當真正的靜心開始
你在自己內在培養的深度，
將決定你可以正面的影響世界的程度。
有些佛教徒每週去寺廟一次，但在其他的時間似乎不是很像佛教徒。有些靜心者每週靜心一次，或甚至每天靜心一次，但其餘的時間似乎不是很靜心。好吧，至少有些靜心比沒有好。雖然一些靜心會給人放鬆，但只有大量的靜心才會使你解脫。
世界的拉力總是比靈魂的拉力要強。世界就像是自我，它說話最大聲，最先說。而靈魂只是等待，等待你變得安靜，並尋求認識它。如果你沒有真正致力於覺醒，那就不太可能發生。你可能在生活中有自發性的覺醒時刻，但它們會過去。那些時刻是恩典的碰觸，現實超越夢短暫的對你打開它的帷幕。但它足以喚醒你對於知道自己的渴望嗎？這對於另一側的瞥見，足以讓你真正追求瞭解你是誰嗎？
僅僅因為你不睡覺，並不意味著你是清醒的。僅僅因為你靜心，並不意味著你接觸了自己。僅僅因為你每天使頭腦安靜一小時，並不意味著你一天中其他的時間沒有被頭腦所支配。大多數的人都活在無意識的恍惚中，他們的自我完全與頭腦、人格和自我認同。他們從早到晚被世俗的憂慮所佔據，從未探究他們是誰的真理。你可能知道這個世界，但你知道自己嗎？
需要極大的熱情和巨大的不懈努力才能真正的覺醒。無意識、健忘和無知的拉力在這個次元太強大了。集體無意識做夢的太深。不是集體無意識將你吸入它的現實，就是你將他們吸入你覺醒的現實。不是你的心靈融入了生活，就是生活融入了你的心靈。
這需要很大的持續熱情，和巨大的持續努力，才能保持覺醒。如果你沒有專注，那麼你一定會倒退。即使醒著時，它僅是進入內在領域非常小的開始。靈魂的內在領域是真正隱藏的。唯有當身體和頭腦變得很安靜，類似於靈魂領域的振動時，那領域才會開始開啟。當它開啟時，你就可以進入，但只能作為一個訪客，一個觀察者。你可以不斷的來來去去。但你還是太與你的人類自我、思想自我，你在世界上的角色和生活認同了，而沒有真正準備好搬遷。
最大的誤解是，除非你成為你是誰的真實，並瞭解你最深身份的真實，你無法真正適當的連結到這個世界。沒有真正的連結自己，你與這世界永遠是分離的。唯有與自己的合一，才可以讓你知道如何與這整個世界合一。自我認為自己是聰明的，它以快速的方式做每件事情，立刻解決它世俗的擔憂。但如果沒有覺醒自我的清晰和智慧，你會一直犯錯，因為你不是在自己的中心。實際上，你在浪費時間、能力和努力，因為你不是向前進，你是在學習如何導正偏離中心的錯誤。對於新的靜心者，盤腿而坐，在黑暗中閉上眼睛，聽著輕柔的音樂不是靜心。它只是一種外在形式。只有當我們能夠超越頭腦時，靜心才會開始。所有的靜心都是基於活動，如觀照氣息、思想、身體感覺，但這只是加強了觀照者。知道觀照者是很重要的，但在這之後，你必須進入靜心真正的核心。
當你開始接觸你純粹的本質，沒有什麼在內在移動，以及你最純粹的我的真實浮現的時候，真正的靜心才會開始。這是你永恆的自我，是完全純粹和真實的。這是最柔軟、最親密的過程。它需要照顧，就像抱著一個剛出生的孩子，你以最溫和的方式抱著自己，並開始認識全新的你。這是古老的，被遺忘了，你需要渴望去認識自己，做自己，記得自己。你的自我需要臣服於靈魂的意志。自我只有在它可以引導你回到發現你真正是誰的時候，才可以幫助你。否則的話，自我會帶你走偏，帶你在世界各地做精彩的旅行，但你只是越來越遠離自己的真實自我。靜心不是一種喜好，就是一種生活方式。靜心不是可以從忙碌的生活中暫時放鬆，就是可以作為全面解脫和瞭解你真正是誰的途徑。
~Avalon
Passion to Awaken
The depth you cultivate within your being,
will determine the degree to which you can positively influence the world.
Some Buddhists go to the temple once a week, but do not seem very Buddhist the rest of the time. Some meditators mediate once a week, or even once a day, but do not seem very meditative the rest of the time. Well, at least some meditation is better than nothing. But while some meditation will only give relaxation, only a lot of meditation will give you liberation.
The pull of the world will always be stronger than the pull of soul; the world is just like the ego, it is the first to speak and loudest. Soul just waits, it waits for you to become quiet and to seek to know her. If you are not truly dedicated to awakening, then it is not likely to happen. You may have spontaneous moments of awakening in life, but they pass. Those moments are a touch of grace where reality beyond the dream, briefly opens its curtain to you. But, is it enough to awaken your longing to know yourself, is this glimpse of the other side enough for you to truly seek the realization of who you are?
Just because you are not sleeping, doesn’t mean you are awake. Just because you meditate, does not mean you are in touch with yourself. Just because you can quiet the mind for one hour a day, doesn’t mean you are not ruled by the mind for the rest of the day. Most people live in a subconscious trance, their self is completely identified with mind, personality and ego. They are occupied with worldly concerns from morning to night, never inquiring into the truth of who they are. You may know the world, but do you know yourself?
It takes a great passion and great continuous effort to truly awaken. The pull of unconsciousness, forgetfulness and ignorance in this dimension is too strong. The collective unconscious is dreaming too deep. Either the collective unconscious is absorbing you into its reality, or you are absorbing them into your awakened reality. Either you are integrating your spirituality into life, or life is integrating into your spirituality.
It takes a great continuous passion, and a great continuous effort to stay awake. If you are not dedicated, then surely you will regress. Even when awake, it is only a very small beginning of the opening into the inner realm. The inner realm of the soul is truly hidden. Only if the body and mind become very quiet, similar to the vibration of the soul’s realm, does that realm begin to open. When it does, you can enter but only as a visitor, an observer. You come and go constantly. You are still too identified with your human self, your mental self, your role and life in the world to really be ready to relocate.
But the greatest misunderstanding is that unless you become the truth of who you are and realize the truth of your deepest identity, you cannot actually connect to this world properly. Without a true connection to yourself, you will always be separate to this world. Only oneness with yourself can show you how to be in oneness with this whole world. The ego thinks itself to be clever, that it is doing everything the fast way, by addressing its worldly concerns right now. But without the crystal clarity and knowing wisdom of an awakened self, you are always making mistakes because you are not in your center. You actually waste time, energy and effort because instead of moving forward, you are learning how to correct the mistake of being off center.
For new meditators, sitting cross-legged and closing your eyes in the dark and listening to soft music is not meditation. It is only an external form. Meditation only begins when we are able to go beyond the mind. All meditation based on an activity, like watching the breath, or thoughts, body sensations, only strengthens the observer. It is important to know the observer, but after, you must progress into the true heart of mediation.
True meditation happens when you start coming in touch with your pure essence, when nothing is moving inside, and the truth of your purest I can emerge. This is your eternal self. It is totally pure and true. This is the softest, most intimate process. It requires care, like holding a newborn child, you hold yourself in the most gentle way and begin to know a whole new you. It is ancient, and it is forgotten, you need to yearn to know yourself, be yourself, remember yourself. Your ego needs to surrender to the will of the soul. The ego only helps you when it guides you back towards the discovery of who you truly are. Otherwise, the ego is leading you astray, taking you for amazing trips around the world, where you are only led farther and farther away from your true self. Meditation can either be a hobby, or a way of life. Meditation can either be a temporarily relaxation from the busyness of life, or it can be a pathway to holistic liberation and the realization of who you truly are.
~Avalon