F.: A prerequisite for being at peace during the relative existence is to be able to witness with detachment. The prerequisite for being able to witness with detachment is to detach from body identification and to detach from the influence of their concepts that—having been accepted as the truth—now form what is called your “mind.” The next prerequisite for being able to witness objectively is to be free of the duality inspired by religious or spiritual concepts. After that, the next prerequisite is to be free of all other concepts and “return” to the bliss of the child ignorance stage.
Only a child—existing in a pre-programming, pre-conditioned state—can witness without judgment, without thoughts, and without beliefs based in duality. For adults to be able to witness without judgment, without thoughts, and without beliefs based in duality requires a shift “back” to the state of child ignorance by casting aside all of the nonsense which has been generated by conditioning and programming and enculturation. Nothing is more at peace than a child with its physical needs having been met. As long as health and food and shelter requirements have been met, perfect peace happens. Contentment happens in that pre-mind state of existence. Realized, contentment happens as a result of returning to the no-mind state. Why should you, as an adult, settle for less contentment than that experienced by a child?
A contented child in ignorance—prior to being programmed—does not yet know the euphoria (and accompanying emotional intoxication) of “love offered”; nor does it know the misery (and accompanying emotional intoxication) of “love withheld.” A contented child in ignorance does not know what it feels like to enjoy being labeled “good” but shortly thereafter to be in the misery of being labeled “bad.” A child in ignorance does not know the suffering that comes with trying to meet the ever-changing “standards” of critical, hypocritical, holy, or spiritual persons. A contented child in ignorance does not yet know the frustration of the duality of striving constantly to gain reward or to avoid punishment. A contented child in ignorance can lie comfortably on its back and have no opinions or concerns about whatever it witnesses. It can witness people without thought or criticism. It can enjoy a natural scene outside a window and can just be. It needs to do nothing in order to try to feel better. It need not hum, pray, chant, knell, genuflect, nor "contribute," and it does not need to meditate, power nap, burn this, nor smell that. It needs only the simple movement of the breath. The contented child in ignorance need not seek knowledge in order to make a “better” life. It needs nothing more because it can merely witness as a result of having no concepts, no “mind,” no assumed identities, and no perceived needs (which are always based in the ego-states of persons in the child's culture).
Because the child in ignorance has no concepts and no “mind,” it cannot be driven out of its mind by persons. That will not happen until adults decide the child must leave the child ignorance stage and start learning “right from wrong” and “good from bad.” It will leave behind the contentment of the child ignorance stage when adults decide that punishments and rewards must be used to condition the child to behave as those particular adults want the child to behave. Expectations will be defined, demands will be made, and then the child living with the restrictions of that newly-gained knowledge will know tremendous frustration. The ability to witness impartially will be lost, dualistic concepts will be learned, the dual-minded child (and later that adult) will be unstable in all ways, and the peace that comes from existing in a concept-free manner will end.
The “journey” to Realization is conducted by following in reverse the route that resulted in the shifting of the consciousness from its pure, Absolute nature to its contaminated state. To shift beyond (a) the duality of body identification, mind identification, and religious and/or spiritual role identification and (b) into the witness state first requires a movement into the child ignorance stage. One who is not free of all concepts is not free at all, and one who is not free at all can—obviously—never know the joy of independence. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
Only a child—existing in a pre-programming, pre-conditioned state—can witness without judgment, without thoughts, and without beliefs based in duality. For adults to be able to witness without judgment, without thoughts, and without beliefs based in duality requires a shift “back” to the state of child ignorance by casting aside all of the nonsense which has been generated by conditioning and programming and enculturation. Nothing is more at peace than a child with its physical needs having been met. As long as health and food and shelter requirements have been met, perfect peace happens. Contentment happens in that pre-mind state of existence. Realized, contentment happens as a result of returning to the no-mind state. Why should you, as an adult, settle for less contentment than that experienced by a child?
A contented child in ignorance—prior to being programmed—does not yet know the euphoria (and accompanying emotional intoxication) of “love offered”; nor does it know the misery (and accompanying emotional intoxication) of “love withheld.” A contented child in ignorance does not know what it feels like to enjoy being labeled “good” but shortly thereafter to be in the misery of being labeled “bad.” A child in ignorance does not know the suffering that comes with trying to meet the ever-changing “standards” of critical, hypocritical, holy, or spiritual persons. A contented child in ignorance does not yet know the frustration of the duality of striving constantly to gain reward or to avoid punishment. A contented child in ignorance can lie comfortably on its back and have no opinions or concerns about whatever it witnesses. It can witness people without thought or criticism. It can enjoy a natural scene outside a window and can just be. It needs to do nothing in order to try to feel better. It need not hum, pray, chant, knell, genuflect, nor "contribute," and it does not need to meditate, power nap, burn this, nor smell that. It needs only the simple movement of the breath. The contented child in ignorance need not seek knowledge in order to make a “better” life. It needs nothing more because it can merely witness as a result of having no concepts, no “mind,” no assumed identities, and no perceived needs (which are always based in the ego-states of persons in the child's culture).
Because the child in ignorance has no concepts and no “mind,” it cannot be driven out of its mind by persons. That will not happen until adults decide the child must leave the child ignorance stage and start learning “right from wrong” and “good from bad.” It will leave behind the contentment of the child ignorance stage when adults decide that punishments and rewards must be used to condition the child to behave as those particular adults want the child to behave. Expectations will be defined, demands will be made, and then the child living with the restrictions of that newly-gained knowledge will know tremendous frustration. The ability to witness impartially will be lost, dualistic concepts will be learned, the dual-minded child (and later that adult) will be unstable in all ways, and the peace that comes from existing in a concept-free manner will end.
The “journey” to Realization is conducted by following in reverse the route that resulted in the shifting of the consciousness from its pure, Absolute nature to its contaminated state. To shift beyond (a) the duality of body identification, mind identification, and religious and/or spiritual role identification and (b) into the witness state first requires a movement into the child ignorance stage. One who is not free of all concepts is not free at all, and one who is not free at all can—obviously—never know the joy of independence. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
