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Jacob. The more you grow, the more you realize that consciousness is the essence of everything you’re striving for. everything that has meaning in life. It’s funny that the word consciousness just doesn’t appear in the everyday vocabulary that we deal with, yet if you even give it a moment’s reflection, you realize that the most important thing in your entire life is consciousness. You could take everything else away And as long as consciousness remained, you would exist.
And whatever was there, would have meaning. If you took the consciousness away, nothing would exist, and nothing would have meaning. and her bubble one’s taught that everything in life is like the digit 0. and consciousness is the number 1. Now 0 doesn’t seem so far from 1.
But if you put the one in front of the zeros, the more zeros you put after it, the bigger everything gets. It is the one that gives value to everything. It is the same thing with your consciousness. The more you are aware the more beautiful things are. If you’re eating and you say you’re enjoying eating, Oh, I really enjoy that dinner.
What do you mean? You mean that somehow miraculously, the taste of the food was so overwhelming that it captured your consciousness. Where was your consciousness? Oh, it was in the mind. I assure you of that.
He was hanging out with all the thoughts floating all over the place, being aware, being conscious of your thoughts. If the food and the taste of the food captures the consciousness, what happens? It’s an enjoyable experience, isn’t it? you feel even can you get peaceful from eating, not while you’re thinking. Only if the taste and the act of eating catches your consciousness.
It is true with everything. Eventually, you will come to see that it is the presence of consciousness self that brings joy. The objects of consciousness to the yogi are one they are objects of consciousness. It is the consciousness that is seeing a man and a woman. I am telling you that if you overall take the miracle of the fact that you are aware of seeing.
That’s awesome that you’re actually there. and cognizant and conscious and aware and present that something is there. That is so much bigger than the slight difference between what you’re looking at. It is the act of seeing the act of being conscious. If you don’t need to see all these differences, and we’ll get deeper into that in a moment.
Believe it or not, they’re not there. This is such a subtle point. I hope you can catch that. Alright? I mean, surely the difference is there.
I’m telling you that if a swarm of hornets fly at you, and are going to sting you when you run and tell somebody, there’s a whole bunch of hornets over there that are running after me. So what’s the one that that had like a little yellow striper. What? Was there one of them that you noticed he had? No.
No. They’re just a bunch of hornets. They were all the same. Yeah. They all had these stingers.
They were hanging very far below. You see what you need to see. That’s all. If a bunch of dogs are chasing you and you run, you, you come to me and you say, Oh, I was walking down there. So, well, how many were male and how many were female?
you look at me like I’m crazy. He says, well, how do I know? I mean, how do you know? I mean, you’re everyone’s telling me there’s a difference here. How come you didn’t know?
because they made a difference to you. It didn’t matter. It wasn’t a difference. Yes. If you analyzed, there’s a difference.
but you don’t perceive the difference. What you see is dog. What you see is person. How do you like that? What you see is earthling what you see is what you need to see.
What’s really there is one thing. an object of consciousness. That’s what’s there. Consciousness is aware of something. the person who is caught in the world is more interested in what consciousness is aware of.
the being who is seeking truth is more interested in the consciousness that is aware. surely they are both there. Surely, the consciousness is there aware of the objects. How many objects can your conscience be aware of? Are you aware of your dreams?
Of course, sure. Who’s aware of that? Consciousness. The same consciousness is aware of dream figures as is aware of the living figures, the same consciousness. If you come to me one day and you sit there and say, I said, how do you feel?
I like to ask people. How are you doing? Wonderful. I know you’re wonderful. How are you doing?
delayed not so good. How do you know that? How do you know you’re doing wonderful? How do you know you’re not doing so good? How do you know?
Come on, man. I mean, I’m in here. Alright? That’s the key. Is the same you in there when you’re doing wonderful?
as when you’re doing terrible is the same you, you, the consciousness, the awareness. When you feel overwhelming love. Somebody has said something nice to do, something wonderful’s happening. You’re excited as could be. Who is experiencing that?
You surely are experiencing that. Are you not? There’s no question about it? What? Who?
What is experiencing? And if all of a sudden depression sets in, and you feel dark and depressed, how do you know that? Smartest question you’ll ever ask yourself, how do you know you’re depressed How do you know that? I’m so but how do you know? I mean, how do I know?
I mean, I’m in here, and it’s very depressed in here. Alright. The difference is so subtle. The yogi is interested in the one that is aware of the depression. They are not interested in the depression.
They are interested in the fact that I am aware. I’m aware that there is a sadness in my heart. Never felt the sadness of heaviness in your heart? What you’re trying to do is get rid of it. You’re putting your attention on the object of consciousness.
Whereas the miracle in the universe is the consciousness itself. If I sent you home to write an essay, talk to me about everything you know about the one who’s aware. What do you know about consciousness? Don’t think I want to know what you know. You’re conscious all the time, aren’t you?
You’re even conscious when you sleep, you’re aware you’re sleeping. conscious when you’re happy, you’re conscious when you’re sad, you’re conscious when good things, you’re conscious bed, you’re constantly conscious, aren’t you? What is that consciousness? Where did it come from? You want a good question?
Don’t jump. Is it male or female? The consciousness. Oh, surely. if you stick to this body in front of a mirror, the consciousness sees and is aware of a male or female body.
Is it not? Right? But is the consciousness, male, or female? You contemplate these things. this is called meditation on the self.
These teachings of yoga are so real. They are so deep They are not to be learned by the mind. They are not things to memorize. You don’t have to know the words or anything. They are talking about you.
the trouble is nobody is paying any attention to themselves. They are to their ego self. Alright? So consciousness and objects of consciousness. That line right there is the ultimate line in the universe If you are interested and pay attention to the objects of consciousness, You will be lost in this world for the rest of your life.
If what you care about is which object of consciousness is parading before your consciousness at this moment. let us discuss what you will have to do. You’re always conscious, aren’t you? You’re always conscious, but that’s not what you’re interested in. you’re interested in what you’re conscious of.
I want to be conscious of this person. I want to be conscious of this feeling. I want to be conscious of this thought. I want to be conscious, and you have this whole thing of preferences Do you have preferences of what you’re conscious of? I want to ask you.
That’s funny. And do you have preferences? If you have preferences of what you are conscious of, you will never be able to rest in the consciousness itself. You will have to constantly use your will and your energy to manipulate people place in thing outside of you so that your preferences will come true. in order to do so, you must leave the center of your consciousness, and you will find yourself completely absorbed in the world.
And it’s true. You will. If the object of consciousness that you want to be near you comes and is near you, you will then feel resultant changes in the feelings inside of you. They are also objects of consciousness. Are your feelings any less objects of consciousness than that piece of wood or that picture or a rock don’t they change?
Don’t they parade before your consciousness just like form does? Are they not things you’re aware of? If you feel fear, do you not feel fear? Who feels fear? Are your thoughts not objects of consciousness?
Can you close your eyes and picture a candle or a person and see it Of course, you can. Do you see it? Yes. Who sees it? Who is aware that that is there?
So thoughts and feelings and form are all objects of consciousness. Believe it or not. to the being of wisdom, not somebody who’s memorized, but to the being who is seated in truth. They are all the same They are objects of consciousness. What in the world is the difference?
Why does it matter? It matters because you prefer. You have built within your mind a collection of thoughts and feelings, which are the result of past experiences and those thoughts and feelings are always occupying your consciousness. And they’re saying, I want that. I want this.
I don’t like that. I’m afraid of this. I want this. I need that. Oh, this this will make me happy.
That won’t. I want this to hear it all the time going on all the time. Isn’t it? Come on. Every minute while you drive?
I don’t know. Should I do this one now, maybe it’s oh my god. What? Oh, I hope I didn’t do that. those are objects of consciousness.
Aren’t it? Are you not aware of them? Can you not slip back into consciousness and laugh at yourself constantly driving yourself crazy, how can you do that? Because you are not the thoughts. You are aware of the thoughts.
They are objects of consciousness, period. They are not who you are. Thank god. What we are discussing now is the escape route. It is the great door to liberation.
It is always there nothing has to change. You’re it. The consciousness is the way out. It is what was taught by the Buddha It is what was taught in the bhagavad Gita by Krishna to Arjuna, the way of the self is the teachings of yoga. Your consciousness is untouched by the world.
the consciousness is aware of things. The thing it is aware of, how can that which a flashlight shines on affect the flashlight? The light is just it’s in another world. The consciousness is just looking down through the eyes. The cautious is seeing the thoughts.
It is seeing the feelings. It is seeing form. It is experiencing. It is the experiencer. It is the witness.
If you hang out with the objects of consciousness, you get so caught it is beyond your comprehension. you start preferring that one object be there and the other not be. That’s not being conscious. That in and of itself is not being conscious. That is being caught in the mind.
The consciousness doesn’t care. The fleshly does not care if it shines on a flower or on a piece of dirt. It’s just a flashlight. It’s just illuminating the objects that it is shining on. the consciousness is just aware of things.
If you prefer things, any things, You will leave your consciousness. I described to you the other day that will is the power, the force that emanates from consciousness. If you use the will, the force of consciousness, to go out away from consciousness, then what you will do is lose your consciousness. You will get involved in things. You will notice that you’re here now And then for hours, you talk, you act, you lose yourself, whatever the heck it is.
And then hours later, you said, oh, here I am again. What happened? And like every once in a while, maybe for a second, you’re conscious. And then you go for these prolonged periods of time, completely lost. not knowing what’s going on.
It’s just happening automatically. Emotions are coming up. Form is happening. thoughts are happening. Where are you?
You’re lost. Can consciousness get lost in the objects of consciousness? You can’t get it completely. especially in thoughts and emotions. If you care, if you prefer, if you put your heart and soul into putting the emphasis on the objects of consciousness, then you will spend your life trying to get those objects the way you want them, and it will look to you like it matters.
Why? Because if you get them the way you want them, you will feel some joy. If they’re not the way you want them, you’ll feel tremendous pain. And therefore, you will reinforce the concept that you were right. They had to be this way.
because you want the joy and you don’t want the pain. The reason you feel the joy when things are the way you want them is because the mind quiets down. And so it permits the energy to flow. You don’t feel so threatened. And the reason you feel pain when things are not the way you want them is because the system closes down and you lose your consciousness.
Eventually, you will see if you will hang out with consciousness itself, and we’ll discuss how to do that. you will realize that all joy within you, all of it comes from consciousness. The reason that you like winning lotteries or having people tell you that you’re good and enhanced them more beautiful is because cause the changes in energy and started by saying eating. When it catches your attention, you like it. All right?
These other events I just talked about are powerful energy experiences. Therefore, the consciousness becomes involved in them. And when it becomes involved in them, It has focused. It has centered. Usually, it’s all over the place.
Your consciousness is thinking about this, thinking about this, paying attention to that, looking imagine how many things you’re conscious aware of at any given moment. It’s overwhelming. All the objects that you see, all the thoughts in your mind, all the feelings, or draining your consciousness. But if you start to get involved in one situation, some proud or success thing or something like that, something that is overwhelming to your normal senses or emotional energy or something like that. then the consciousness focuses on one thing and you feel a tremendous release and lift.
The joy that you feel you’ll have to take my word for it now until you see that yourself. Every bit of joy that you feel would be it through success, be it through money, be it through people loving you, anything. Every single bit of joy that you feel is just a reflection of the joy of the experience of self It is because the consciousness became focused in a love situation or in a success situation that you began to feel the consciousness. I’ve had on days where you just feel ultra conscious. You just step outside.
You see flowers you never saw before. You smell smells you never felt before. How do you feel on those days? Oh, you’d give anything to have every day like that, wouldn’t you? That is a day of consciousness.
Nothing has changed outside. The world has not changed It is the exact same world that was there yesterday. What changed is that you are more conscious And that’s the whole experiences. The more everything carries joy because the joy is in the consciousness itself. When you are aware and you are centered and you’re there and you’re focused, everything is so clear.
It is so sharp. and everything else falls away. So the yogi puts the emphasis on the consciousness Other people put the emphasis on the objects of consciousness. And there are so many objects of consciousness. It’s beyond comprehension.
And so you become completely scattered into running around having to make things be the way you want. What is your way out? It is so simple It’s ridiculous, but no one will do it. What does it mean? It means devote yourself to the consciousness.
How? Be conscious. What does that mean? It means somebody comes up and says something to you. 1, Are you aware that this person is walking towards you?
Fun. Okay. Hey. Hey, Farrah, you’re aware you didn’t used to be Why? Because when you’re aware the person is walking towards you, you’re going to notice that something else is going on that you’re scared.
I want to be honest. you start getting a little nervous, a little, whatever. What are you gonna say? What what do you do? Is he gonna walk up and say anything to you?
Do you have to do anything? you start being conscious of these subtle changes in your inner state. before they were overwhelming. The person starts walking towards you. They start coming up.
You’re thinking what to say. You’re not conscious that you’re thinking what to You’re thinking. Alright. And the first starts coming closer to getting nervous and all. You’re lost.
You lost your seat of consciousness. If you practice the path of self realization and that is what we’re talking about, the realization of self, which is consciousness, then you practice being conscious. The person is coming. You don’t have to say, here comes a person That’s just another object of consciousness. He made a you know, there was enough objects of consciousness.
He’s made another one, a thought. You just be aware you be aware. You focus there. Now you start seeing the changes and the feelings. What do you do about it?
This is the key. Let me give you some deep clues here. The key is that you do nothing about anything you try to do about any object of consciousness creates 1000 objects of consciousness more than their work. It’s like if I drop a rock in a still pond, it makes ripples. I don’t want the ripples.
I understand. I want the stillness. Therefore, what I should do is stick my hand in the pond to level out the ripples. Correct? Well, I don’t think so.
What should I do to stop the ripples? You don’t need a teacher, do you? Nothing? they will, by themselves, subside. Anything I do will create more ripples on it.
Alright. It is the same state. When you’re practicing consciousness, the presence of consciousness, You must be more interested in remaining conscious than in anything else and here’s where it gets hard for you because you’re not more interested in remaining conscious than anything else. You’re more interested with a person likes you. I’m telling you you have to be more interested in remaining conscious than whether that person likes.
This is called choosing consciousness. choosing god, consciously choosing the self. This is what it takes there is no other way out. You must want out more than you want in. You have to want out more than you want in.
you must want consciousness more than you want any particular objects of consciousness. So you sit there. The person is walking towards you You practice this thing. These are little, little things I’m giving you. I don’t care if it’s a stranger.
Somebody’s walking. I’m telling you, you’re gonna go through it. You have no idea how neurotic you are till you try and do this stuff. And it’s okay. So is everybody else?
Don’t worry about it. It’s human. you stand there, the person that’s walking towards you, you be aware, you just be aware, and then you will start to see changes in your heart, changes in your mind, it’ll start saying, okay. That’s enough. You should say something.
He’s looking at you. Wait. Come on. Come on. Come on.
I wants to pull you out of that, doesn’t it? What is that? That is an object of consciousness. It’s just a mental object of consciousness. Are you capable of standing there and being conscious, permitting the person to walk towards you permitting the heart to go through any perturbations and change that it needs to go through, permitting the mind to say anything that it wants to.
I don’t care what it says. I don’t care. I don’t care. It’s gonna say a lot, isn’t it? It always does.
Are you capable of remaining conscious until that person walks up and walks through? And you realize 99% of the time they didn’t even see you. They didn’t look at you, but the point is you watched for the first time in your life, the process of being you rather than being this neurotic being, you experienced the neurotic being. You were the flashlight shining on the neurotic being. rather than being the neurotic being.
So you sit there and you should be able to remain conscious, not suppress. We’re gonna get very subtle on the differences here. You don’t go with the objects of consciousness. and you don’t than on the experience itself. You simply be conscious.
They are walking towards you. You are aware of that. The emotions are changing. You are aware of that. The mind is telling you to stop.
This is enough. Stop it. you are aware of that, and it can get pretty heavy in there, can it? I want to know that. Can it get heavy in there?
What does that mean? It means you’re watching heavy objects of consciousness. They cannot touch you. They are not doing anything. And the day that you are willing to stand there to sit there, to be there, and permit the parade of these objects of consciousness to walk right before your consciousness be they love, be they hate, be they fear, be they security, they’re just objects of consciousness.
And to the extent that you are more interested in remaining conscious, you have the right to permit things to be what they are. We’re getting Buddhist now. Things just are what they are. and you are just experiencing them. If anything more than that is going on, it is because you are getting caught in the objects of consciousness.
and yoga is saying one thing very simple to you. Let it go. Pay more attention to this process of consciousness than you do to the objects of consciousness, and you will become free. You’ll become beyond because consciousness, what is it? You don’t know what it is.
I asked you. What is this thing that sees? How does it have the right to see? consciousness is the mystery of this universe. It happens to be your tie to divinity when it was stated that man or woman was created in the image of god It is the spirit, the consciousness, the being, is array of divinity.
What is its nature? What is the nature of this consciousness? Do you want to know what they call god in the true yogic literature? the nature of god is its name, such and another. That’s the word that’s used.
Sachitanan. What does that mean? eternal, conscious, bliss. You wanna know what that that is the nature of the consciousness. When you drift back to the consciousness itself It is neither male nor female.
It was the same consciousness that watched your mind when it was 10 as the one that’s watching your mind now. the consciousness is the one thing in this universe that neither gets older nor younger nor male nor female cannot get sick It can only be aware of sickness, and you will know that it has always been, and you will always be, period. The objects will not be, but the consciousness is sought eternal, shit, It’s conscious. It’s not just eternal, like the void. It’s aware of itself.
You’re aware of being aware. You are the neatest thing in the whole world. I mean, that is so special that you know that you are. So sat, shit, eternal, conscious, anonymous, bliss, ecstasy, ever new joy. that is the nature of the self, and you are hanging out down here trying to get people places and things the way you want them.
So you could get a little rush every once in a while and feel good. Are you kidding me? You have all the joy, all the love, all the bliss, all the upliftment, all the security, all the sense of wisdom every single thing you would ever seek through form happens to be your nature. That is what exists naturally as you hang out with the self, and it’s not an all or nothing thing. It’s not like a story or something like that.
The truth is the yogi does not put much emphasis on kind of experience. How you like that? The true Yogi, the one who’s really seeking, does not want a single state to take place that they don’t live in. The truth is you can be it all the time. It is your nature.
All you have to do is let go of what you’re not. You just let go of the objects that come up. You let go. You feel a sadness in your heart? Good.
Good. Just let it go. Let it go. What you’re trying to do is get rid of it. That’s a totally different thing from letting it go.
You’re sitting there with a sadness, and you’re trying to do things and have things happen outside that will make the sadness go away. That’s putting objects on business and trying to put other objects around it or use other objects to get rid of it, you’re just more lost in it. You let the sadness be the experience that the consciousness is feeling. The consciousness is aware of the sadness. or the heaviness or the loneliness or the jealousy or the fear.
And I’m telling you if you’re willing to let that be If you’re willing to let the object of consciousness be that, it will come up all by itself. It will start to come up and you’ll start to feel more sadness. Good. Good. That means it’s coming up.
It’s still just an object of consciousness. doesn’t matter how much you feel it’s the same. And in time, if you leave it alone, it will leave you. It will come right up, and it will pass through. People come to me and say, well, my heart, it feels like it’s wrenching.
It’s just so painful. What do I do? If that is what’s there, then that is what’s there. Nobody put it there. There’s no one to blame.
What you want to do is let it go. Why are you holding it there? It’s just an experience. If you leave it alone, Over time, it will just pass by itself, and you will be free of it, and you will not ever have that problem again, ever. You’ll have the next one, but not that one, all right?
And you will be doing what’s called growing. You will be evolving like layers being peeled off one after another very rapidly. All of this stuff that you stored inside objects of consciousness because you didn’t wanna be conscious of them because now you’re willing to be conscious of them. And I’m trying to get rid of them. You’re trying to make them go away you’re really saying to me is I wanna go through the pain, but how do I make it not hurt?
I wanna go through the darkness, but how do I make it not dark? I wanna go through the sadness, but how do I not feel sad? I wanna get all my jealousy, but how do I not get angry or feel jealous? In other words, I wanna go through it, but I don’t want the nature of it to be what it is. No.
That’s silly. Your consciousness is not touched by these things. Anger, tremendous anger can come up inside. You can just be sitting there watching and it just comes up, catches fire. You see it say everything it would have said.
The mind goes crazy. Doesn’t it? and you’re watching, and it passes, and you start laughing and laughing. I want you to see what happened. That was so funny.
Thank god I didn’t go with it. Can you go with it? Shane laughing, or you? Thanks a mess. Let’s go.
Yes. Pain will hurt. Fear will be afraid. Jealousy will be jealous. permit things to be what they are, to not try to change their nature, but understand that you don’t have to go with them, and you don’t have to push them away because you’re the consciousness.
That’s what you are. You’re experiencing them. They cannot touch you. you’re just not willing to let them go through. You’re not bothering to bother.
Bother. Hang out with a self. hang out with a witness. So as the stuff comes up, take some breaths. Be aware.
If you can’t do it, meditate. That’s what meditation is for. It awakens the consciousness. It centers your consciousness. Do mantra.
Do Japa. do hatha yoga, do anything you must do, but learn to remain conscious, and you will every day work your way out of this mess. And I’m telling you, even if nothing was back there, but you just didn’t hang out with this whole mess that’s in front, that would be enough, wouldn’t it? You didn’t have to be overwhelmed by fear and jealousy and insecurity and all this junk that goes on in there. that’s blessing enough.
But the truth is that the nature of the self is a love like you’ve never felt. I’m talking about absolute intoxicating, overwhelming love for every single thing that you see no matter what they think of you. That is your nature. You do not need anyone or anything. You are complete and whole within yourself.
you are the highest being in the universe. So be conscious, be present all times. If you sit down to eat, center, pay attention when you pick up your fork, pay attention when you cut your food, If you start to talk to somebody, be aware that you’re talking. Don’t get lost in your talking. Let there be moments of quiet.
Stay centered. Stay conscious. At first, it’s difficult because you’re letting go of the habit form patterns of energy. in time, you will be so grateful that you do this because awakening within you will be the great joy, will be the spirit. So this is a meaningful thing to do with your life.
Put your focus on the consciousness, on the fact that you’re conscious, instead of on the objects of consciousness, integrity.
