Wednesday 30 December 2009

No Destination

In the recognition of awareness there is no destination. There is no where that we are trying to get to, we can finally be comfortable with where we are and who we are. Finally all the searching for well-being comes to a stop, all the seeking to try and define and understand who we are naturally ends. We see everything clearly for the first time and we begin to see how incredible we really are. We begin to see how incredible we have always been. We begin to see what we are really capable of and how much we have to contribute to the world.

Monday 28 December 2009

Commitment

Once we see the effectiveness of taking short moments it becomes easy to commit to taking more short moments until awareness becomes continuous at all times. When short moments seem difficult to take then this is the time we need to reach out for support. Great Freedom offers an incredible worldwide support network that makes relying on awareness easy.

Sunday 27 December 2009

Natural

The more we recognise that our true identity is the sky-like space of awareness then the more natural we become in our behaviour. We see that there is no need to try to contrive a way of being as the importance we had formerly given to all our ideas gently relaxes. This is such a relief.

Friday 25 December 2009

Just relax

Just relax and get to know the openness of perception that is necessary for any experience to be known. This recognition is not an intellectual pursuit but is simply an instinctive recognition of what is already the case. It really is not a complicated matter.

Thursday 24 December 2009

Merry Christmas

The greatest gift you can ever give yourself is to be found in a short moment of awareness. In that short moment you find inherent wisdom, compassion and complete well-being. What more could you possibly ask for?

Wednesday 23 December 2009

Basic Knowledge

Without the basic knowledge that whatever occurs is inseparable from a ground of relaxed open ease we will never have access to real intelligence. The natural wisdom that is obvious when we look at the natural world is the same wisdom that we have access to when we instinctively recognise the true nature of all phenomena. From the narrow perspective of points of view we can never be truly innovative. However, the very instant we acknowledge the basic state of natural perfection we have a balanced view that sees everything exactly as it is. When we see everything exactly as it is we are able to make decisions that are naturally of benefit to ourselves and everyone else, we are no longer constrained by all the conceptual frameworks we have adopted. We become familiar with this basic knowledge by short moments, we then repeat this many times until it becomes continuous all of the time.

Tuesday 22 December 2009

Warm hearted

It is such a joy to see that when I am not caught up in a web of description, desperately trying to make sense of all my thoughts, emotions and experiences, I actually have time for other people. I have time to really listen in a warm hearted way to whatever they have to say. I no longer have to try and prove to people I meet how clever, funny or cool I am. It is such a relief to be able to be completely natural in every situation, with whoever I am with.

Thank you Great Freedom and all the incredible support that is offered to make the instinctive recognition of awareness an everyday lived reality for so many.

Monday 21 December 2009

Ease

It is such a relief not to be completely wrapped up in all my stories and descriptions. It was always a huge struggle to try and pin down exactly what was going on and I never really felt like I had a "handle" on life. All my frames of reference, all my labels, all my concepts are no longer the sole way in which I try to make sense of my experience of life. Simply by relying on the innate clarity of awareness I can now see exactly what is going on in any moment.

It is in each moment that we make the simple choice about how we are going to use our minds. Are we going to dive head first into the mire of descriptive frameworks or are we going to relax for a short moment and recognise the natural presence of sky-like awareness? It really is that simple.

Saturday 19 December 2009

Test it

Why not find out for yourself whether taking short moments of awareness makes a difference to your life? There is no way you can know unless you test it for yourself.

Friday 18 December 2009

Destination

There is no destination to get to for us to be able to recognise awareness. It is only with the current perception that we have the incredible opportunity to recognise what is fundamental to every phenomena. This is a great relief as it means we don't have to change whatever is appearing but can recognise every perception as the dynamic energy of awareness. The power of short moment is that we can simply repeat this recognition again and again until we are absolutely certain that this is the case.

Wednesday 16 December 2009

Indestructible

Awareness is completely indestructible and is never affected by any appearance, no matter how we describe or label the experience. This is similar to the way that sky is never affected by any of the appearances that appear within it. No storm, typhoon or hurricane ever affects the pristine, flawless nature of sky. The sky is always naturally present and wide-open. When we take a short moment to recognise our own awareness we discover that which is always stable, relaxed and wide-open like the sky.

Tuesday 15 December 2009

Simple

Keep it simple. Recognise for short moments that whatever appears is inseparable from the Basic State of natural perfection.

Ask yourself if all the ideas and concepts that you accumulated throughout your life ever led you to a clear understanding of the fundamental nature of existence and well-being in every moment? If the answer is "no" then why not try relying on short moments of awareness and see what happens.
You might just find that all the understanding, all the ease and well-being that you sought are in fact accessible right here and now. Until you try you will never know.

Saturday 12 December 2009

Clear seeing

In a short moment of awareness we see everything exactly as it is. We come to know for ourselves the fundamental nature of every perception. We see how no phenomena can be held on to or pinned down. Each appearance is spontaneously self-releasing with nothing needing to be done for this to be the case.

Once we recognise this for ourselves then we can see everything clearly.

Thursday 10 December 2009

Carefree

Once I saw that every single point of view effortlessly resolved without anything needing to be done I was really able to relax for the first time. I saw that it made absolutely no sense to be all wrapped up in my ideas and concerns when each and every one of them was a spacious appearance within awareness. There were no special ideas or emotions that I some how had to do something about, that were a threat to my well-being. The more I relied on awareness the more clearly I saw the nature of all points of view.

With this relief from no longer having to micro-manage all my endless thoughts and emotions I am more light hearted and carefree. I am naturally sensitive and open as I now see that I have nothing to defend.

Monday 7 December 2009

Immediate benefit

The relief to be felt from the simple recognition of awareness as the source of every perception is immediate. We are not hoping to recognise awareness at some point in the future. Awareness can only be recognised right now with whatever the present moment perception happens to be.

In this instinctive recognition we cut straight through all intellectual speculation about awareness or anything else. We find that we are already super-complete and that absolutely everything rests in a ground of natural perfection.

Sunday 6 December 2009

Openness

Awareness has never been caught up in any perception, it is always completely wide-open like the sky. Just as the sky is never affected by any of the phenomena that occur within it awareness is never affected by any of the phenomena that appear within it.

Your perception is always completely wide-open, never affected by any of your thoughts, emotions, sensations or other experiences. By coming to this conclusion for ourselves, by taking short moments of the instinctive recognition of our own always clear awareness, we see that there is a pristine ground of total ease that is always accessible. With the growing confidence in awareness as the root of all experience comes a balanced view, where we are no longer at the mercy of all our unpredictable thoughts and emotions. Instead we are grounded in our fundamental nature, relaxed, wide-open awareness.

Friday 4 December 2009

Innovation

It is only by relying on the clarity of awareness that true innovation becomes possible. When we approach a situation from the vantage of natural clarity then we are no longer limited by any of our pre-conceptions. In fact we are not limited at all and can allow the spontaneous responsiveness that is our natural condition to inform our actions and speech.

I see again and again how effortless and carefree life can be once I decide to rely on awareness. The natural intelligence that is the essence and source of every perception is always completely relaxed and open to endless possibility. The practical application of this in our lives leads to decisions that are naturally compassionate and of immediate benefit to us and the people we love.

Wednesday 2 December 2009

Destination

In the instinctive recognition of awareness there is no destination. Since awareness is the essence of this present moment we don't need to go anywhere to find awareness. This makes is very simple. Nowhere to go and nothing needing to be changed for us to recognise what is primary in every experience. With this effortless recognition we see everything clearly just as it is.

Saturday 28 November 2009

Clear understanding

I was always trying to make sense of my experience of life. I read so many books and accumulated all kinds of different ideas, from philosophy to physics, via psychology and spirituality. Yet none of these books actually helped me to definitively come to understand what was going on. I really felt like I was swimming in a huge ocean of confusion and nothing I did seemed to help.

Through gradually gaining confidence in the fundamental physical law that whatever appears is inseparable from the basic state of awareness, it is like a veil has been lifted. Without needing to study or practice any particular technique I now have a clear, level headed understanding of my life. I now have the context that without which there was indeed no way to make sense of anything.

Natural Perfection

While we are all caught up in the need to rearrange our experience, to try and get rid of the "bad" and get more of the "good", it is impossible to recognise that all experience rests naturally in the basic state of natural perfection. This basic state effortlessly pervades all experience whatever label we may impose upon it. When we begin to rely on this ever-present basic state then we can approach life from the openness of awareness and not from the very narrow perspective of all of our innumerable thoughts and ideas. From this space of open relaxed clarity we know exactly how to be in every situation and are empowered with direct spontaneous responsiveness that is full of love and wisdom.

Friday 27 November 2009

Present Perception

There really is no need to look for awareness other than in the present perception, always right here, always immediately accessible. We have a choice in every single moment. To spiral down into a world of hope and fear or to just relax and acknowledge the pure presence of awareness. It really is that simple.

Wednesday 25 November 2009

Immediate

The relief from believing that our points of view have the power to affect our well-being is immediate in a short moment. In the instinctive recognition of awareness we see everything clearly , exactly as it is. By repeating this instinctive recognition we become more and more familiar with the already unified field of awareness that effortlessly cradles all experience within its warm embrace. This is not a difficult recognition as we already know who we are. Everything that is offered by Great Freedom from the free books to the free Mp3 downloads supports us in this growing familiarity.

Even simpler

The beauty of short moments of awareness repeated many times until it becomes continuous is that we can practice this right now. Nothing needs to change for us to make the one simple change in the way that we use our minds. This also means that short moments is a completely practical approach. We don't have to remove ourselves from our normal everyday life to recognise awareness. In fact it is in our normal everyday experience of life that we have the perfect opportunity to become familiar with the clarity that pervades every single perception.

Tuesday 24 November 2009

Simplicity

By keeping it simple and just relaxing again and again as the wide-open space of awareness we can easily see everything exactly as it is. We clearly see the true nature of all phenomena for ourselves and come to a conclusive understanding of the nature of reality.

Saturday 21 November 2009

Freedom

True freedom is being at ease with whatever occurs. This can only happen when we leave everything just as it is and do not try to change the flow of phenomena. By relying on awareness we become familiar with the unchanging nature that is at the root of every perception. When we become confident that this ground of absolute ease and openness is always already the case then we are no longer a victim of our unpredictable thoughts. Instead we can allow them to be whatever they are, secure in the recognition of their inseparability from the basic state. It is quite a relief to know that your thoughts and emotions are already perfect for this recognition to take place.

Thursday 19 November 2009

Responsibility

With the simple practice of short moments of instinctively recognising our own innate clarity we can finally take responsibility for ourselves.

I know that I had always wanted to make a difference with my life, that I wanted to really be of benefit to humanity and the planet. With a growing confidence in the innate clarity that is the source of each and every perception I am finally able to actually see how I can best contribute my time and energy in a way that makes an immediate difference. At first we see the way that clarity is more and more the case with the effortless ease and decisive action in our personal lives. This very quickly expands to become evident in all of our interactions and actions.

We see through the way that we have limited ourselves and what we are capable of by buying into all the descriptions and labels about who we are. All the energy that was caught up in trying to maintain and live up to the endless ideas and concepts of what we can achieve is immediately released. The natural outlet for all of this energy when we are no longer obsessively focused on our own already assured well-being is in how we can help others and what we can contribute.

Monday 16 November 2009

Clarity

By relying on the clarity that is necessary for every perception to be known we gain access to an amazing resource of hyper-intelligence. When we are no longer restricted by viewing the world through the arbitrary filters of all of our ideas we allow incredible spontaneous responsiveness and true innovation. This is true in every part of our lives, from all of our everyday interactions with people we live and work with to the most complex of technical problems. It encompasses the entire range of human activity but we will never know whether this is true unless we test it out for short moments in our own lives, with all of our own thoughts, emotions, sensations and other experiences.

Sunday 15 November 2009

The community

I have seen how beneficial spending time with the Great Freedom community has been. It makes the recognition of the inseparability of each and every perception from the basic state of awareness far easier when we are surrounded by other people also committed to this one simple change. Instead of people who will feed or encourage our indulging, replacing or avoiding of points of view we find a group of open minded, emotionally stable people, totally dedicated to grounding themselves in the ease of natural perfection. I feel incredibly lucky to have found such a wonderful support network that is so full of smiles, laughter and complete clarity.

Thursday 12 November 2009

The Basic State

Spending time with texts like the "Basic State" makes the instinctive recognition of the inseparability of phenomena from a ground of relaxed openness very easy. Written texts like these help to evoke the recognition of natural perfection in our own experience. It is only when we see that every single perception has as its essence an unchanging basic state that we clearly come to understand the nature of reality. This recognition does not require an intellectual approach as we are simply recognising what is already the case.

Monday 9 November 2009

The evidence of natural perfection

Once we begin to gain confidence in the inseparability of whatever is appearing from a ground of ease and stability we begin to see how everything is evidence of our own natural perfection. By taking short moments whenever I was naturally reminded, I saw that awareness was the source of every single perception. It was very important that I came to this definitive understanding for myself. By looking at my own experience and allowing everything to be exactly as it is, awareness effortlessly became more and more obvious. I began to recognise that whatever thought or sensation was appearing it was also evidence of awareness, evidence of the super-complete ground that unifies everything in natural perfection.

Friday 6 November 2009

Short moments of awareness

When enjoying a short moment of awareness we recognise the inseparability of whatever is occurring from the basic state of natural perfection. It is only when we delve into the description of the appearance that we lose sight of this fundamental truth. This is so with all experience no matter how we choose to describe it or what label we attach to it. The short moment always cuts straight through this compulsive commentary on our own lives and allows us to be truly relaxed in any situation.

Tuesday 3 November 2009

Easy

Why make the recognition of awareness difficult by trying to figure it out all by yourself? Once I saw that there was an amazing 24/7 support network that was solely there to help me become stable in the recognition of awareness at all times, it became so much less of a struggle. Once I recognised that my ideas of being on "my spiritual path", or of "doing it all myself", were also just points of view appearing in awareness then I was able to take full advantage of everything being so generously offered.

Monday 2 November 2009

Warm Hearted

By relying on short moments of awareness we clearly see the nature of all phenomena. We recognise that there are no special phenomena that we have to rearrange to find well-being. Very naturally our focus then shifts from a life that is self-centered and concerned with how to make ourselves happy to a life where we are open and naturally warm hearted. When we no longer need to fix all our imagined faults then we effortlessly have more time for everyone else.

Wednesday 28 October 2009

Dependable

The basic state of awareness is completely reliable. Every single time that we choose to acknowledge our very own sky like nature it is found to be naturally present. It does not depend on what thought we might be having or what emotion we might be feeling or even on what circumstance we find ourselves in. Every time we make this simple choice in how we use our mind we effortlessly become more and more certain in the true nature of all experience. We find something about us that we can rely depend upon in any situation.

Tuesday 27 October 2009

Seamless

The completely seamless nature of experience is recognised with every short moment. There never has been any division or split in the the basic state of natural perfection. Everything that is provided by Great Freedom supports us in this instinctive recognition, hooray!

Saturday 24 October 2009

Community

It is always completely supportive to spend time with the Great Freedom community anywhere in the world. At the moment I am lucky enough to be in Dharamsala in North India where a month of Open Meetings and written teachings have recently begun. To see the community here effortlessly work together to organise everything that is needed is a real inspiration. The way that everyone cooperates in a spirit of warmth and fun to get done what needs to be done is the perfect demonstartion of how effective the instinctive recognition of awareness is in practical situations.

Many many thanks to all that are here helping to create such a welcoming atmosphere.

Friday 23 October 2009

Smell

The senses are a fantastic place to test out short moments of awareness.

Whilst cooking a meal today it was a joy to see that it was only through awareness that I was able to delight in the smell of onion, garlic and spices frying. When taking a short moment with physical sensations we immediately recognise their essence as wide-open awareness. It becomes more and more obvious that absolutely everything is a reminder to recognise the basic state of awareness, even the smell of cooking food!

Thursday 22 October 2009

Opinion

What a relief to realise that I no longer have to have an opinion on everything. I used to think that what was important was my opinion and my ability to convince my friends of how brilliant my opinions were. I used to think that what defined me was my opinions and ideas.

It is such a joy to be able to sit and be with anyone and not to have to worry about formulating a clever response to what they are saying based on all my limited ideas. When I am now longer relating through the filter of all my opinions I am actually able to really listen to people and what they are saying. There is immediately a sensitivity and warmth that I rarely noticed when I was completly wrapped up in all my concepts.

Now, when I do respond, it is no longer from a place of having to defend myself and all my clever little ideas but instead the response is spontaneous and easy and naturally sensitive.

Wednesday 21 October 2009

Nature's clarity

It is so obvious when we look at the wonder of the natural world that everything rests in a single ground of unity that we do not need to think about it for even one minute. The clarity and dynamic spaciousness that we find when looking at a beautiful view are always the case. We are usually so caught up in disecting all of our thoughts and emotions that we simply fail to notice what is primary to all perceptions.

Tuesday 13 October 2009

Delhi

I have just arrived in Delhi to find that brilliant awareness effortlessly permeates the noise and bustle and smiling faces of India! Wherever you go there you are, wide-open and warm hearted.

Tuesday 6 October 2009

Clarity

Nothing ever obscures our natural clarity. Whatever appears is only known because it is illuminated by the bright light of clarity. All we need to do is to recognise for short moments that clarity is the essence of every appearance. From this most basic of recognitions we effortlessly grow more and more confident that clarity pervades every situation and can see clearly how to effectively be of benefit to ourselves and everyone around us.

Friday 2 October 2009

Sky-like

Like the sky, awareness is always wide-open. Without effort it contains all of the phenomena that appear within it and yet is unaffected by any of them. Like sky, we cannot find any boundary, edge or limit, we cannot find a beginning or an end. By simply relaxing as this sky-like awareness we come to recognise that about us that is always naturally present and completely stable, phew, what a relief.

Monday 28 September 2009

Repeated Many Times

It is only by the repeated recognition of awareness for short moments that we become certain of the inseparability of whatever is appearing from this basic state. To have the openness to check this out with all of the points of view of our own lives is essential. Again and again we keep taking short moments until we are completely sure that this is in fact the case.

Sunday 27 September 2009

Untouched

What a relief it is to recognise that all thoughts and emotions and other experiences just flow on by and never affect the pristine clarity of awareness. It doesn't matter what we think, what we feel or what we are doing, the spacious clear expanse of awareness is completely untouched by any of the fleeting perceptions. To recognise this in our own experience is the recognition of the fundamental nature of all phenomena, including the phenomena of "I".

Friday 25 September 2009

Warm hearted.

I love the way that when I rely on clarity to guide my speech and actions, natural compassion and warm hearted openness are immediately apparent. I see this in my everyday interactions with all kinds of people from the man in the local shop, to my close family members. I have never had so much time and space for other people, hooray!

Wednesday 23 September 2009

Sweden

I feel so lucky to be at the Great Freedom Centre here in Sweden. It is an incredible demonstration of how it is indeed possible for people to live and work together with effortless harmony, natural warmth and incredible effectiveness. Thank you to everyone who contributes to make this such a fantastic place to visit.

Monday 21 September 2009

Decisions

It is amazing to recognise that the the clarity of awareness is the basis for making decisions that are expansive and naturally inclusive. By recognising the perceptual openness that is always the case our view becomes wide-open and no longer limited by any of our pre-conceptions. From this vantage decisions flow effortlessly and are incredibly effective and naturally beneficial to all.

Sunday 20 September 2009

Clarity

Clarity is naturally present as the essence of every perception. The clear light of awareness pervades all phenomena and it's brightness is the source of everything that can be known.

Friday 18 September 2009

The sun of awareness

The sun of awareness just grows brighter and brighter the more we acknowledge its presence. In the same way the ease of being that we worked so hard to achieve effortlessly increases. Our activities are naturally more compassionate and the wisdom of knowing how to be is instantly accessible, hooray!

Wednesday 16 September 2009

Confidence

By the simple recognition of the basic state of natural perfection again and again until it becomes obvious at all times, confidence in the true nature of our identity effortlessly grows.

Tuesday 15 September 2009

Tiredness

It is amazing to see how when we relax the need to obsessively describe what is going on and enjoy a short moment of awareness we immediately recognise the true nature of all perceptions. When left exactly as it is, without elaboration, even sensations such as tiredness become wonderful reminders to recognise the basic state.

Monday 14 September 2009

Instinctive recognition

The recognition of awareness is instinctive because it does not require analysis or intellectual speculation. We are simply recognising what is already the case and in this way become naturally confident in relying on awareness.

Sunday 13 September 2009

Instinctive recognition

Isn't it incredible to see how each and every single time we choose to relax as wide-open awareness the relief from believing that any point of view has the power to affect our well-being is instantaneous. In the moment of instinctive recognition we see clearly that our sky-like nature has never been stuck any where and is always completely at ease.

Friday 11 September 2009

Kindness

The kindest thing we can ever do is to make the commitment to rely on short moments of instinctive recognition of the basic state. In every short moment the inherent ease and warmth that is the essence of every perception is effortlessly recognised.

Thursday 10 September 2009

Relax

Every single time we relax for a short moment the ground of being, wide-open and completely at ease is immediately obvious.

Wednesday 9 September 2009

Industructable

What a relief to realise that nothing at all has ever affected the wide-open nature of awareness. Nothing that we have done or that has been done to us has scratched, marked or changed pristine awareness in anyway, phew.

Sunday 6 September 2009

The Sun Of Awareness

The sun of awareness always burns bright and clear, even when the sky is cloudy and grey.

Saturday 5 September 2009

Already at rest.

By relying on short moments of the recognition of the ground of perfect ease that underlies all perceptions it becomes obvious that everything is already at rest within the vastness of the basic state.

Thursday 3 September 2009

Illness

It is so powerful to see that it is impossible to get rid of awareness even in afflictive states like being ill. When we relax and recognise the wide-open lucidity that is always the case even the perception of a "fever" is seen to happen in a spontaneous, effortless way. Awareness is never ill, it is always pristine and clear and even perceptions of physical discomfort or pain never leave a mark or trace in the basic state.

Monday 31 August 2009

Effortless

The recognition of ever-present awareness is effortless. We do not need to strive to gain more awareness or work to become more aware. Nobody has any more awareness than anybody else.

All that is required is to keep taking short moments of the recognition of the perceptual openness that is always the case. Our sky-like nature is always the case and does not depend on any particular perception or experience. Rather it is what is experiencing, what is looking.

Saturday 29 August 2009

Opportunity

How incredible to recognise that each and every moment we have a choice to relax and enjoy the natural presence of awareness, regardless of what fleeting perception is appearing.

Wednesday 26 August 2009

More community

To see how effortlessly we can relate to other people once we rely on awareness is a complete joy. Every time I spend time with the Great Freedom community I am amazed to see the naturalness of relationships based on mutual respect and warmth, sprinkled with a delicious coating of fun.

Tuesday 25 August 2009

Community

It is incredibly supportive to be with other people who have also made the commitment to take responsibility for their points of view. When we recognise our thoughts and emotions as the basic state of awareness then we also recognise that they no longer have power to dictate the way we behave. What a relief to see that we no longer have to be a victim of the unpredictable flow of phenomena.

Monday 24 August 2009

Storm Clouds

The weather in Cornwall is wonderfully unpredictable. One minute there is warm sunshine and the next a dark storm cloud covers the sky and torrential rain pours down. After only a short while the cloud passes by and the sun is shining once again.

The sky itself is completely unaffected by whatever weather spontaneously appears. It is always relaxed and wide-open regardless of whether the sun is shining brightly or the rain is pouring down. The spacious nature of awareness is exactly the same, never affected or perturbed by any of the fleeting appearances that spontaneously appear.

Saturday 22 August 2009

Cornwall

How fantastic to be down in Cornwall with so many people really committed to relying on short moments of awareness. To repeat this recognition whenever you are naturally reminded cuts right through the conventional approach of dissecting and analysing every fleeting appearance and allows the recognition of ever present awareness in every situation.

Wednesday 19 August 2009

Awareness Never Goes Anywhere

What a relief to realise that awareness never goes anywhere. It is always right here, wide-open an naturally present. To recognise awareness is not some far off future event but to see that awareness can only be found in the present point of view is the birth of true compassion.

Wednesday 12 August 2009

What A Relief

What a relief to realise that awareness never goes anywhere. It is always right here, naturally present as whatever phenomena is occurring. This makes the recognition of our fundamental nature completely effortless as we never have to do anything to become aware.

Tuesday 11 August 2009

Be Kind To Yourself

To take a short moment and enjoy ever-present awareness is the greatest kindness we can give ourselves. In every short moment we cut right through the need to continually dissect and analyse every passing thought or emotion. Instead we become familiar with the ground of spacious ease that is the essence of every perception.

Sunday 9 August 2009

Short Moments Of Awareness

In taking a short moment of awareness we see everything very clearly. We see how effortlessly all phenomena flow on by without leaving a trace, like the flight path of a bird in the sky.