“There is nothing
more important than abiding in that by which we know that we are. How
do we know that we are? How can we not know that we are? We
know that we are, and must know that we are in order to know anything.
In fact, anything else that we think we know, we really don’t
know. The only thing we know for sure is that we are.
“So, we might as
well let go of all that we think we know and abide in that which reveals
us to our selves, for that’s the only reality; not any of this
that we think we are, for all of that is conceptual. It is only
concept.”
(Page 114)
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“As we partake purely
of this Consciousness, it begins to release insight, it begins to release
its own understanding, it begins to awaken us to its own secrets, revealing
its own secrets, the secrets of Consciousness. This is an inner releasing,
and inner awakening that happens as we just stabilize in this Awareness,
or as this Awareness.
“This stabilizing
in awareness as Awareness reveals its true nature as uncaused, unqualified
being, eternal and infinite Awareness, universal Awareness, not individual
but universal.
“This very Awareness
is universal. As we abide in this universal Awareness, the ‘I
AM’ is revealed as a reflection of this universal Awareness, it
has its own universal quality, because it is a reflection of universal
Awareness. It apparently also partakes of individual consciousness which
is identified with the body-mind, so it seems to partake of both. But,
actually, the individual consciousness is a reflection of this Consciousness,
this Awareness that is universal.
“So, the ‘I
AM’ is the bridge between the universal and the individual; and,
since it partakes of the universal, it’s of that nature too; and,
since it reveals and supports the individual, it appears to be of that
nature, but that’s only an appearance. When the individual dissolves,
then the sense of consciousness as ‘I AM’ also dissolves,
and just the universal Awareness remains.
“That remaining universal
Awareness, which is the Self, is both the location and the source of
Happiness, of peace. That’s freedom, that’s jnana,
or enlightenment. The natural state! Absolute peace! Absolute stillness…
as such, just of itself, beginningless and endless in the moment; always
beginningless, always endless, in the moment. It is unhindered, unhampered,
unlimited, the Supreme Being, the very Self. Are we touching this?”
(Pages 128-129)
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“Prior to being (or
knowing) the awareness of the Allness of being, there was the awareness
as an ‘I’, as an individual, limited to this body. Limited
to the form of the body, to the name, the personality, the collected
memory, the history, this apparent entity. And since there was identification
with all that, it looked like ‘I am separate and other than all
these others.’ But, you see, that’s only an appearance;
and that very appearance is contraction, and it’s suffering. It’s
seeking.
“From the suffering
rises the seeking to be free of the suffering, the seeking takes the
form of the pursuit of persons, places and things, and events and experiences.
This is in order to find or feel a place of freedom, of release, of
pleasure. Or, a good feeling to replace this contraction, which contraction
is actually the underlying basis of duality, brought about from this
sense of individuality.
“From this sense
of individuality is this contraction; and that’s the ground of
being that is ordinarily lived. But prior to that, prior to all of that,
you see, is the awareness that is aware of all that, and is already
free of all that. Are we all with this?”
(Pages 131-132)
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