The Spiritual awareness of the “normal guy”

You wake up. Thoughts come into your mind. Some are heavy, others not. You had a dream. It was related with the movie you watched last night combined with other things that happened to you yesterday or many years ago…
If you fall sleep with the TV on, you probably do not get a good sleep. Even though you sleep 10 hours, the feeling of tiredness is there.

You probably will go to work this morning or eat a little something, (coffee and/or a Coke are part of the waking up process) take a shower and then “move on” into “whatever” brings the day.

This is a “normal” day for a “normal” person.

Your day will be a mix of fantasy “brought to you by” your own “emotions in motions, inc.” which will be playing in the movie theater “inside” you along with pieces and bits of what we call “reality,” that usually means, to say hello to someone and to add a couple of “really?” checks here and there while speaking with that one so they think that we are interested in their explanations… or perhaps talk about another recent movie or the weather or the game or politics or just plain gossip… The menu of choices is impressive!

The interesting thing is to find out how much of that information which we acquire and give away will become part of us? I mean; our personalities will be made up of interactions, experiences, realizations, and insights which are influenced by our “normal” thoughts.

In “meaningless” living some find meaning. It is about the paycheck to spend. It is about increasing our ego by separating and classifying. It is about fighting to survive and “become someone” in life!

In that “normal” environment, there will not be a chance to observe the self. As a matter of fact, without observation of the self there cannot be any understanding of spirituality. Spirituality then becomes just conceptual learning as if taking “history 101” as a college course. Lots of information without practical purpose.

Some individuals want to stop their thoughts. Their thoughts are out of control. Depressions are experienced with high doses of elation in between. Some individuals want to calm down their emotions, their impetus to react at the minimal provocation. Their ways of living are constrained by previous “brainwashing” through learned traditions, ways of living, ideas, beliefs, etc. All of that creates a conflict when dealing with an ever changing “reality.”

It is in that state of affairs, when Dr. Pill offers a solution to “calm you down.”  However, the behavior which started the problem is never under scrutiny. Pills come in different colors to match your “mood” today… They are fashionable. 
Can you stop the madness without Dr.Pill and his friendly pharmaceutical industry sponsorship? Yes. It is possible. It may take some time, but this approach does not have side effects… 

For example:
Anand goes for a walk. Anand is aware of himself and the environment. Anand observes that when his mind is clear from thoughts, automatically a different “sense” of awareness appears. It is called “inner awareness.”
Anand wakes up early to watch the trees, to feel the wind and to hear the birds. Anand observes the ocean as well and his breathing is in tune with the waves of the ocean as 2 dancers dancing in harmonious movement. That simple “activity” brings clarity to the mind.

TV cannot do that, not even while watching the “Nature channel.” 

In that clarity of mind “brought to you by” Nature, Anand is able to observe. The reality of life is not experienced conceptually. Words, concepts and definitions are the “middle man” which filters an otherwise, automatic and precise perception which is void of emotional baggage and “problems.”

The beauty of a tree is not perceived by saying the word “tree” or “beautiful” in our minds. As a matter of fact, by saying those words, we will destroy the experience. Those words are” the middle man.”

Anand realized that if he reads any ads or labels in his walk to the park; those labels will bring “pictures” and thoughts which will take him away from a direct experience of life. Similarly our wild and untamed mind will bring a perception which corresponds to a particular emotion, which will color the way we feel throughout the day.

Some examples:
The concept of karma is meaningless when there is observation on how life works. Everything is cause and effect and the perception of that effect will be experienced in some way by the one initiating the activity. A fish eating another fish will end up being eaten by someone else. The fish perceives eating another fish as “normal.” For another being, that activity may not be that “normal.” It is a relative vision. However, the result appears regardless of “view points.” To have that clarity of perception is to be in tune with “what is.”

That concept of karma is further divided into “good and bad.” Then individuals living their lives through a concept will believe that there are “good actions and bad actions,” but because there is no observation of the self, those individuals will not realize that those activities come from our own thoughts and feelings. Therefore, the quality of those feelings and thoughts will determine the quality of our actions. Therefore, those individuals without observation; will live their life by following a conceptual list of “good” and “bad” actions which eventually will bring a conflict in their lives; for life is not conceptual.

But we wish it was so we can make “sense” out of it, write about it, define it, limited it and talk about it with Ph.D “expertise.”

The same situation occurs with any concept which becomes the “middle man” in the perception of life.
If I am told that God is a “white blue eyed old person with a long bear” and I believe it, then divine experiences which I may experience in life, will not be recognized as such because in those experiences I did not perceive that figure of God behind those divine, miraculous experiences.
That is the meaning of “limiting the unlimited,” which conceptual living usually does.

To experience life in a spiritual way, that is in an integral way; we need to free our minds from the conceptual cages and allow ourselves the experience of life without that “middle man.” This is observation.

Then, I am not suppressing thoughts, but rather my mind becomes clear and able to recognize life as it is. Life then becomes such an experience…. the “normal” guy does not know about..yet..