Awakening - The Complete Road Map - Step 3

Join us for a transformative series of talks exploring the journey of consciousness as it matures and blossoms into its fullest potential. Over the course of 10 sessions, we will delve into progressively advanced levels of maturity—beginning with a contracted sense of a separate self and culminating in a state of fully expanded awareness. In this session, co-hosted by our beloved Carly Beaulieu, we will discuss the third revelation a maturing consciousness reveals- The ability to become present- totally present...

Transcript

So,

Hello people,

Welcome to this weekly opportunity we give ourselves to stop the rush,

Hold hands and walk the path together.

Not just as individuals on the path,

But also as a united consciousness that is growing while asking and answering itself.

My name is Yaron,

Is there anybody here that is taking part of this circle for the first time?

Please let us know.

This is Karleen,

Bolly you,

And she will sound the voice of the sincere seeker for us.

No one is here for the first time,

Fantastic.

So we can rush through,

Up first time.

Panda,

Welcome,

Very exciting to have you with us.

We are in the middle of an impossible journey,

Describing the path that consciousness follows as it matures into a state of full awakening.

Why is it impossible?

Because first of all,

It's not a textbook procedure and it's not an exact science.

And every one of us has its own unique journey.

And secondly,

It's impossible because this journey goes way beyond ideas and concepts that can be portrayed by words.

So the idea that we can speak about the complete journey is ridiculous.

But anyway,

We're going to do it and see what happens.

Elaine is also here for the first time.

Hello Elaine,

Welcome.

Very exciting to have you with us.

What's the point of trying to portray this path?

The point is that once that road map is completely spread in front of us,

I believe our journey can be much more structured,

Less confusing,

And effective.

Once we harness our energy,

Our intention,

Sankalpa,

Once we harness our sankalpa,

That's the Sanskrit term,

And we make that the most important thing,

That road map can help us orient ourselves towards the ultimate goal of awakening.

Hello Tante.

Welcome.

So that's the reason behind this series of talks.

And of course,

As always,

This is not a lecture.

There is a framework,

A very rough framework,

But it will,

You know,

Take shape according to your questions and your curiosity and your courage and your honesty.

So don't be shy.

That's how you contribute to this event,

By typing your questions and insist to get the answer that would create peace of mind in you.

That's the purpose of all answers to all the questions on the spiritual path.

To reconnect you with peace of mind.

Okay,

So let's just briefly go through what we've done so far,

And we'll take it from there.

We said that the journey starts when something ignites in us,

A spark,

A spark,

A longing to grow beyond life as we used to live.

It could be triggered by an external event,

Like meeting with a spiritual teacher,

Reading a book or a religious scripture.

It could be some suffering.

Vast majority of people join because of suffering,

Because of trauma,

Because of experiencing loss or something like that,

That drives us to look further into the unknown,

Looking for a deeper meaning.

Realizing that life as we know,

As we are used to live in that very limited envelope that we allow ourselves to operate in,

Some call it a comfort zone,

That life is not satisfactory anymore,

And we have to expand that.

So some of us are driven by external events to do it,

Some of us just experience a huge slap on the face by life,

Some of us are just curious,

They have that longing for a deeper meaning for their own existence.

So that spark has to be ignited somehow.

Without it,

There is no journey.

I mean,

Not a conscious one.

And another thing that needs to be emphasized is that that journey that we always refer to has no destination.

It's not that we are going from the origin point to the destination,

The endpoint of our journey.

You need to realize that once that spark is ignited and we are consciously joining the process of evolution of consciousness,

That's the end of the journey,

As far as we are concerned.

It's not about reaching a different realization,

A different reality,

A different version of ourselves.

It's not about that at all.

It's remaining in the center point,

In the beginning point.

So that is the first thing that starts our evolution.

And then once we expand or start at least investigating the periphery of our comfort zone,

The first realization consciousness has to encounter is that the realm of phenomena has no power.

Somebody write it down.

The realm of phenomena has no power and specifically thoughts have no power.

And that's a huge realization because we are so hypnotized by the realm of phenomena,

We are lost in it,

In the drama it generates for us.

We are completely hooked,

Completely addicted to that drama.

And there is no freedom there at all.

But once that realization dawns on us,

Oh,

Actually the realm of phenomena itself has no power.

It's me,

The observer,

That experiences the realm of phenomena,

That gives that power away.

And of course,

Realizing that,

You also realize you can choose not to give that power.

You can choose to remain silent,

Engaging with the realm of phenomena.

And that is a huge first step.

You see what I'm saying?

Any questions about that first step?

Thoughts are revealed to be just an external event happening outside of who we are.

Okay,

It's like,

Imagine a movie theater that you sit and watch a movie on,

A silver screen.

The movie itself has no power.

It's just 30 frames per second of light.

It has no power,

Cannot hurt you or harm you in any way.

But of course,

You,

The observer,

Believing what you see to be true,

Gives that power We call it entertainment.

Otherwise,

It's boring.

What's the point of going to the cinema if you don't believe that the movie is real,

Right?

At least for two hours.

But when it happens in our head,

That's it.

We are caught in that drama and we are lost in it.

Realizing we are not that.

Thoughts have no power.

I give that power.

I am not my thoughts.

Thoughts are just external events that I meet.

I experience.

And I can choose whatever I want to do with them.

Okay,

That's the first step.

Questions?

Barbara's saying,

I understand,

And then I forget,

And then I remember,

And then I forget.

Good grief.

Dante's saying,

Be more,

Think less.

And Debra's saying,

Suspending our disbelief.

Yeah.

So second step.

Once that is realized,

The natural next step is a fine alignment between our physical body and the physical reality that we meet.

That is what we discussed last week.

Alignment between our physical body and the physical reality that the body meets.

Usually,

That alignment is not possible because the body is completely caught up in the drama.

The level of stress that our body is in is completely irrelevant to the level of stress required by the present moment.

Why?

Because either we are caught in the drama,

Or we accumulate that stress from days and weeks and months and years of resisting,

Avoiding,

Hoping,

What else?

Expecting.

All the things that thoughts does,

Which in two words is taking us either to the past or to the future.

You see that?

So the nature of thought is to catch our intention,

Grab it from what is to what used to be,

Either in the form of trauma,

Some terrible thing that happened to me,

And I'm still caught up with that.

And the body reacts accordingly.

Or we are long in missing something that used to be.

Back then,

I was young and beautiful and happy.

If only I could regenerate that reality for myself.

I used to have a relationship that was so beautiful,

Perfect.

If only I could reinvent that relationship for myself.

Right?

So we are having a relationship with the past,

Past event.

Doesn't matter if that relationship is what we describe as positive or negative.

But our thoughts,

The stream of thoughts,

Steal our attention and takes us back there.

Or the stream of thoughts steal our attention and takes us to the future,

Right?

Either in the form of anxiety,

We are afraid of what might happen,

What would be the outcome of the present moment.

Or we are expecting,

Hoping that the future will be better than the present.

And maybe then we can be happy,

Right?

So the stream of thoughts steals our attention and throws it to the past or to the future.

And our body is aligned accordingly,

Completely disengaged from the present moment.

Because we are not here.

We are not present.

Yes?

So there is no alignment.

Our body doesn't leave the physical reality that is happening at the present moment.

Because it's completely caught up with the movie,

Terrible movie.

Or the exciting movie that currently is projected on the screen of the mind.

Questions?

No questions.

Iga is saying alignment between our body and the physical reality.

Dante is saying we are being thunk most of the time.

Meaning the things happen and we identify with them thinking they are real and are us.

But that's not true.

Yeah.

That's not true.

We need to redefine what truth is.

You know,

It might think like,

It might sound like a huge philosophical question.

What is the truth,

You know?

Apropos Dante.

Dante was a big seeker for the truth.

What is the truth?

Here on the white path,

Truth has a very definite definition.

Definition.

At least the closest thing you can refer to when searching for the truth is the present moment.

So if you want to live a truthful life,

You can only do it in the present moment.

You cannot do it in the future.

Like many people on the spiritual path are mistaken to believe.

And you cannot do it in the past.

You can only do it now.

Truthful life can be achieved,

Can be fulfilled only when you are available to experience the present moment.

So alignment between the body and the present moment.

Once I'm not caught up realizing the thoughts are not real.

In the sense of they don't have power and they don't describe who I am just because I'm thinking about something.

Doesn't say anything about who I am.

Realizing that I'm available to loosen the grip.

And I'm not sailing to the past and to the future so easily because I choose not to.

I choose not to.

Yeah,

If thoughts have no power,

I gain the power.

The observer.

And now I can choose where I'm putting my attention.

And when I put my attention on the present moment,

I'm becoming more and more present.

And once I become more and more present,

Our body meets the present moment for the first time.

I'm available to experience.

And then the second step.

Are we ready to discuss today's subject?

Or are there any more questions?

Ready?

I think we're ready.

So today we're going to discuss the second step we do as we leave the perimeter of our comfort zone and expand our consciousness more and more.

After the spark has ignited,

After we realize the thoughts have no power,

After we realigned our body and the present moment,

The second step that we do,

You can call total listening.

What does it mean,

Total listening?

It means in one sentence,

Establishing presence that is unreactive,

Unreactive presence which is very real.

You don't see those too often.

Usually,

We are pre-programmed to react like robots,

Even unconsciously,

Sometimes consciously,

But in both cases,

We are unable,

Unavailable to meet the present moment without reacting to it.

Why do we react to it?

Because there is conditioning in us,

Pre-programmed conditioning.

Something is happening and immediately there is an opinion about it.

Yes?

Yes.

A thought,

An idea.

Of course,

If the thought brands the present moment as good,

We want more of that.

And if the idea that we have brands the present moment as bad,

We want less of that.

Right?

Because we want more good and less bad.

We want to be,

To feel more pleasant,

Joyful,

Or you can say,

More safe and less threatened,

Experiencing unpleasant or scary experiences,

Negative experiences.

So,

These two forces play with us automatically,

Most of the time even unconsciously.

We are holding on to situations,

Believing they are good,

Or we are trying to avoid,

Fight against situations because we believe they are bad.

Do you see that?

There is no freedom there.

And generally speaking,

When you encounter a situation where you experience no freedom on the spiritual path,

The red flag should immediately follow saying,

Hey,

How is it that I'm on the journey to a free consciousness and I don't feel free in this situation?

You never let such an opportunity slip between your fingers without learning something about yourself.

So,

Craving and aversions,

Craving and aversions,

Trying to hold on to something,

Trying to keep it close,

Keep it mine,

Making sure you don't lose it and it doesn't disappear or change to something else.

And aversions,

Believing this is bad,

No,

No,

I don't want it.

Let's,

I want to avoid this as much as I can,

Reduce it as much as I can.

Pleasure is good,

Pain is bad.

It's one common example.

I want more pleasure,

I want less pain.

Yeah.

And there are a thousand more,

You know them from your own life.

Hold on,

Holding on to something or trying to avoid something.

But in one word,

Reacting,

Reacting to the situation that you are currently experiencing.

Once you react,

Especially when it's so automatic,

There is no freedom there.

Like a robot,

A robot doesn't have a choice,

No?

You press the button,

The robot wakes up,

You press another button,

The robot lifts up its hand,

There is no choice.

Same with you,

You experience pain,

Immediately,

This is bad,

No,

No,

I want less of this.

So at this level of matureness of consciousness,

What the miracle that happens is that you are free of the rule of these two forces,

Craving and aversions.

You stop rejecting the present moment,

Believing it's bad,

And you stop holding on to the present moment,

Believing it's good.

You can look at it from another perspective.

And that is the essence of fear.

What is the essence of fear?

If you search deep inside,

You will find that essentially there are only two fears in this world.

And all the other fears are just variations of these two core fears.

What are they?

The fear of losing what I believe is mine,

That I've achieved,

And it's mine.

And the other fear is the fear of not getting what I believe I don't have,

I need.

Yes?

The fear of losing what's mine,

The fear of not getting what's not mine.

And you will see,

This is the same forces acting,

Craving and aversions.

Yes,

Craving,

This is mine.

I'm holding on to it.

Very feminine,

Mine,

Mine,

Everything is mine.

And aversion is escaping,

No,

No,

No,

No,

No,

I don't want this.

This is bad.

This is very masculine.

Craving and aversion,

The masculine and the feminine are fighting in me.

So the other way of looking on this stage of evolution of consciousness is the stage where we lose our fear.

And these two fears stop manipulating us anymore.

So,

Hello,

Little people,

Welcome to this weekly opportunity we give ourselves to stop the rush,

Hold hands and walk the path together.

Not just as individuals on the path,

But also as a united consciousness that is growing while asking and answering itself.

My name is Yaron.

Is there anybody here that is taking part of this circle for the first time?

Please let us know.

This is Karleen.

Bully you.

And she will sound the voice of the sincere seeker for us.

No one is here for the first time.

Fantastic.

So we can rush through up first time.

Panda,

Welcome.

Very exciting to have you with us.

We are in the middle of an impossible journey.

Describing the path that consciousness follows as it matures into a state of full awakening.

Why is it impossible?

Because first of all,

It's not a textbook procedure and it's not an exact science.

And every one of us has its own unique journey.

And secondly,

It's impossible because this journey goes way beyond ideas and concepts that can be portrayed by words.

So the idea that we can speak about the complete journey is ridiculous.

But anyway,

We're going to do it and see what happens.

Elaine is also here for the first time.

Hello,

Elaine.

Welcome.

Very exciting to have you with us.

What's the point of trying to portray this path?

The point is that once that road map is completely spread in front of us,

I believe our journey can be much more structured,

Less confusing,

And effective.

Once we harness our energy,

Our intention,

Sankalpa.

Once we harness our Sankalpa,

That's the Sanskrit term.

And we make that the most important thing,

That road map can help us orient ourselves towards the ultimate goal of awakening.

Hello,

Tante.

Welcome.

So that's the reason behind this series of talks.

And of course,

As always,

This is not a lecture.

There is a framework,

A very rough framework,

But it will,

You know,

Take shape according to your questions and your curiosity and your courage and your honesty.

So don't be shy.

That's how you contribute to this event,

By typing your questions and insist to get the answer that would create peace of mind in you.

And that's the purpose of all answers to all the questions on the spiritual path,

To reconnect you with peace of mind.

Okay,

So let's just briefly go through what we've done so far.

And we'll take it from there.

We said that the journey starts when something ignites in us,

A spark,

A spark,

A longing to grow beyond life as we used to live.

It could be triggered by an external event,

Like a meeting with a spiritual teacher,

Reading a book or a religious scripture.

It could be some suffering.

Vast majority of people join because of suffering,

Because of trauma,

Because of experiencing loss or something like that,

That drives us to look further into the unknown,

Looking for a deeper meaning.

Realizing that life as we know,

As we are used to live in that very limited envelope that we allow ourselves to operate in,

Some call it a comfort zone,

That life is not satisfactory anymore.

And we have to expand that.

So some of us are driven by external events to do it.

Some of us just experience a huge slap on the face by life.

Some of us are just curious or just,

They have that longing for a deeper meaning for their own existence.

So that spark has to be ignited somehow.

Without it,

There is no journey.

I mean,

Not a conscious one.

And another thing that needs to be emphasized is that that journey that we always refer to has no destination.

It's not that we are going from the origin point to the destination,

The endpoint of our journey.

You need to realize that once that spark is ignited and we are consciously joining the process of evolution of consciousness,

That's the end of the journey,

As far as we are concerned.

It's not about reaching a different realization,

A different reality,

A different version of ourselves.

It's not about that at all.

It's remaining in the center point,

In the beginning point.

So that is the first thing that starts our evolution.

And then once we expand or start at least investigating the periphery of our comfort zone,

The first realization consciousness has to encounter is that the realm of phenomena has no power.

Somebody write it down.

The realm of phenomena has no power and specifically thoughts have no power.

And that's a huge realization.

Because we are so hypnotized by the realm of phenomena,

We are lost in it,

In the drama it generates for us.

We are completely hooked,

Completely addicted to that drama.

And there is no freedom there at all.

But once that realization dawns on us,

Oh,

Actually the realm of phenomena itself has no power.

It's me,

The observer that experience the realm of phenomena,

That gives that power away.

And of course,

Realizing that,

You also realize you can choose not to give that power.

You can choose to remain silent,

Engaging with the realm of phenomena.

And that is a huge first step.

You see what I'm saying?

Any questions about that first step?

Thoughts are revealed to be just an external event happening outside of who we are.

Okay,

It's like,

Imagine a movie theater that you sit and watch a movie on,

A silver screen.

The movie itself has no power.

It's just 30 frames per second of light.

It has no power.

Cannot hurt you or harm you in any way.

But of course,

You,

The observer,

Believing what you see to be true,

Gives that power.

We call it entertainment.

Otherwise,

It's boring.

What's the point of going to the cinema if you don't believe that the movie is real,

Right?

At least for two hours.

But when it happens in our head,

That's it.

We are caught in that drama and we are lost in it.

Realizing we are not that.

Thoughts have no power.

I give that power.

I am not my thoughts.

Thoughts are just external events that I meet,

I experience.

And I can choose whatever I want to do with them.

Okay,

That's the first step.

Questions?

Barbara's saying,

I understand,

And then I forget,

And then I remember,

And then I forget.

Good grief.

Dante's saying,

Be more,

Think less.

And Debra's saying,

Suspending our disbelief.

Yeah.

So second step.

Once that is realized,

The natural next step is a fine alignment between our physical body and the physical reality that we meet.

That is what we discussed last week.

Alignment between our physical body and the physical reality that the body meets.

Usually that alignment is not possible because the body is completely caught up in the drama.

The level of stress that our body is in is completely irrelevant to the level of stress required by the present moment.

Why?

Because either we are caught in the drama or we accumulate that stress from days and weeks and months and years of resisting,

Avoiding,

Avoiding,

Hoping,

What else,

Expecting.

All the things that thought does,

Which in two words is taking us either to the past or to the future.

You see that?

The nature of thought is to catch our intention,

Grab it from what is to what used to be,

Either in the form of trauma,

Some terrible thing that happened to me and I am still caught up with that and the body reacts accordingly.

Or we are long in missing something that used to be.

Back then I was young and beautiful and happy.

If only I could regenerate that reality for myself.

I used to have a relationship that was so beautiful,

Perfect.

If only I could reinvent that relationship for myself.

So we are having a relationship with the past,

Past event.

Doesn't matter if that relationship is what we describe as positive or negative,

But our thoughts,

The stream of thoughts steal our attention and takes us back there.

Or the stream of thoughts steal our attention and takes us to the future,

Right?

Either in the form of anxiety,

We are afraid of what might happen,

What would be the outcome of the present moment.

Or we are expecting,

Hoping that the future will be better than the present and maybe then we can be happy,

Right?

So the stream of thoughts steals our attention and throws it to the past or to the future.

And our body is aligned accordingly,

Completely disengaged from the present moment because we are not here,

We are not present.

Yes?

So there is no alignment.

Our body doesn't leave the physical reality that is happening at the present moment.

Because it's completely caught up with the movie,

Terrible movie.

Or the exciting movie that currently is projected on the screen of the mind.

Questions?

No questions.

Iga is saying alignment between our body and the physical reality.

Dante is saying we are being thunk most of the time,

Meaning the things happen and we identifying with them thinking they are real and are us,

But that's not true.

Yeah.

That's not true.

We need to redefine what truth is.

You know,

It might think like,

It might sound like a huge philosophical question.

What is the truth,

You know?

Apropos Dante,

Dante was a big seeker for the truth.

What is the truth?

Here on the white path,

Truth has a very definite definition.

At least,

The closest thing you can refer to when searching for the truth is the present moment.

So if you want to live a truthful life,

You can only do it in the present moment.

You cannot do it in the future.

Like many people on the spiritual path are mistaken to believe.

And you cannot do it in the past.

You can only do it now.

Truthful life can be achieved,

Can be fulfilled,

Only when you are available to experience the present moment.

So alignment between the body and the present moment.

Once I'm not caught up realizing the thoughts are not real.

In the sense of they don't have power and they don't describe who I am,

Just because I'm thinking about something.

Doesn't say anything about who I am.

Realizing that,

I'm available to loosen the grip.

And I'm not sailing to the past and to the future so easily because I choose not to.

I choose not to.

Yeah,

If thoughts have no power,

I gain the power.

The observer.

And now I can choose where I'm putting my attention.

And when I put my attention on the present moment,

I'm becoming more and more present.

And once I become more and more present,

Our body meets the present moment for the first time.

I'm available to experience.

And then the second step.

Are we ready to discuss today's subject?

Or are there any more questions?

Ready?

I think we're ready.

So today we're going to discuss the second step we do as we leave the perimeter of our comfort zone and expand our consciousness more and more.

After the spark has ignited.

After we realize the thoughts have no power.

After we realigned our body and the present moment.

The second step that we do,

You can call total listening.

What does it mean,

Total listening?

It means in one sentence.

Establishing presence that is unreactive.

Unreactive presence.

Which is very real.

You don't see those too often.

Usually,

We are pre-programmed to react.

Like robots,

Even unconsciously,

Sometimes consciously.

But in both cases,

We are unable,

Unavailable to meet the present moment without reacting to it.

Why do we react to it?

Because there is conditioning.

In us.

Pre-programmed conditioning.

Something is happening and immediately there is an opinion about it.

Yes?

A thought.

An idea.

Of course,

If the thought brands the present moment as good,

We want more of that.

And if the idea that we have brands the present moment as bad,

We want less of that.

Right?

Because we want more good and less bad.

We want to feel more pleasant,

Joyful,

Or you can say,

More safe and less threatened,

Or experiencing unpleasant or scary experiences.

Negative experiences.

So,

These two forces play with us automatically.

Most of the time,

Even unconsciously,

We are holding on to situations,

Believing they are good,

Or we are trying to avoid,

Fight against situations because we believe they are bad.

Do you see that?

There is no freedom there.

And,

Generally speaking,

When you encounter a situation where you experience no freedom on the spiritual path,

A red flag should immediately follow saying,

Hey,

How is it that I'm on the journey to a free consciousness,

And I don't feel free in this situation?

You never let such an opportunity slip between your fingers without learning something about yourself.

So,

Craving and aversions.

Craving and aversions.

Trying to hold on to something.

Trying to keep it close,

Keep it mine.

Making sure you don't lose it and it doesn't disappear or change to something else.

And aversions.

Believing this is bad.

No,

No,

I don't want it.

Let's,

I want to avoid this as much as I can.

Reduce it as much as I can.

Pleasure is good.

Pain is bad.

It's one common example.

I want more pleasure.

I want less pain.

Yeah?

And there are a thousand more.

You know them from your own life.

Hold on,

Holding on to something or trying to avoid something.

But in one word,

Reacting.

Reacting to the situation that you are currently experiencing.

Once you react,

Especially when it's so automatic,

There is no freedom there.

Like a robot,

A robot doesn't have a choice,

No?

You press the button,

The robot wakes up.

You press another button,

The robot lifts up its hand.

There is no choice.

Same with you.

You experience pain,

Immediately,

This is bad.

No,

No,

I want less of this.

So at this level of matureness,

Of consciousness,

What the miracle that happens is that you are free of the rule of these two forces,

Craving and aversions.

You stop rejecting the present moment,

Believing it's bad,

And you stop holding on to the present moment,

Believing it's good.

You can look at it from another perspective.

And that is the essence of fear.

What is the essence of fear?

If you search deep inside,

You will find that essentially there are only two fears in this world.

And all the other fears are just variations of these two core fears.

What are they?

The fear of losing what I believe is mine,

That I've achieved,

And it's mine.

And the other fear is the fear of losing.

Not getting what I believe I don't have,

I need.

Yes,

The fear of losing what's mine,

The fear of not getting what's not mine.

And you will see this is the same forces acting,

Craving and aversions.

Yes,

Craving,

This is mine,

I'm holding on to it.

Craving,

Very feminine,

Mine,

Mine,

Everything is mine.

And aversion is escaping,

No,

No,

No,

No,

No,

I don't want this.

This is bad.

This is very masculine.

Craving and aversion,

The masculine and the feminine are fighting in me.

So,

The other way of looking on this stage of evolution of consciousness is the stage where we lose our fear.

And these two fears stop manipulating us anymore.