ALREADY AWAKE?

I and many other teachers have commented that our True Nature is always here, always now. Where else could it be? Yet it is obvious that the direct experience of presence awareness is not normal or familiar to most of us. Glancing through a fairly typical neo-advaita book called Already Awake by Nathan Gill, I wondered how to understand this perspective. Many of the non-dual teachers assert that there is nothing to do, so therefore do nothing! Huh. If only it were so easy! In fact, there is a lot to do, both prior to and after awakening. To say that we are already awake is similar to saying we are already marathon runners. Obviously, such a statement is confusing. Some of us have the potential to be marathon runners if we train with passion, dedication, and skill over a long period of time. As human beings we have some potential to wake up in this life-time. Very few realize this potential. It is also true that there are infinite degrees of enlightenment. The best perspective is to drop whatever you have accomplished, or think you have, and push on.

I believe it is useful to consider how we distract our self from noticing this underlying, continuous awareness that is always present but seldom realized. If awareness is always present, which it is, why do we rarely feel it, taste it, and live it?

In our work together let's look at some of the fundamental flaws in our beliefs that prevent our seeing what is right in front of us. I call it the universal narcissism of human beings. Self-centered striving is the culprit. It is so ingrained that merely becoming aware of how self-absorbed we are takes tremendous work. This work continues even after the most profound awakening. There is nothing wrong with working hard to realize what is true. There is no lazy man’s way to awakening. In this talk we will roll up our sleeves, and dive into what is real.