Dude, where's my mind???

Hello all,

Today I'm just sitting here drinking my coffee as I do every morning, and I was watching my Kitten. About 3 weeks ago I got my wife a Kitten. All black, she was the runt of the litter. when she was little she had to be bottle fed because the more aggressive ones would push her out of the way. Well this is the one I picked out for her. So now it's three weeks later and she's playing with a toy bird on the floor. When looking at her it occurred to me that even though small, everything she needs to be a full grown cat is already there within her, waiting to come out. She has claws, I know because she uses them to climb up my leg, and teeth and everything else a big cat has. So she was born small, but with the potential to be a big cat. We are like her. Everything we want to be, everything we strive to be or do, is already within us. It has been said \"We become what we are\" and to me this is very true. We are already that which we will be, which we should be, which we are to be.

This is what we must learn in order to bring what we are already to the outside world. You are already at once a Buddha, a Christ, a Jedi, you are all this and more. Yet why do we not just become what we are? why do we exert such great effort? Why for some the greater the effort, the farther from their goal they become? The answers lie in two things. First we must unlearn our minds. The mind creates barriers. If we say something is difficult and requires great effort, then it does.

The reverse is also true. If we say something is simple, then it is so also. When we give in to our disbelief our mind then gives us explanations as to why we fell short. All things being equal, most barriers are created first in our minds, and then our mind tells us it's a real, physical thing, an obstacle. Some people have real physical barriers, but most do not. Most create their own. Look at it this way; If I tell you \" Go there and don't be afraid, the thing your thinking is a snake is really just a rope-GO!\" still the fear will be there. To you it is a snake. So whatever I say won't help.

You BELIEVE It's a snake, and so it is.If I try to convince you too much that it's just a rope, It will only show you that I may only be interested in having you walk towards a snake. If I tell you simply that theoretically it's possible at this very moment to see the rope as a rope and tell you nothing else, this creates problems as well. In reality there is no dilemma; in reality there is no problem. There never has been. In your mind there are problems, and you perceive reality through your mind; thus; reality is problematic.

Your mind works like a prison. It divides and creates problems. It even creates solutions that become deeper problems. Everything is simple. Reality is simple. My kitten doesn’t sit around thinking about if she will ever become a cat, causing herself distress. She's not bothered by it, she just is. Simple. No effort is needed on her part other then just to be. So why do we make it complicated? Reality only seems complex because we perceive it that way. To unlearn we must first realize what it is we've learned and why. Society has created your mind. A Hindu is not born a Hindu just as a Muslim is not born a Muslim. when a Hindu child and Muslim child are born they are just newborns. Their mind is given to them by their society. We are born blank, we are born not knowing. We are then taught to know. The mind is there, but not whole yet, the potential is there but not yet realized.

The mind is then given truth as taught by it's society, and it clings to this truth. Remember now that truth is different for a Muslim then for a Christian, or a Hindu from a Buddhist. So who's truth is TRUE? The truth is another barrier. When we learn and hold something as an absolute truth than all else is a lie but that truth. How then can we understand another’s truth when ours is the only truth? How can we ever learn to understand another when we view their truth as a lie. Make no mistake, the other will view your truth as a lie as well. To them, you are living in a lie just as surly as you think they are mislead. So to learn we first must unlearn this. What I'm about to say is not easy in any sense; Unlearn your truth and you will see the world as it really is.

Your mind is not yours, your body is not yours; They both come from your parents. You we're born as a pure consciousness, and to this state we must return. This is not simple because your mind will create many problems and barriers. If you realize that you are the source of your problems and barriers, then they can be simply overcome. So to learn first we must unlearn. The second lies in the effort itself. No big effort is needed. Only small effort, and the smaller the better. And if you work effortlessly it is better still. The more you try, the harder it is to attain. Your very effort, your tension, your occupiedness, your longing, your expectation, becomes the barrier. But with a very small effort, an effortless effort as they call it in Zen-doing as if not doing-all is possible.

The more you are mad after it, the less it is possible. Remember Yoda. \"Do or do not, there is no try\" Think about that for a moment. When we try we give ourselves the possibility of failure. Even though we think positive, we still have belief that it can fail, or else why try when you can just do. If you are going to DO something, then do it. If you fall, get back up. Do not stop because it is already done. You already have it. If you wish to become something, first unlearn, then see clearly in your mind that which you wish to become, then do. Never let the doubt enter your mind. there is no try, only do. If we can learn to unlearn our minds, let go of all expectations, and just DO, just BECOME, then our possibilities are endless. I welcome your comments and questions and may the force be with you all.

Joyously yours in the force,
Michael