Redefining Fulfilment As A State of Being, Not A Feeling

In Day 3, we talk about Law of Attraction, positive thinking, and trying to control or guide our thoughts. We notice that, even though it can work temporarily and is a good way of getting in touch with our self, eventually our thoughts will drift away toward something neutral or unpleasant. It is not the thoughts themselves that give us the fulfilment that we experience, but rather the thoughts are an expression of fulfilment. Furthermore, when we do not try to guide our thoughts, they keep appearing in our awareness without us deciding to think. As such, there is not really a thinker, just a flow of thoughts. That being the case, we will turn our attention once more towards our self, which is effortlessly at peace and happy.

In Day 4, we explore our experience of sense perceptions and the world. We notice that each sense is by itself empty of perception, and that allows us to experience a wide variety of sights, sounds, tastes, smells. We also understand that - just like the heart is beating and our lungs are breathing - our flow of thoughts leads us to choices and actions that happen on their own. As such, there is no doer, just an experiencer that is watching life unfold. This is our Self, effortlessly fulfilled and accepting, allowing each moment to be as it pleases.

In Day 5, we remind ourselves of what we have learned over the previous four days: that the experience of the body and the world happen within our awareness. That a continuous flow of thoughts happens without a thinker to ‘do’ it. That there is no doer who chooses the actions and choices that result from this flow of thoughts, and that, therefore, ‘being in control’ is an illusion. When we rest as awareness, there is a natural allowing of experience to happen without the need to change or control it. That is because our essential self is one with, yet unaffected by the elements of our experience. This means that it is effortlessly fulfilled, free, and all-accepting.

In Day 6, we learn a practice in which we put our hands on our heart, and genuinely ask: “What does my heart desire to do next?” We sit in meditation for 2 to 3 minutes, and let many answers come up. Then, we write them all down and do the same thing again for another 2-3 minutes. We then pick the thing or things from the lists that appear the most, and do that. The aim of the practice is to go beyond what we think we should do next, and simply recognise and feel what we actually want to do. After we have completed a list of tasks that we have come up with in this way, we can do the practice again.

In Day 7, we learn a practice that brings us directly back to the experience of our Self that is effortlessly fulfilled and all-embracing. The practice is to ask “Who is the ‘I’ that …?” anytime there seems to be a problem or difficulty arising. When we are resisting something, we believe ourselves to be separate from it, and with that comes the need to change or control it, as well as the idea of an illusory thinker or doer. By asking the question “who is the ‘I’ that …”, we go back directly to our essential Self - the awareness that allows everything to be exactly as it is.

In Day 8, we use mantras to remind ourselves of where fulfilment can actually be found. The phrases to repeat are: • What I look for is already here • Peace is already here • Fulfilment is already here • Love is already here • Acceptance is already here You can change these phrases and create your own mantras to bring you back. Repeating these mantras connects us directly with our essential Self, and dissolves the illusion that what we look for is somewhere outside of us.

Day 9 is about the purpose of life, which is simply to be present and embrace every experience as it arises. Anytime there is a belief or tension in the body that points to something we do not accept, life makes it obvious to us by putting us in situations that make us face it. In order to reach deeper depths of peace and happiness, our minds and bodies are realigned with the understanding that fulfilment is already here. This means that anytime a belief that happiness is outside us is shown to us, we allow it to be seen from the perspective of our true self. When we do not resist life, we flow with it and create from a place of abundance and freedom.

In Day 10, we explore our actual experience and recognise once more that our essential Self is already fulfilled and at peace independent of the thoughts, feelings, and sense perceptions that are present. Resting as awareness is the most natural and effortless state that we can find. Indeed, there is nothing to do to be. And since it is all-accepting and untouched by experience, resting in that space is the secret to a simple life.