Time is an illusion of the mind

Past and future exist only in thoughts

Time is a projection of the mind. (Psychological time) It does not exist, it is only an illusion. Both the past and future are created by thoughts.  Only the present exists and the present is not part of time but part of eternity. Past and present are both non-existential because we cannot live in a past or the future other than in our thoughts. The past is only a memory and the future is only imagination. Both of them are constructs of the mind and are always being accessed from the present alone. The past is created because we cling to memory and the future is created because of desires to be fulfilled. The future is needed like a screen for the mind to project its desires. The truth is psychological time subordinates the present moment to the past or future by keeping us preoccupied to the memories of our past or to our plans for the future

The fact is that the mind needs the past and the future to survive. The more the time the mind has the more it can play around and make many desires and dreams and live in them. Time also helps the mind in another way – the pressure for change is lifted off as there is still time available for change. In this way the mind can remain the same. Postponing is the base for continuing in the same way. This is the deepest trick of the mind. The reason for postponing change is because you do not want to do it now. As long as time is available the possibility of postponing change is available and in the hope that what is difficult today will become easier tomorrow. But tomorrow never comes.

Timeless space of the Eternal Now

“A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. So he loses touch with reality, and lives in a world of illusion” – Allan Watts. The thing that we have to realize is that the aim of the mind is always to keep us engaged with the past or the future. This results in us losing touch with reality.  Meditation is the way to disengage from the pull of the mind and to experience reality as it unfolds to us. Meditation is not about quieting, manipulating or focusing the mind. On the contrary it is to let the mind keep on doing its thing and instead of identifying with it to just be, knowingly, its awareness.

You are that through which thoughts are flowing. It doesn’t matter where it’s going or what they’re doing. They’re always doing one of two things: they are either going into the past or the future. Just let them go, let them make the journey, but you never take the journey with them. That is meditation, just to know yourself as this ever-present, imperturbable light of awareness. When we know this we enter the timeless space of the eternal now and  begin to experience our reality..

 

Beyond the mind.

No matter how perfect they sound you can never trust words to be the truth. You can never trust thoughts to be the truth. Thoughts, feelings, perceptions, emotions keep on appearing and disappearing. The color, size, shape and texture of these thoughts feelings,emotions and perceptions keep changing in the mind. It can also be seen that one person’s perception is the exact opposite of another’s perception. And everyone is arguing over who’s perception is right. Mindfulness helps us to realize the truth that is beyond all thoughts, all ideas, all opinions. It does not need thought to validate it. Truth simply is.

The Truth of Silence

What is truth? It is pure silence, pure awareness, pure peace. Once you are grounded in this peace then you can no longer be fooled by thoughts, feelings or emotions. Also you won’t be fooled into buying into someone else’s beliefs. You will see through the untruths because you yourself came to the realization that every thought you ever held on to was just unreal. It is in that humility that you will be able to fall right through the intellectual mind into silence itself. And then that silence teaches you everything. It guides you deeper into your true self.

 

Balance is the key

The life of every living creature depends upon breathing. Breath is the union of two – inhaling and exhaling. Breathing in and breathing out are not two opposites but two parts of one process that are organically connected and cannot be divided. It is these two functions that that maintain the balance of life. Choosing only either one of these functions will actually suffocate us. Now this is also true with regard to our dealing with thoughts feelings and emotions. Unfortunately we are conditioned only to attach ourselves and identify with every thought, feeling and expression.

Attachment is only one part of the process. There is also the function of detachment. If we choose only either one part of the process it will definitely disrupt our balance. This is where meditation plays an important role. Meditation is the time and space we create to detach ourselves from all thoughts, feelings and emotions. Once we master the art of detachment we transcend both attachment and detachment and we begin to act from a place of stillness, peace and balance. Balance then becomes as natural as breathing and goes on even without our knowledge. It is when we become mindful, aware and one with totality. That which we are searching for will then be found. Let every breath remind us of this.

Ranji Varughis

 

 

Rather than being your thoughts and emotions be the awareness behind them

 

Thoughts, emotions, body, the world; is always moving. STOP and notice what is never moving and unchanging. Just STOP and be with it

 

Beyond Time

Time is a projection of the mind. (Psychological time) It does not exist, it is only an illusion. Both the past and future are created by thoughts.  Only the present exists and the present is not part of time but part of eternity. Past and present are both non-existential because we cannot live in a past or the future other than in our thoughts. The past is only a memory and the future is only imagination, both of them are constructs of the mind and are always being accessed from the present alone. The past is created because we cling to memory and the future is created because of desires to be fulfilled. The future is needed like a screen for the mind to project its desires. The truth is psychological time subordinates the present moment to the past or future by keeping us preoccupied to the memories of our past or to our plans for the future

In the present the mind has to disappear. Only if there is time can the mind survive. The more the time the mind has the more it can play around and make many desires and dreams and live in them. Time also helps the mind in another way – the pressure for change is lifted off as there is still time available for change. In this way the mind can remain the same. Postponing is the base for continuing in the same way. This is the deepest trick of the mind. The reason for postponing change is because you do not want to do it now. As long as time is available the possibility of postponing change is available and in the hope that what is difficult today will become easier tomorrow. But tomorrow never comes.

“A person who thinks all the time has nothing to think about except thoughts. So he loses touch with reality, and lives in a world of illusion” – Allan Watts. The thing that we have to realize is that the aim of the mind is always to keep us engaged with the past or the future. This results in us losing touch with reality.  Meditation is the way to disengage from the pull of the mind and to experience reality as it unfolds to us. Meditation is not about quieting, manipulating or focusing the mind. On the contrary it is to let the mind keep on doing its thing and instead of identifying with it to just be, knowingly, its awareness.

Consider the mind just like a train that entered the station. Do not get involved with the train. Let the train go where it is going. Let the thoughts do what they are conditioned to do. But don’t board the train. Don’t get on, even if you get on,  just step off.  You don’t even have to step off.  Be more like the platform than the passenger. You are that through which the train is flowing. It doesn’t matter where it’s going. Doesn’t matter where your thoughts are going, what they’re doing. They’re always doing one of two things: they are either going into the past or the future. Just let them go, let them make the journey, but you never take the journey with them.

That is meditation, just to know yourself as this ever-present, imperturbable light of awareness. That’s it. Just abide as that. When we know this we enter the timeless space of the eternal now and  begin to experience our reality..

Ranji Varughis

 

BEING REAL

There are many roles with which we commonly identify ourselves with. As a child, adolescent, youth, father, mother, husband, wife, elder person, healthy, sick, wealthy, powerful, enlightened and so on. But in reality these are just thoughts about us.

Any thought that we have about our self, irrespective of its nature, is only a thought. It cannot be our true self as the truth of our self is not a thought but the source of it.

There is something within us that is greater than our thoughts, mind and body but is aware of the thoughts, mind, body, beliefs and everything that presents itself as reality to the five senses. Any thought, feeling or emotion is therefore an inadequate description of our true self.

The true self is not the mind, body, heart, soul, truth, god or anything that can be named. It is simply beyond definition. It is easier to get caught in appearances rather than take a step back and see that we are beyond all that we think or perceive.

The truth of who we really are is completely independent of any concept of who we truly are whether it is being ignorant or enlightened, rich or poor, healthy or sick, and so on. Truth is free from everything and the only thing that blocks us from enjoying this freedom is attachment to a thought about who we are! This attachment is what prevents us from the realization of who we really are.

An image may arise in our mind, a sensation may appear in our body, an emotion might captivate us. All these are objects which come and go, are born and die, appear and disappear. But the truth about who we are does not come and go. It is an ever present reality.

Infinite consciousness without focus upon a specific activity is our true reality. It is the consciousness from which all of life springs. The purpose of spirituality is to see beyond our roles and dramas to the transcendent truth.

Ranji Varughis

 

Freedom through Awareness

Awareness can transform our consciousness and free us from the source of dis-ease that affects the mind. Whenever our consciousness becomes overly fixated with a thing, like watching TV, playing computer games, worrying about life, emotional or physical pain pleasure, it dominates us and we loose awareness. Awareness is not focussed on a single thing we that we experience, but is like the space that surrounds a thing in which it appears – a spacious field. Every experience appears within a context. For example your chair is in a room, the room is in a building, the building is on some land and on and on. Awareness is more like the space that surrounds us and all things we are conscious of yet it is not the same as the thing within.

Transforming our ordinary consciousness to awareness first of all means becomming aware of this space surrounding both – the outer and the inner – that is around us and the things we observe and that which surrounds our thoughts, feelings and emotions. Enhancing our awareness of this space – both inner and outer – and realizing it as a vast field of spacious awareness frees us from being dominated by any thought, feeling or sensation that arises within it. When we are able to identify with this spacious awareness field then we can acknowledge and accept everything that arises in it – pleasant or unpleasant – and at the same time prevent our consciousness from being stuck, focused or fixated on any one thing.

It then gives us another choice. Whether to identify with the things we are conscious of or to identify with the spacious field of awareness in which they appear, which will automatically free our consciousness from domination by any of its contents. By realizing that our awareness of things is not a thing itself we see that our awareness of thoughts, feelings, and impulses is not itself a thought, feeling or sensation. This leads us to true freedom!

Ranji Varughis

 

The natural state of bliss!

Bliss happens when we are connected to our natural state of love. Bliss feels so good, but what is it that prevents us from feeling this consistently?

The instability that our thoughts and emotions create which block our sense of bliss. Our thoughts feed our emotions. If we are thinking repeatedly life is hard and difficult, then emotionally, we can feel sad or even depressed. Alternatively if we keep thinking that life is wonderful we can feel happy and full of joy. When we are caught up in the cycle ossilating between negative and positive thoughts we experience the duality of life. That is the opposing nature of things: pleasure and pain, right and wrong, joy and grief, for example.

Duality engages us in a life constantly dancing between opposite forces, such as feeling happy and sad. When we feel happy, we feel good, and when we feel sad, we usually strive to make ourselves feel happy again. The dance between opposing forces usually involves struggle and/or pain. It is when we learn to go beyond thought into a space of calm and stillness that we experience bliss.

Thoughts are like clouds that hide the sun, or like waves that make it impossible to see the bottom of the lake. When the mind becomes calm and there are no thoughts, we can see things that our thoughts and our constant mental activity hide. WE become aware of our real essence, the consciousness that is beyond the mind

The main requirement for this spiritual consciousness to manifest is a silent mind – when the restlessness of the mind disappears.

Ranji Varughis

 

The Light in your Darkness

I believe that this is a poem that brings out truly and beautifully the meaning and impact of awareness in our lives.

“In the darkness of your thoughts
Created by circumstances
Both complex and overwhelming,
When no amount of spirits
Or conversation within yourself
Can erase the images imprinted
On your mind……………………….

Let me lift you out of suffering
On angel wings to lofty heights
Where nothing can hurt you
Where nothing is relevant
But the blessings of the moment
And the air that we breathe…………

Let me wrap you in my warm embrace
And hold you close to my heart
With love and understanding
Beyond the need for mortal words
Your darkness will be lifted
And your spirit shall fly free……..

The light in your darkness……let me be”