PARADISE, MI–The last few nights I’ve been awoken by the thought, “The tire is going to blow out and I’ll be stuck in the middle of nowhere.”

So, on the way to Paradise, MI (Upper Peninsula), I had the one tire that was balding, replaced. But what should have been a 30 minute job became three hours. They stripped a stud and nut, so now I only have 5 nuts holding the (new) tire on instead of six. It’s a Friday of course and there are no studs or nuts for my truck to be found. I told them not to worry about it and went on my way.

I think She’s doing this to me on purpose–wearing what little there is left of me down. Ironically, after each incident, each problem, I feel somehow more open. More serene.

Modern spirituality says you have to surrender, you have to stop. I think that can take you far–very far–but ultimately, if you really want to be one with the All, you have to die for Her. Not just give up trying, but die to yourself so She can run things. You’ve got to say, “I’m done with me. I’m broken. I’m not working anymore. This ‘me’ is a useless piece of crap and is just getting in the way. Take over, Baby. Thy Will be Done.”

There is an amazing feeling of freedom to it.

NEWPORT NEWS, VA–So far the Truck Project has been a powerful teacher of Reality and the mind’s interpretation of it.

The project has constantly thrown in my face two very different views of the same thing: The Real World and the Mind’s World.

More below the break.  (What does “below the break” mean?)

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Warrior’s Path S.P., Kingsport, TN–I received an email the other day from a reader who had recently had a satori experience and was asking for advice on what she should do now.

Since satori experiences are indicators that the Personal Self is weakening, I offered the following “empty room” practice.

More below the break…

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Warrior’s Path S.P., Kingsport, TN–From the Tao Te Ching, Chapter 42, last paragraph:

What others teach, I also teach; that is:
“A violent man will die a violent death!”
This will be the essence of my teaching.

My thoughts on this below the break…

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DEERFIELD BEACH, FL–I have found that there are two qualities that underlie all awareness when the personal self drops–qualities that are powerfully felt when I’m not under the influence of decades-long conditioning: Emptiness and Gentleness.

Emptiness (vastness/openness) is the mental quality of awareness. In a strange, wonderful intermixed sort of way, everything seems to arise (comes into existence) inside of me, is a part of me, and yet is (all at the same time) still separate from me. I use the word “emptiness” because of the strong feeling of it happening inside of me (“me” being the feeling of this vast, living, emptiness). The inside/part of/separate paradox isn’t really a paradox though–it’s just like when you think of an easter bunny: the image is inside you, part of you, and yet separate from you.

Gentleness is the energetic quality. It underlies everything. Conditioned “Wayne” has a lot of Yang (“can-do,” assertive, forceful) energy, but under that conditioning, is this simple, gentleness that feels so much like the “true” me. I’ve often heard other’s call it “love,” but that seems too vague, too idealistic. “Gentleness” feels more alive, more flowing, more natural.

Emptiness is mental and very difficult to experience for most. The noisy personal self is the main barrier to experiencing it.

Gentleness on the other hand is very easy. Just practice being gentle.

Then, as a tool, notice that when you are not being gentle, that you are either under the influence of the personal self or prior conditioning. The simple act of seeing them makes it much easier for them to drop away.

PALM BAY, FL–I don’t know why I had such a hard time getting this meditation out–either I’d screw up the sound quality or I’d over explain the instructions–but I finally got it right. This is the meditation that I used to stabilize my “enlightenment consciousness” during those precarious three weeks of my awakening. I first mentioned it the September 21st entry, Waking Yourself Up. Part IV: The Practice.

You can download the meditation here.

I am still camped north of Phoenix. I had to clean up some messes I had made from my Wayne Wirs days (pre-enlightenment). I also wanted to finish up a much shorter and simpler version of my original “waking up” meditation before hitting the road.

I plan to use The Three Enlightenments Guided Meditation at my talks. I’ll probably play the recording at the beginning of the class to set the mood and introduce the audience to a few of my core concepts (ego, the Divine Within, thoughts, the Three Enlightenments, etc.)

A couple core “strategies” of my teachings–designed to help loosen the grip of the ego–are also covered in the meditation:

• Shifting your identity to the Divine Within. Ego-Wayne thought of himself as a Soul, but in the meditation I refer to the Divine Within as Love (emotional), Light (visual), or the Life Force (felt). These are concepts much more accessible to the general population.
• Experiencing what it feels like to be enlightened. The more often that you see and feel the wonders of your enlightened nature, the easier it will be for you to see what blocks you from living this way: the ego, Wayne Wirs, state-your-name, whatever.

The meditation helps you experience both of these aspects of enlightenment. In doing so, it will, hopefully and eventually, allow you to drop your ego story for good.

You can download the meditation here.

Confidence. It’s not something most would consider important in spiritual growth–but I’ve found it can have a profound effect on clearing your mind. At the Adyashanti satsang last week, I talked to a few different people about just this subject…

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Below are a list of benefits to the guided meditation I presented in the last article. What may seem like just a simple visualization actually packs quite a lot of experiential learning into it…

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The following is the guided mediation I’ve mentioned in Parts I, II, and III. If you haven’t already read those articles, please read them now as terms and concepts discussed below won’t make much sense otherwise.

Notes:

• This meditation is now available as an audio guided meditation: Awakening To Enlightenment
• For a simpler and shorter meditation, please see The Three Enlightenments Guided Meditation

This is the same technique that was used to shift my consciousness from an ego-centered identity to a stable Witness identity. Currently – on average about two or three times a day – my identity also briefly shifts from the Witness (Stage I Enlightenment) into Pure Consciousness (Stage II Enlightenment). My hope is that this practice will help shift your identity from the Ego, to the Witness, (and possibly to Pure Consciousness) just as it has for me.

This guided meditation arose spontaneously during my second day of contemplation while dry camping on the Washington side of the John Day Dam. In the same manner that much of the material for A Simple Explanation for Everything seemed to come from some mysterious, deeper, “not-me-but-within-me” place, so too did this meditation.

If you practice this meditation at least twice a day, I expect you will see powerful results quite quickly…

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Most spiritual seekers believe that at the core of each of us, lies a glimmering spark of the Divine – Spirit, Source, God Within. It is the goal of many spiritual seekers to find this spark, to awaken it, and to allow its Light to shine forth from within them.

But there is no Divine Spark.

Over these last few weeks, as this transformation has taken place, I have looked deep within my soul and I can assure you that there is no spark, no flickering light.

What I have found is something far more amazing. What I have found is a huge, Divine radiant Sun – a brightly shining core that has glowed from within my being my entire life. Just as importantly, this powerful Divinity radiates within you…

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As I mentioned in Part I, enlightenment is when you no longer identify with (think of yourself as) your thoughts. Also in Part I, I explained how you were the Witness to your dreams. To summarize, when you sleep, your subconscious brain creates a dream and shows it to you-the-Witness:

BRAIN -> DREAM -> YOU-THE-WITNESS

In order to solidify your foundation as the Witness, you need to shift your identity from all the thoughts bouncing around in your brainpan, to actually witnessing these thoughts (ie: becoming the Witness) – and you need to do this while you are awake and going about your everyday life. You need to learn to differentiate between your thoughts and you-the-Witness.

So how do you break the grip thoughts seem to have on you?

All you need is to understand a simple concept that I call a Horton. What’s a Horton, you ask? As any child will tell you, a Horton is a big cartoon elephant from the Dr. Seuss story, Horton Hears a Who…

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What is enlightenment?

Enlightenment is when you no longer identify with your thoughts.

Since the story of your life, what you think about yourself, and positions you hold dear, are all thoughts, when you “wake up,” these thoughts stop feeling like you. They don’t necessarily go away, but they do lose their power over you – you stop identifying with them. You stop identifying with the ego story.

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