I gave a talk on the subject of what one can be doing for themselves by way of promoting or facilitating one's spiritual development. It amounted to three ideas which I summarised with the acronym YOU, which comes from: Yourself, Observer, and Understanding.

Yourself: Focus on yourself. There is always the temptation to let our focus point outwards to others, either people or situations that are causing a reaction in us. We often think in terms of what the other person said or is doing to us as the cause of our reaction. For instance, the boss at work ignores us or we perceive that this is what is happening. Our focus is on the boss as the cause of our discontent. Usually the response to the situation is to try to think of ways to change ourselves or some aspect of the environment to correct the unhappy situation. We might plan to work exceptionally hard to draw attention to ourselves by virtue of our exceptional level of productivity. We might try to draw attention to ourselves by some behaviours such as smiling a lot when the boss is around. All these plans are merely dealing with a symptom. Learning to focus on yourself is about learning to look for the root cause of the dissatisfaction.

Focussing on yourself means looking within yourself to see what exactly is the root of the anxiety being experienced. The root cause can usually, if not always, be attributed to one of three situations: a disturbance in your sense of security, meaning or love.

Ego, false self, the will: these are the kinds of phrases one finds in the various spiritual literatures all referring to the aspect of us that is responsible for the survival of the organism in the world. It’s the functioning programme that goes with the body. This programme, using modern day language, we could call our operating system. It is so effective and vigilant that it interprets every thing, I mean EVERYTHING that happens in our environment, in terms of its relevance to our survival.

This aspect of us is so dominant that we think it is us. It is hyper vigilant in its interpretation of everything and anything that could possibly be a threat to not only our actual physical survival but to any loss of status or diminishment that we might suffer. This aspect of us is constantly looking for reassurance that it is safe, loved and meaningful. This is why learning to see how externally generated reactions are really disturbances to our ego is so crucial in getting a more realistic understanding of ourselves.

Focussing on yourself is going after the causes, not the symptoms of your sufferings.

*

Observer: Becoming a good observer is necessary in order to be able to focus on yourself. It’s a skill and one that anyone can learn. It is often difficult to remember to do it at first, because we are in such a habit of going along with our thought streams, but with a bit of determination and practise it becomes second nature. It’s as if it is a latent skill that many people don’t know they have until it is pointed out to them. Once they become aware of it, and especially once they become aware of the power it holds for them, it becomes important. It’s about learning to shine a light, the light of consciousness on one own’s mind. It’s about learning to see the constant thoughts that are running around in the background, that we usually ignore or are not aware of. We have layers of underlying thoughts, beliefs, assumptions and so on, that we picked up in childhood, that have fallen under the radar of consciousness, but are nevertheless driving our fears and desires. They are so familiar that we don’t notice them. Becoming able to notice these persistent prevalent subtle thoughts is what is required.

The kinds of thought I am pointing to are our inner commentary and judgments; they are seemingly innocent, but observation is likely to uncover the more sinister aspect of them. Let me give a couple of examples to show what we are trying to uncover. Say you notice that someone has parked badly and you think “what an idiot, can’t even park within the lines.” Then later you might find yourself thinking that the woman wearing the big earrings has bad taste in style, way too loud and garish. And soon afterwards you are thinking that the government know nothing about how to deal with some situation. In every case you are reaffirming your authority; you have the attitude that you know better than the others, that you are superior. It’s not that you are going around saying the words “I am superior” but inwardly you are thinking on the assumption that you know best or wouldn’t make such a mistake.

Let’s take another example. You read a story in the newspaper about a person who has committed some awful crime and you think how bad he is, you would never do such an awful thing. Later you let someone know that you think it’s right to contribute to charitable organisations or maybe you pay somebody a compliment so that they’ll see how kind you are. All affirmations of your underlying belief in your own goodness.

The opposites of these thoughts can also run on inside, the self sabotaging thoughts. In fact our minds are an inconsistent medley of opposites, always either affirming or diminishing our sense of self, the ego. Inner conflict results from these contradictory thoughts. Becoming able to observe them is necessary in order to examine them in the light of rationality and relevance. Many of these thoughts were picked up in childhood and understood with a childish mind and have never again been reassessed. We need to be able to notice them in order to reevaluate them.

*

Understanding: Understanding the spiritual teachings in order to be able to apply them. Understanding at the level of being able to repeat them or being able to compare different teachers or traditions intellectually is not enough. You need to be able to understand the teachings as they apply to yourself. Because of the era in which we live we have access online to all the major traditional spiritual teachings of the world. The metaphors used and mythologies developed vary but the essential message is about the same thing. In Hindu teachings the language used is about identity; true and false identity is how the problem of human suffering is articulated. Our core problem according to this mythology is one of misidentification.

In the Christian mythology, we have been created according to specific rules, but if we don’t live within those rules we suffer. This is referred to as having a personal will which is in competition with the Will of our Creator. So, it’s a battle of wills. In Buddhist terms we have a false self and true self. The false self is what we know and think we are, and it is what is suffering. We have to learn to let go of it in order to find or become our True Self.

It doesn’t matter which mythology you are attracted to or is the one you relate best to. What matters is that you learn to understand it deeply enough to apply it to yourself. For instance, if you think in terms of identity you have to become able to understand what is meant by being identified and become able to recognised when you become trapped in a false identification so that you can stop it or not fall into it again. An example might be if you become irritated with someone, and you find yourself thinking streams of thoughts about the irritating thing and/or person. That is a false identification. You have become lost in believing, living as a resistant force against something that is happening. The continuing thoughts are where the danger lies, it’s how the prolongation occurs. It’s not that we don’t ever get irritated but that we tend to indulge the irritation long past its usefulness, because we are using the situation to reaffirm our sense of rightness and authority and maybe entitlement. We have become lost in promoting the survival mechanism as being what we are.

There is a Zen story which illustrates this point. Two monks were out walking one day, when they came to a river they needed to cross. Standing by the river was a young woman who couldn’t cross herself. One of the monks carried her across. And they continued on their way. Half an hour later, the other monk said, “What came over you to carry that woman across. You know we have a rule to never touch a woman,” and so on, berating his fellow traveller. The first monk replied, “Oh dear, you are still carrying that woman. I left her back there on the river bank where I deposited her.” We can respond appropriately to a situation without making it into an identification.

Let’s picture a different scenario. You want to get a job but all your efforts are failing. In Christian terms your will is at loggerheads with Thy Will. It’s a case of non-acceptance of what is actually happening. Becoming able to accept what is happening despite your resistance is understanding the teaching in a practical way. It’s learning to align your will with God’s Will, the path to spiritual fruition.

Spiritual development is a matter of losing or loosening outdated and unnecessary beliefs that are hidden below our usual consciousness. Each one has to do this work for themselves, and these are a few ideas that will help you in that endeavour.

~ Thanks to Tess Hughes for these ideas and the accompanying acronym. "Understanding" mural by Robert Lewis Reid, from Wikimedia Commons. Please email Reader Commentary to the .

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It's all about "ladder work" – helping and being helped

Downloadable/rental versions of the Mister Rose video and of April TAT talks Remembering Your True Desire:

"You don't know anything until you know Everything...."

Mister Rose is an intimate look at a West Virginia native many people called a Zen Master because of the depth of his wisdom and the spiritual system he conveyed to his students. Profound and profane, Richard Rose was not the kind of man most people picture when they think of mystics or spiritual teachers. Yet, he was the truest of teachers, one who had "been there," one who had the cataclysmic experience of spiritual enlightenment.

Filmed in the spring of 1991, the extraordinary documentary follows Mr. Rose from a radio interview, to a university lecture and back to his farm, as he talks about his experience, his philosophy and the details of his life.

Whether you find him charming or offensive, fatherly or fearsome, you will not forget him, and never again will you think about yourself, reality, or life after death in quite the same way.

3+ hours total. Rent or buy at tatfoundation.vhx.tv/.

2012 April TAT Meeting – Remembering Your True Desire

Includes all the speakers from the April 2012 TAT meeting: Art Ticknor, Bob Fergeson, Shawn Nevins and Heather Saunders.

1) Remembering Your True Desire ... and Acting on It, by Art Ticknor
Spiritual action is like diving for the Pearl beyond Price. What do you do when you don't know what to do or how to do it? An informal discussion centered around the question: "What prevents effective spiritual action?"

2) Swimming in the Inner Ocean: Trips to the Beach, by Bob Fergeson
A discussion of the varied ways we can use in order to hear the voice of our inner ocean, the heart of our true desires.

3) A Wider and Wilder Vision, by Shawn Nevins
Notes on assumptions, beliefs, and perspectives that bind and free us.

4) Make Your Whole Life a Prayer, by Heather Saunders
An intriguing look into a feeling-oriented approach to life.

5+ hours total. Rent or buy at tatfoundation.vhx.tv/.

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Did you enjoy the Forum? Then buy the book! Beyond Mind, Beyond Death is available at Amazon.com.

 

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