m afraid that you will have to guess if
your perspective teacher has actually obtained that
state. In the teacher’s presence, try to feel if he or
she has what you want. Use your intuition.

Once you find your teacher then you have to follow his
or her teachings to the letter. This could be a full
time job. You may have to control your breath, remain
celibate, and watch the amount and types of food that
you eat. You may have to do this for many years.

Even then there is no guarantee that you will obtain
the state that you want. The one person who I think
probably had subtle powers was the founder of Aikido,
Morihei Uyeshiba. He had many students who are still
alive, and although I heard about teachers who
reportedly have his powers, I have not met one who
could demonstrate the powers that Uyeshiba was reputed
to have.

There is one more drawback to attempting to obtain subtle
powers. Since it is you, a limited person, attempting to
get these powers, at some point as they began, they will
end. This might be at the death of the physical body, or
at the death of a subtle body that could last for millions
of years. But at the time that your powers pass away it
will seem like they did not last long enough.

So, of course you can still go after these subtle powers.
But at least now your eyes will be wide open and you will
see the obstacles that you may face.

The Path of Liberation is Different
There is one state that is so close to everyone that they
just overlook it. It is the very source of Consciousness
and Bliss that never comes to an end, “The peace that
passes all understanding.” You did not create this state
and it will not pass away. You merely have to discover
who you are even now, and what you have always been. This
is the path of liberation sometimes called Self-Discovery.

In your path of Self-Discovery it is also helpful to find
a competent teacher. You can use the information here to
help you find this teacher.

For instance, if your aim is self-discovery you won’t go
to a teacher who teaches you how to reach subtle energy
states. If the teacher emphasizes breathing techniques,
mind control, or posture you should know that this is
not the path to Self-Discovery.

Of course you must also put energy into the process of
Self-Discovery. But it is a different kind of energy.
It is the kind of energy that questions; that doesn’t
take anything for granted. It’s the kind of energy that
catches thoughts like, “Because I think it, it must be
true,” or, “I know how things are,” and then allows you
to look afresh like a newborn baby. There is no room for
dullness on the path of Self-Discovery. You want to
reexamine your experience to determine if your direct
experience is actually the way you think it’s supposed
to be.

The difference is that the energy for Self-Discovery is
not based on you controlling the breath or the mind. It
is rather based on throwing off assumed limitations, so
that you can become the Awareness and Bliss that you
really are.

If you can see the value of meditation, why not make an
attempt to discover Wisdom and Joy that is so deep that
it even transcends death; yet it is just who you are.
Why not embark on the path of Self-Discovery that will
take you to ultimate liberation? On
www.Light-Up-Your-Life.com you will find some resources
to help you embark on this journey.

Best Wishes,

Michael Gluckman

Michael is the author of “Making Your Wisdom Come Alive,”
a step by step guide to finding your real identity. For
more information go to:
wisdom.light-up-your-life.com