Hello,
This is William Cooper.
I trust you're doing well today.
This podcast is for.
Beginners.
People who are just starting out on their path of awakening.
I remember when I started.
Sometime around 50 years ago.
And I really didn't have a clue as to what awakening was,
Enlightenment was.
And I really couldn't find any clarification either.
So what I'd like to do in this brief talk is to share with you what I found,
What my current perspective is on what awakening is.
Yes,
I know different people have different perspectives,
So I'm sharing mine.
In the hopes that you'll find it helpful on your path as you unfold.
And of course,
Take it all with a grain of salt.
Always,
Always follow your heart in the end.
And I am hopeful though,
That this podcast will give you a perspective so that as you sort through various practices and podcasts and processes,
You have a perspective that might be helpful.
So.
First of all,
What is awakening?
From my perspective,
Awakening is you.
The true you without your troubles.
That you,
Without fear or anxiety,
Or hurt or abandonment or existential angst or anger or frustration.
If all of those things left,
If your troubles just dissolved away.
That which would be left would be the true you.
You are always here.
You're always wherever you are.
But often we're covered up with troubles and we don't feel our true self.
Let your troubles go and all that's left is your true self.
That's called awakening.
You're awakening to your true self.
So what is my true self?
Well,
I'll give you a hint.
If you let all your troubles go,
What would be left?
Happiness,
You'd feel good,
Fulfillment,
Peace,
Love,
Well-being.
Joy,
Bliss.
Beautiful energy.
Lie.
That's who you are.
And different aspects of you shine through.
Your troubles,
Even today when you've got plenty of troubles.
Something happens,
And there's a moment of happiness or joy or well-being.
And then the troubles engulf you,
Kind of like clouds engulfing the sun.
The sun is always there,
The brightness,
The happiness,
The beauty.
But it's covered up with the clouds.
Let the clouds go.
And the sun shines and is experienced.
Easily.
That's you,
That's awakening.
If I were to share a simple process of awakening with you,
I would simply say love.
And let go.
Love,
Because that's who you are.
Love is a different aspect of peace and happiness and well-being and all the qualities I mentioned before,
Joy,
Bliss,
Etc.
All these beautiful qualities are like different facets of the same diamond.
They're all you.
When you let troubles go,
That's what shines through,
Isn't it?
Light and beauty.
That's you.
Awakening is a process,
And as I become more and more awake,
As I've let go of more and more troubles,
I become clearer and clearer and clearer.
So.
.
.
These days,
What?
I know myself to be.
Is all those qualities that I mentioned,
Happiness,
Love,
Peace,
Etc.
And well beyond that.
Well beyond this reality.
It's like a rainbow.
Beyond this reality,
I experience myself as deep,
Infinite,
And it's beyond words.
I don't even know what to say because it's beyond existence.
You can only describe things that are in existence.
I'm talking about it now,
Not for you to focus on it.
But you're well beyond this world.
And to me,
It's like a rainbow.
I feel like a continuum.
My intuition knows very well this aspect of me that's beyond this world.
It's the fundamental core of who I am and who you are,
Who everybody is.
And as it comes down in.
Into this existence,
The first thing that I experience is Beautiful light,
Blinding light,
Very intense light.
And as that light slows down and comes into existence.
I hear the sound of creation.
It's a very low pitch sound and a high pitch sound.
And as that slows down,
It turns into love,
Happiness,
Peace,
Well-being,
Joy,
All these qualities that I mentioned.
These are the easiest part of you to grasp because they're right here.
You experience happiness right now.
You experience peace now.
Later,
As you become clearer and clearer,
You just follow it back.
And you experience the infinite,
If we could call it that.
So you will experience yourself as all these things.
But let's start with happiness.
Let's start with love.
Let's start with peace.
All different aspects of the same thing.
When love,
Peace and well-being slow down,
By the way,
They turn into atoms and molecules.
As they slow down,
They turn into objects of existence.
Everything is made of love in this world.
It's just frozen into different shapes.
All these aspects of this rainbow,
This continuum,
Will be experienced by you as you become clearer and clearer.
It's not a philosophy.
It's what you see.
It's what you feel.
It's what you experience.
You're awakening to yourself.
A synonym to awakening,
By the way,
Is enlightenment.
That's the light that we're talking about.
You could either say I'm awakening to myself or you could say enlightenment.
That's experiencing yourself as the light I just discussed.
Another way to talk about enlightenment or awakening is say self-realization.
They're all the same thing,
Different synonyms.
Self-realization means I realize who I am.
I realize who myself is.
I am self-realized.
Let your troubles go.
And you'll see clearly and you will experience clearly.
That's why.
I've earlier said that awakening for me is you without your troubles.
All that's left is happiness,
Peace,
Love,
Joy,
And all those positive qualities.
So back to the process.
Of awakening.
Tune in to who you are.
You are love.
Happiness and well-being.
So during the day,
If you ever feel yourself happy or peaceful,
Or you feel love.
Tune in to that.
Melt into that,
Let it flow,
Because that's who you are.
Without your troubles It would always flow.
That's all there would be in your life is love,
Peace and well-being.
It's simply interrupted by these made up and artificial troubles.
Yes,
They're real,
But no,
They're not ultimately real.
You can let them go.
And how do you let them go?
There are so many different ways to let trouble go.
That's what all of my previous podcasts are about.
And that's what so many other people have done podcasts and talks about.
So there's a great supply of ways to let things go.
So as a beginner,
Just know You follow your heart and out there,
There's so many practices and ways to go.
That the way that I evaluated them is I just tried them out.
What helps me let go?
What helps me open up?
When I found a practice that worked for me,
I would use it until it didn't work,
Or I found a better practice.
So it's really very simple.
You just follow your heart and see what helps you flow.
I like to use the word flow a lot because ultimately in the awakened state.
Everything flows,
You as love,
Peace,
And well-being.
As an ultimate light shining all these qualities.
You flow.
You flow through your body.
You flow through everything around you.
You connect and flow through everything.
And as you let troubles go,
You let them flow.
What do I mean by that?
Say somebody cuts you off in traffic and anger arises inside of you rather than holding on to it or overthinking it.
You just let it come up.
You let it flow and you let it go.
Now you're no longer holding onto that trouble.
You don't express it.
You don't act it out.
You just let the energy flow through you.
You let it go.
You don't push it.
You don't use willpower.
You just let it flow.
You'll feel it come up.
You'll feel it move through your body and you let it.
You don't hold onto it.
Life will also trigger old things that have been repressed inside,
Old angers,
Old fears,
Old tensions.
Do you ever just feel tense or angry or upset or just don't feel good and you don't know why?
Well,
You're feeling it,
So it's inside of you.
How do you get it to flow?
How do you let it go?
Don't worry.
Life will poke you.
Somebody will say something.
A relationship will provoke you,
Or something will happen.
And it will come to the surface and it will flow.
Let it.
Let it flow.
If you get overwhelmed and you need help,
Remember it's important to take baby steps so that you don't shut down.
So just take as much as you can and then change the subject if you need to.
Go for a walk or talking to a friend is helpful or working with a therapist can be helpful.
But to the degree that you can handle it,
The most natural process is just continually let things come up and let them flow.
When you let them flow,
They're going to unwind their innate tension,
Kind of like a rubber band all coiled up.
They will release,
They will relax,
And they will let go.
And as they release,
Relax,
And let go,
They will release the energy that's been holding them together,
The very fact that they were repressed.
Why were they repressed?
Well,
They probably are very uncomfortable.
We typically don't repress happiness.
But rather repress fear,
Anger,
And hurt.
So they will release a bunch of that.
And you will feel it as it releases.
That's the difficult part of letting that poison out of your body.
You feel it.
But that's part of the process.
Also,
As a beginner,
It can be very confusing when perhaps I decide to meditate and I sit still and just watch things come up.
Well,
Maybe I can't quit thinking and everything's very uncomfortable.
The reason why that's happening in its short form is that As you release repressed stuff,
The mind just starts getting very active and.
Tries to participate and protect you.
And it does that with thoughts.
So you might have incessant thinking.
You might have that in your normal day-to-day activities.
That could be because you've got a lot of pent-up stuff underneath the surface that's looking to release.
So we're back to that word flow.
As you flow,
As you let these things release,
They unwind and they unwind and you feel better and better and better.
When I started my process,
I was so layered with so many different levels of repression and pain.
That really I didn't feel good for a very long time because as one level melted off and released,
It lightened my load,
But there was still another layer of trouble underneath that.
And as that just naturally melted away and released,
It would reveal the layer underneath that.
And I had a lot of layers.
So for some time,
It didn't feel like I was making much progress.
But that's natural.
And many,
Many people,
If not most,
Go through that experience.
So in the process of awakening,
Typically,
The beginning process can be for many very difficult.
Because you're releasing and releasing and releasing.
So rather than feeling a lot of love and well-being and peace,
What I took heart in is I slowly felt less and less suffering because I was releasing more and more pain.
So that felt so much better to me.
I didn't worry so much about the love and the happiness and the peace part.
I just was enjoying releasing suffering.
However,
As I continued to release more and more suffering,
I got clearer and clearer.
And as I got clearer and clearer,
The sun shine through the clouds.
My happiness began to flow because it wasn't blocked with infinite numbers of icebergs on top of it,
Infinite amounts of layers of ice and frozen repression.
Enough would melt away to open up a little hole.
And then the light would shine through.
And so suddenly I not only felt less suffering,
But I felt more happy,
More loving.
And as I felt more happy and more loving.
It accelerated the process of the ice melting because it was shooting through the holes like the sun,
Bright sun shining through the clouds.
It begins to melt away fog and clouds quicker and quicker and quicker.
And finally,
As that happened.
I was still in the habit of feeling less than,
Of feeling small,
Even though I was expanding and suffering less.
I had a habitual way of looking at myself and life.
So as I got happier and as my suffering decreased slowly,
Another thing that began to burn away were my old perspectives,
My old habits and ways of looking at myself.
And that was important too.
Because even if you're flowing and opening up,
If you're holding on to your old way of looking at reality and your old habit of how you view yourself.
You put yourself in a box,
You put your world in a box,
And you don't flow ultimately as easily and as expansively as you truly are.
Because in the ultimate melting,
As all your troubles melt away,
And you as happiness and light and beyond are clearly experienced,
You find that you are everything Everything is you.
You melt into oneness with everything.
Everything in this existence and everything beyond.
Now the awakening process would seem very far-fetched,
But for There's a fundamental word,
And that is direct experience.
You will experience these things for yourself,
And they will be surprising to you if you're anything like I am.
Every day that something happens.
That I've read about in the past.
I'm not really looking forward to happen in my life,
But then suddenly it does happen.
I am surprised.
It shocks me.
Every time and I have to laugh.
It shocks me.
Because I am having a direct experience,
And I don't care how long you're on the path,
Sometimes it's hard to believe things.
It's just so beautiful and it's so beyond the unawakened experience.
You don't believe it.
You really don't.
If you choose to listen to some of my prior podcasts,
I do talk about some of the things that have happened to me along the way.
All of my podcasts are right here.
They're all free.
And available to listen to any way that you'd like.
However.
.
.
If you're very interested in the process of awakening,
I would start with podcast number one and work my way forward because I lay out what made sense to me,
What I found in a very step-by-step process.
However,
Listen to them in any way that you want,
Really.
But I think they're more powerful from one forward.
If you do,
We're all different,
So if something doesn't resonate with you,
Trust your heart and follow it.
Just disregard that podcast or whatever that portion of the podcast is that doesn't resonate.
And move forward.
Listen to the next podcast or the next one.
But trust your heart.
Let your heart guide you,
Because this is your direct experience,
Your life.
So back to speaking about surprises and some of the side effects of awakening and becoming clearer and clearer.
I'll tell you one very simple thing that happens that surprises me all the time.
I like to get up early and walk in the morning.
I'll get up sometimes at 4 30 or 5 30 and it's pitch black often.
And I'm walking down the street.
We live in a very wooded area,
But there are not sidewalks and we're on a regular paved road.
So I walk on the side of the street.
You've got to be careful though,
Because.
Cars also drive on that street.
It's so early that that's not typical,
But it does happen.
And there are other people walking,
And sometimes they have flashlights.
Or,
Like me,
They're simply walking in the dark.
Well.
Over and over as I'm walking.
I'm just sort of doing a walking meditation.
I'm not really thinking about so much.
I'm letting things flow.
Whatever comes up,
Comes up.
And suddenly I'll see a bright headlight behind me.
I'll be walking,
Going forward,
But it will shine in front of me.
It's like the car is coming up from behind me.
And I'll turn around to get away from the car.
To step aside and there will be no car.
There's only light coming out of my back.
Or other times I will look down at my feet and it's lighting up the ground in front of me.
It's this light that I've been telling you about.
I was walking the other day and I thought somebody was approaching me with a bright flashlight because that had happened.
On the day before,
Like a halogen flashlight,
A very powerful flashlight.
And I turned around.
I kept waiting and waiting for them to come.
And then I turned around.
Because they never passed me.
I was slowing down so they could get beyond me because I didn't want to look at the light.
And there was no person.
It was just light.
So that's a direct experience.
Now,
Every time I am shocked,
I can't believe it happened.
And I'm not saying anybody else can see it,
But I sure can.
But I'm trying to give you this as an example of some of these crazy things that begin to happen.
You know,
In the old time pictures of Jesus and other saints,
They have halos,
They have light all around them.
That's you.
That's all of us.
When we're clear,
It's only that we're not used to it because we've blocked ourselves so much.
We're under so many layers of trouble.
So that's what I mean.
Awakening is you,
The light,
Without your troubles.
That's you,
The light and beyond.
Without your troubles blocking you.
So I have an awakening litmus test.
It clues me in to what is helpful for me in the moment.
I always let myself flow.
If I feel happiness,
Which these days I do,
I always feel myself beyond this reality while fully within this reality.
Always,
100% of the time.
It's a continuum,
Like I said.
I did not ever feel that as far as I knew.
Now I feel it always.
But my litmus test is let myself flow.
I let any love flow,
Any happiness flow,
Any peace flow.
I let everything that I know myself to be,
Let it flow.
And if it stops,
I look at why did it stop?
And there's always some form of tension there.
There's a hurt,
A fear,
An anxiety,
Or just physical tension.
There's something.
And I let that flow also.
I let everything flow.
And as I let that flow,
I don't get away from it.
I don't try to get away from it.
I just let it flow.
And as it flows,
It unwinds,
It unwinds.
And it begins to relax,
Release.
And then it melts into that which it was blocking.
It melts into happiness.
It melts into love.
It melts into peace.
And it becomes that thing.
It becomes love,
Peace,
And well-being.
Because that's the fundamental building block that everything is made of,
Even trouble.
Trouble is just frozen love.
We talk about all this in so much detail in the prior podcasts,
But I'm just giving you a quick thumbnail observation.
For beginners,
Just to orient you,
See if it's true for you along the way.
Just keep all this stuff in the back of your mind and see what happens.
Actually pans out for you.
So my spiritual practice Is that any kind of tension in my body?
I let it flow.
I let it go.
I don't push it.
Because that snares it up inside your body,
That's using your willpower,
And it just sort of represses it,
Like I'm pushing it out,
I'm trying to get rid of it,
I'm pushing it to the side,
I'm pushing it under,
I'm doing something.
That's quite different than letting it go.
If you push it,
It's still there,
You're pushing it.
That means it has to be there so that you can push it.
But when you let it go,
It unwinds,
It dissipates,
It releases the energy that it's made of and it disappears.
So if I experience any tension in my body,
I just let it flow.
And sometimes,
Yes,
It's a big lump,
And it doesn't feel like it's moving.
That's OK.
I just let it flow.
I let it tell me what does it want to do.
I don't try to get it to do something.
Maybe it's just sitting there.
And I just let it sit there.
And as I put my attention on it.
It begins to unwind and melt,
Slowly maybe,
Sometimes very quickly.
There's only two parts of us.
There's awareness and there's everything that we're aware of.
Ultimately,
You are the awareness and everything that you're aware of Is consciousness frozen into different shapes?
You're aware of dogs and cats,
Grass and trees,
As well as thoughts and emotions.
You're aware of all these things.
Even happiness and love is consciousness that's more free flowing.
But the awareness that's watching it.
Is ultimately where it all flows from.
If you put your attention on the awareness that is aware of everything and you just see for yourself,
What is that awareness like?
You'll find that it's.
Very quiet.
If you keep your attention there for a while,
It'll eventually.
.
.
Lead you to some very profound places.
And those profound places are you,
The deepest you.
And your intuition will begin to move beyond this existence.
You're all of these things.
You're that which is beyond existence.
And you're the entire flow that comes down through existence.
So ultimately,
You are both awareness and everything that flows from awareness.
Awareness,
Which is everything that you are aware of.
You're both.
Awareness,
And everything else.
You're everything.
It's two sides of the same coin.
And yes,
I understand.
That's one that you really have to experience yourself before it becomes believable.
It has to be a direct experience for you to experience yourself as both awareness and everything else.
It's all one.
So back to my practice,
I flow and let go.
I let everything flow.
And if there's any tension remaining in my body,
I feel it.
And I let it flow.
Ultimately has more and more tension or trouble.
Releases all that's left is peace and happiness.
And I let that flow as well.
If you think about it,
Many,
Many practices that Buddha gave or Hindu practices or Taoist practices or Christian practices are about letting go.
When Jesus said,
Forgive them,
That's letting go.
You have to let go of all your grievances in order to forgive somebody.
You have to let go of your hurt.
In order to forgive them,
Or your anger.
When he said,
Don't judge others,
You have to let go of the reason why you're judging.
You feel insecure,
Or you feel anxious,
Or you don't feel good enough,
Or whatever that is,
You have to let it go.
So,
Many of the practices that Jesus gave are about letting go.
Okay,
Well,
I've talked much more than I intended to about awakening.
But the bottom line is what is awakening or enlightenment or self-realization?
It's you without your troubles.
And who are you?
You are happiness,
Love and peace.
Rest in that.
And let it flow.
And let everything else go.
As you let everything else go,
All that's left is peace,
Love,
And well-being.
You can't let that go.
Try.
You can't.
The more you let everything go,
The more the peace expands,
The more the love expands,
The more the happiness expands.
As you relax more and more and more,
Everything good in you expands,
And everything that is troubling releases.
So,
Don't trouble yourself and you won't experience trouble.
And if you don't experience trouble,
What is left?
Happiness and peace and wellbeing.
So to simplify the process,
I would say two things,
Love and let go.
In other words,
Experience all the good that you are,
The love,
The peace,
And the wellbeing,
And let everything else go.
Let everything flow.
Let the love flow.
Let your peace flow.
Flow and let your troubles flow because they will release themselves.
Do you have to meditate?
Do you have to do a spiritual practice?
They're helpful because they will help you focus and continue to let things go.
But are they necessary?
No.
You can just let life poke.
And twist and turn you when things trigger you.
And when something comes up,
Let it go.
If you let enough stuff that comes up because you're triggered,
If you let it go.
Eventually it'll be all gone,
And all that's left is you,
Happiness,
Peace,
And well-being,
And beyond.
So awakening,
Follow your heart.
And I hope some of the things that are in this podcast have been helpful to you.
Take care.
I look forward to talking to you again soon.
Bye.
