FROM A SITE VISITOR:
It is ego and egotism (and other ego-defense mechanisms such as denial and minimization) that convince persons to believe that they are doing just fine, thank you very much. Persons, typically dissociated even from the relative self, will most surely be dissociated from the True Self.
I was there until several years ago—thought I had the world by the tail and that I was happy and my wife was happy etc. After a DUI and losing my job and her leaving me, I felt suicidal. I started to see that Ive been miserable most of my life. I started looking for some help but wasn’t even sure I wanted it. I was shown that the denial and ego and minimization you m,entioned were at my core. I’ve done the 12 step thing for a good while now and haven’t wanted to drink—just wanted to die. someone else who kept saying ‘there has got to be more’ heard me say that too. I had done most of what I had been told to do but have known in my gut theres still a lot I missed---something is still not right. She gave me one of your books (the one about a seven step journey when you talk to a guy in AA who came to one of your meetings) and I saw some things I should have seen all along. and I haven’t found what I have been looking for all my life but it seems like I’ve finally got a direction. Not even sure why I’m writing except the lines about denial and ego really hit the mark with me. Thanks for the site. Maybe you can help me move on. Anonymous
F.: Hello Anonymous. A visitor to the Advaitin teacher Maharaj once said:
Most of us are not satisfied; we are fed up with life; there is some urge, but it is not sufficiently strong, to withdraw from this daily grind.”
[For those who cannot relate, live long enough and be patient.] You’ve done a first step in another group, maybe, but the first step on the Advaitin journey is to reach a point where seeking earnestly begins. That must follow an admission that one is not satisfied or an awareness that some beliefs you took to be true might not be true at all.
One must also abandon the self-delusion and entrapment in image-building and image maintenance that inspires persons (the non-Realized) to proclaim, “Look how happy and successful I am. Look how I really have it together. There’s nothing wrong with me. My parents really did a great job of raising us. Everything is fine. I’ve lived a really great life and intend to enjoy the rest of it too.”
Anyone seeking is not satisfied or she/he would not be seeking. To reach the point, as you did, and proclaim, “I cannot live with myself anymore” calls for identifying who the “I” and the “myself” really are in that statement.
The “I” is some vestige of the formerly pure consciousness that has been blocked by programming and conditioning and other factors. The “self” that the vestige of consciousness cannot live with any longer is the false self—or false selves—that have been assumed as identities and that require constant effort to “maintain,” to the degree than an image can be "maintained." (Next time you're driving through a hot, arid area and see a mirage, try to "maintain" it.)
One can be free of “the grind” mentioned to Maharaj without having to kill the body that “houses” the consciousness. The sense of being truly free does not require freedom from body. It does require freedom from identification with a body or a mind or a personality. That is enough for you to consider today and tonight. Then, tomorrow, the discussion will continue. Please enter the silence of contemplation.
FOR MORE INFORMATION ON TODAY’S POST:
TWO OTHER OFFERINGS ARE AVAILABLE:
More and more seekers are requesting an understanding of how a personality formed in childhood is still determining and controlling everything that is thought or said or done in adulthood. Others have inquired about an opportunity to speak one-on-one about the seven-step “path” to Realization.
Thus, two opportunities are being offered from now until Dec 15th at 50% off:
PERSONALITY TYPING:
Here’s what is included in the package that is available for the next two months (the service available to international visitors but these price being only for the Continental U.S.):
A copy of the personality test (B) Priority mailing of the test (C) Analysis of the test results (D) a one-hour telephone session to discuss the results (E) the cost of the telephone conference. Cost is US$95.
ONE-ON-ONE SATSANG VIA TELE-CONFERENCE
For the next two months, a tele-conference to discuss any aspects of the Advaita teachings one-on-one will be offered. [Rich from the
To arrange either package, >Click ARRANGE PACKAGES provide all of the information requested, and in the message box at the bottom, indicate that you want to make arrangements for the PERSONALITY TYPING or for the ONE-ON-ONE ADVAITA SESSION or both.
