When I go through my Facebook feed, I see loads of people sharing pretty pictures with quotes about how the world is just a dream and how we all need to move out of duality consciousness.
Lovely, right?
So, if all these “awakened” people truly believe what they share, why aren’t they attending Satsang or working with a spiritual guide?
The truth is that it is simple for the mind to embrace a concept and for the personal self to then identify with that concept. (That’s how you’ve ended up creating the reality you’re currently stuck in, by the way.) Those who espouse talk of non-duality, non-attachment and higher consciousness are most often trapped by the same ideals they have embraced.
We all know the “lightworker” who is afraid to acknowledge the dark side of life and terrified to confront it. We say, “Oh, what a shame that they can’t see it is their fear that keeps them trapped.” You need to see that the average seekers of enlightenment…those who spend their time reading, liking and sharing these types of Facebook posts, are victims of the same fate as the lightworkers that they judge. The seeker’s identity is wrapped around concepts, just like the lightworker’s. Yes, the concepts have been born out of higher truths, yet when identified with from the level of the intellect (personal self) these concepts only serve to enslave the seeker further. Forever the seeker…never the sought.
The sharing of words of illumination is done by the mind as a means to support its own sense of how “awakened” it is. If I say the right words and act like I understand them, then others will believe that I am that. It allows me to judge myself as better than others…more awakened, more enlightened, more in my heart. Or so the mind would have you believe. In truth, you are scared. The idea of being unenlightened terrifies you, so you wear the mask of seeker for all the world to see. But where are the actions to back up these lofty words of illumination?
This is where the rubber meets the road. Are there enlightened souls out there sharing quotes on Facebook? Absolutely! And when you view how they live in the world, you will recognize that those words are authentic to them and their experience. The “concept” level of understanding has fallen away for them and they live from their experiential Knowing. Are there true seekers sharing quotes on Facebook? You bet! And you will know them by their actions, as well, for they are the ones attending Satsang, or engaging in serious dissolution work with a qualified guide. They are consciously attempting, every moment of every day, to live from the understandings that they have been shown and not just trying to prove to the world (really themselves) that they are awakened.
Spiritual ego runs rampant in would-be seekers. It is fueled by mind’s unmet need of enlightenment and the corresponding desire for illumination. Spiritual ego thrives on judgment of those less spiritually evolved than itself and it constantly seeks ways to show others how “right” it is and how “wrong” others are. It’s job is to gratify its own self-righteousness at the expense of others.
Really enlightened behavior, isn’t it?
Remember, many are called, but few are chosen. Why is that? Because, it takes a certain level of surrender and humility to truly wake up from the dream of separation, which is not a marker of the average fallen human out there. The mind is highly threatened by the thought of dissolving the personal self. Let’s face it, it’s a whole lot easier to play the game of seeker and live in deep, unconscious denial than it is to actually go ahead with the sometimes gut-wrenching self-inquiry required for experiential awakening. The seeker who desires, above all else, to feel “good” will never attend Satsang with me, and if they somehow do end up in session, it will be the only time, because I don’t humor or edify the personal self… I work to tear it apart. Satsang, like any deep inner work, is not fun. It’s not meant to be. It requires an enormous amount of focus, dedication and effort on the part of the seeker to begin to uncover the true nature of the heart of the Divine which sits within them.
If you’ve made it this far in this post, ask yourself where you fit in. Be honest. Are you all too quick to agree with a lofty spiritual concept and spread it around to others, while at the same time not be conscious enough to witness how you don’t even live that concept in your own life? Or, are you one of the few that contemplates these higher understandings, looking deep inside to uncover how and why you fall short in being able to live the ideals that you want to believe? And, if this last example is you, then…
Why aren’t you attending Satsang?
Really, I mean it. What’s your excuse for saying you want liberation, but not committing to the work?
There is no more direct route to living from the heart and rediscovering one’s divine nature than being in the presence and awareness of one who has walked the path before you. Remember, many are called and few are chosen.
I’m calling you now. Isn’t it time for you to answer?
Shusara