I ask myself often: why? For what purpose am I doing this? Is this progressing me or holding me back? Most of these questions my intuition answers pretty quickly. My intuition I trust, more than my over-thinking mind. We should all trust our intuitions, our inner-most decider. We have a reasoning mind, but at the end of the day the decisions we make are inspired by our intuition, and this gives us the greatest sense of self-satisfaction and happiness.
But when we identify with our minds a different thing happens. Our minds are wired with different thought patterns and pathways. Some pathways are taken more frequently, forming deeper channels, while others are less-traveled on. Our mind is our own unique world, and we can choose where to go. But a danger falls when we begin to lose hold of the decider, our intuition, our heart, who we really are. Following and believing every thought that comes into the head produces instability. Habits are formed, both good and bad, and we become trapped by the limitations of our mind.
Our mind is not who we are but a tool, a vehicle to be used wisely. All our vehicles have certain dents and various mileage put onto them. Some have been in major wrecks, but the purpose is the same: to drive and reach where we couldn’t have gone without it. The major mistake we as westerners make is making the mind our identity. Anyone with any experience living with someone with dementia can tell you of this misconception. Heck, anybody with a baby can tell you the same thing. The Alzheimer's patient and the newborn infant don’t have a mind-identity like we do. But they still exist. They’re still here. Once you dis-identify with mind you don’t die; you experience who you really are: spirit or breath. Here is where peace is found. Here is your liberation, love, and happiness.
We are the director of our mind, the manipulator, and we have the power to alter our brain waves and functions. But are we taking responsibility over this vehicle? Do we even dare to take this responsibility? Because if we do maybe we have no real excuse for living in limitation or unnecessary suffering. Maybe “what we think we become.” Scary but empowering. We defend our mind as our identity, yet our mind was created by the choices of our intuition. We hold onto the belief that we are our mind because we don’t want to lose it. We don't want to end the habits that keep us where we are. We're used to them. We're more comfortable with them. But they will end someday, either during this life or at death. Just like the newborn baby or the Alzheimer's patient, we will exist without it. Point to yourself: where are you pointing? Your head or your heart?
We must think on good things, and when we do wherever our heart’s intention lies, that is where our mind will follow. This is the space where dreams become real.
In the beginning there was God and only God. There was nothing else. There were no distinctions, there were no parts; there was only God. There was nothing to describe, nothing to grasp the mind around. God was simply being.
There are many parallels between the vast numbers of creation stories. The many spiritual and religious traditions describe this period as an unknown fulfillment, a void. The Hindu scriptures define it as a period where there was neither existence nor non-existence. There was neither the realm of space nor the sky beyond. There was neither death nor immortality. There was no day or night. God only breathed by God’s own impulse. The Greek creation myth described this period as an empty darkness. The only thing in this abyss was Nyx, a bird with black wings. The Australian aborigines told that everything was still, and all the spirits of the earth were asleep, except the great Father of All Spirits. The Japanese creation myth tells that all elements were mixed together within one germ of life. A Chinese creation story told that there was nothing in the universe except a formless chaos. This period was the time before time. Mainstream scientific theory says there was nothing but potential energy.
Then an action took place...
Like the pre-existence period, most religious and spiritual traditions have their own story of the first action that happened. A Christian view is that God was lonely and sought companionship. As a result, he spoke and created the known world. Another is that God sought glory which required others to acknowledge Him. One spiritual tradition tells that God created with the power of heat out of great desire. The Greek myth tells how Nyx laid a golden egg and for ages sat upon this egg. Life began to stir in the egg and out of it arose Eros, the god of love, and the split shell became the sky and the Earth. The Australian aborigines told how the Father of All Spirits awoke the Sun Mother, and as she opened her eyes a warm ray of light spread out towards the sleeping earth. The Father of All Spirits told the Sun Mother to wake all the sleeping spirits and give them forms. The Japanese tale described how the germ of life began to mix things around and around until the heavier part sank and the lighter part rose. A muddy sea that covered the earth was created and from this ocean grew a green shoot. It grew and grew until it reached the clouds, where there it was transformed into a god. This god grew lonely and it began to create other gods. The Chinese story also describes how life came from a cosmic egg, where within the egg the perfectly opposed principles of Yin and Yang were balanced and Pangu emerged from the egg. The ancient Egyptians described the world emerging from an infinite, lifeless sea called Nu. Scientific theory states there was a cosmic explosion billions of years ago. All these stories differ in detail but have a common element: in the beginning there was of one essence, and then an action of creation took place; the first distinction.
It is impossible to know something if you don’t know non-something. It is impossible to know light if you don’t know darkness. It is impossible to know life unless you know death. It is impossible to know the great power of Love unless you know fear.
We were created to know ourselves, and to know is to form a distinction from everything else using thought. Thus we come to know and appreciate the various elements of the Divine Mystery, of God, and fulfill on the intent of creation. We were created to experience the outreaches of the beauty of this Mystery and be co-creators of its glory. And thus we form distinctions from our first childhood understandings to our deaths, where we reunite with the heart of the Divine Mystery from which we came.
Our mind is the master of distinction. It’s job is to separate the world into parts, recognize this thing from that thing. When the mind dies we re-enter eternal bliss. Then we realize that the greatest distinction of all is there are no distinctions.
I’ve seen the world in a whole new light since dis-identifying with my mind and using it instead as a tool. I hurt, but I don’t suffer like I used to. The freedom I’ve had the last five years is beyond anything I’ve ever experienced in terms of fulfillment. It’s beautiful. I suggest you get on board and experience it for yourself.
