Gifts with No Giver

a love affair with truth

Poems by Nirmala



Endless Satsang Press
GIFTS WITH NO GIVER
a love affair with truth
oe!s by Nir!ala
Nirmala offers these poems in gratitude for the love and grace that flow through his teacher,
Neelam, and in gratitude for the blessings of truth brought to this world b! "amana 2aharshi
and H.3.%. /oon-a. In addition he would like to thank 4onald &urcotte for his generous
assistance in the design and production of this collection, and also /amela 3ilson for her help
with editing.
&hank !ou for downloading this free ebook. 5ou are welcome to share it with !our friends. &his
book ma! be reproduced, copied and distributed for non-commercial purposes, provided the
book remains in its complete original form. If !ou en-o!ed this book, please visit http677endless-
satsang.com7free to discover other works b! this author. &hanks for !our support. &his book and
others b! Nirmala are also available in print on Ama'on.com.
ndless #atsang ,oundation
http677 endless-satsang.com
+op!right 8c9 :;;; b! 4aniel rwa! 8Nirmala9
,or more info or to purchase Nirmala(s other books on various ebook stores6
http677endless-satsang.com7free
To Neela!" the blue sa##hire fla!e in !y heart
8Note6 &here is a free bonus at the end of this book of /art two of Living from the Heart b!
Nirmala9
111111
$ONTENTS
/<2#
About the Author
,ree books b! Nirmala
,ree *onus6 xcerpt of Living from the Heart b! Nirmala
111111
GIFTS WITH NO GIVER
!our hand is alwa!s in mine
!our whispered endearments are m! constant companion
!ou have never turned !our face from me
no matter how man! times I have turned from !ou
now I vow und!ing love
I meet !ou in the secret places I used to hide from !ou in
I hold !ou with tenderness I used to reserve for m! pain
I would give !ou m! life and m! breath in an instant
for !ou are m! true love
the one with no form
the one who has never been an!where, but right here
in the singing of m! heart
111111
wh! fear this moment
when no thoughts come
at last I lie naked
in the arms of experience
wh! fear this moment
when no words come
at last I find rest
in the lap of silence
wh! fear this moment when love finds itself alone
at last I am embraced
b! infinit! itself
wh! fear this moment
when -udgment falls awa!
at last m! defenses
fail to keep intimac! at ba!
wh! fear this moment
when hope is lost
at last m! foolish dreams
are surrendered to perfection
111111
I ma! think I feel love but it is love that feels me
constantl! testing the woven fibers that enclose and protect m! heart
with a searing flame
that allows no illusion of separation
and as the insubstantial fabric of m! inner fortress
is peeled awa! b! the persistent fire
I desperatel! tr! to save some charred remains
b! escaping into one more dream of passion
I ma! think I can find love
but it is love that finds me
meanwhile, love becomes patient and lies in wait
its und!ing embers gentl! glowing
and even if I now turn and grasp after the source of warmth
I end up cold and empt!-handed
I ma! think I can possess love
but it is love that possesses me
and finall!, I am consumed
for love has flared into an engulfing bla'e
that takes ever!thing
and gives nothing in return
I ma! think love destro!s me
but it is love that sets me free
111111
the past is long gone
from here
there is no wa! back
how could there be
the present is over too quickl! for feeble desires to have an! effect
except to hide peace
the future races ahead forever out of reach
of dream! wishes
and useless plans
and !et when I rest in the endless now
ever! need is satisfied
in wa!s never imagined
111111
I have fallen in love with truth
I onl! want to be with her
I cannot stand to be apart
I would gladl! go to the ends of the earth
or I would never again move from this spot
-ust to be sure to inhale her fragrant perfume
with m! d!ing breath
I have fallen in love with truth
her ever! wish m! command
I simpl! must obe!
for she has captured m! soul
and taken complete control
of even m! innermost thoughts
freeing me to find repose in her unadorned splendor
I have fallen in love with truth
with exquisite tenderness she shows me
the perfection in m! ever! flaw
no need for pretense
for she knows ever!thing about me
and !et takes me in her arms
with complete abandon
until onl! she remains
111111
sunlight burns
shadow cools
there is no difference
earth is still
grass is moving
there is no difference
wind rustles
sk! is silent
there is no difference
spider drifts b! on a silken web
and I remain
there is no difference
111111
where is absence of desire
once I dreamed there would onl! be bliss
now I am in awe of the ordinar!
now I am content with longing or no longing
desires do not disturb the source of all desire
life and death carr! on as the! alwa!s have
and alwa!s will
onl! the dreamer is gone
behind the flow of imagination
be!ond an! effort to be still
dancing in the ebb and flow of attention
more present than the breath
I find the origins of m! illusions
onl! the dreamer is gone
the dream never ends
111111
river of voices
eternal mantra of foam
meaningless words swallowed in a humming roar
thoughts arise and are splashed awa!
river of music
sacred song of motion
nowhere to go but downstream
actions arise and are swept awa!
river of sounds
laughing and cr!ing
impossible to bring the depths to the surface
emotions arise and are washed awa!
river of silence
flowing through ever!thing
peace be!ond even the absence of sound
nothing ever arises
111111
I don(t know what to sa!
I never know what to sa!
!et there is great power in not knowing
knowing I can never know
the m!ster! constantl! deepens
overwhelming m! sense of what is
the m!ster! speaks without words
taking the breath awa!
leaving no air for words
in silence there is room for pain and bliss
in unlimited measure
111111
love is a dream that does not stop
when !ou awaken
but constantl! surprises
no strong emotions stirring up dust
and clouding !our vision
love is more than it seems
and has a purpose
!ou cannot see
and !et cannot hide from
love is an inescapable realit!
that knocks !ou senseless
takes !our breath awa!
and leaves no heart beating but its own
111111
nobod! is m! lover
I searched for her for lifetimes
and finall! noticed she was alwa!s at m! side
nothing is m! heart(s true desire
but something used to alwa!s get in the wa!
now emptiness fills me to overflowing
as I fall into m! lover(s embrace
I can love !ou or ...
I can love love itself
and thus love !ou trul!
letting illusion rest at last
has freedom spoiled me for an! other lover
or is there room for the one in the infinite
questions fall awa! in the embrace of m! true love
-oin me in her arms
and rest at last
I am carried
like a mother holding her infant child
tender, !et firm
I am provided for
with caring attention that anticipates ever! need
and !et
I am swallowed whole b! this love
111111
no longer m! hand that moves
no longer m! voice that muses
no longer m! e!es that fill with tears
at the simple beaut! of a ha'! afternoon
who could contain this rapture
who keeps this heart beating
who could keep this heart from breaking
at the loss of ever!thing it foolishl! held dear
questions have lost their fascination
longing has surrendered to fullness
gratitude is enough
even with the loss of ever!thing foolishl! held dear
111111
endless traces of memor!
fill in empt! moments
stealing m! peace
and robbing m! happiness
the! cannot take the real treasure
be!ond peace and happiness
behind ever! memor!
is simple awareness
of this ordinar! moment
a bod! breathing a mind making comparisons
and !et something more
is alwa!s present
this simple moment
a bod! still breathing
mind still chasing dreams
what is the something more
that fills the ordinar! with magic=
the full recognition
of what was alwa!s longed for
in the heart
111111
through emptiness
peace is born
no painful labor required
an eas! birth
an eas! life an eas! death
the peace flows from the depths
the heart can onl! be broken
when the ob-ect of love is gone
but true love has no ob-ect
through emptiness
awareness is born
it grows untended
filling the emptiness with e!es
and ears and noses
and more hearts
to be broken and mended
broken and mended
until the! can no longer be broken
onl! mended
through awareness
birth is ended
what never ends needs no beginning
love is too large
for a heart to hold
!et the opened heart
rests in this largeness
until fear is also ended
knowing the heart has alwa!s been unbroken
111111
no poem
no song
no ritual
captures the simple beingness of a stone
let alone a mountain of stone
but let the stone write the poem
let the mountain sing in !our heart
let the rituals fall like gentle rain to nourish the gods inside ever! stone and ever! mountain
let !our soul rise above the mountain
above the rain
above the clouds
the -ourne! home requires no effort
onl! willingness to release !our claw like grip on the familiar ground
then the stone speaks unspeakable truth
then the mountain fills !our heart with a silent song of peace
and rituals sprout wings of surrender in !our soul
and !ou arrive here
111111
like a green desert
life has burst forth
in this empt! container
spilling over
and moistening the parched soil
no need to store the bount!
the suppl! is endless
the source is at hand
the fruits of no labor
within eas! reach
feast on this feed the deepest longing
drink until thirst is a distant memor!
desire itself is consumed
when the heart finds nourishment
111111
!our smile
morning sun on new fallen snow
melting the ic! chill
unveiling a blue sapphire flame in m! heart
burning memor! into ash
revealing bliss
!our e!es
dark liquid pools of grace
causing a whirlpool of emotion
carr!ing me to the depths
drowning me in -o!
!our touch
gentlest bree'e
passing through skin and flesh and bone
healing so complete
leaving no scars
where once were deep wounds
!our form
graceful flight in empt! sk!
giving me birth
naming me
ruling me forever
!et !our onl! command6 setting me free
!our voice
birdsong and distant thunder
inspiring quiet so vast
thinking no longer finds refuge
!our love
a rain swollen river overflowing its banks
washing awa! all cherished possessions
leaving an empt! cup
full of peace
111111
I never knew tears could feel so good
until I opened m! heart and found the! come from the same source
as boundless laughter
instead of blurring m! vision
the! bring beaut! into focus
instead of burning m! cheeks
the! wash awa! dust! dr!ness I used to hide behind
let sorrow have me now
for surrender has freed me to savor the bittersweet nectar
that flows in measureless abundance
from within
111111
I bathe in hol! water
wash m!self clean in the sacred river
nothing has changed
!et senses are now clear
and I hear what she is sa!ing to m! heart6
give me !our foolish thoughts...
!ou don(t need them an!more
give me !our ever! desire...
the! will never fulfill !ou
give me !our deepest fears...
what use have the! ever been to !ou
give me !our ver! soul...
!ou have alwa!s been too large
for its tight confines
so once again I plunge into 0anga(s embrace
once for m! thoughts
once more for m! desires
and a third time for m! fears
she has alwa!s had m! soul
and once again, nothing has changed....
nothing alwa!s changes
111111
no deep rooted fears
fear exists on the surface
fear is the surface dive deeper and fear is swallowed
in the depth of knowing
nothing to fear in this moment
even when a gun is held to !our head
the thing most feared has not !et happened
once an event has occurred
fear is too late
fear has no home here
where all is as it is
*reathe the tranquil air
and discover the fragrant serenit!
111111
thoughts dance their enticing moves
before m! entranced inner sight
but the spell is broken
when I wonder
who is entranced
memories beckon seductivel!
with all the luster the! can manage
!et their shine is swallowed
in the light
behind m! e!es
there is one dancer
I cannot resist
her onl! movement is utter stillness
I find no memor!
in her transparent ga'e
111111
romance is a simple mistake
finding true love
in the arms of one other
is like capturing a waterfall
in a tin! cup
thirst is slightl! quenched
wh! not -ust step into the source
romance is a beautiful distraction
taking !ou be!ond !our dr! concerns
!et what good is an open heart
with room for onl! one when that one is gone
the heart is empt! and dr!
and tears fall on empt! ground
romance is a single drop
in a torrent of love
wh! settle for one sip at a time
the sweetest tasting water is deeper than the surface
dive into the current
and as !ou are swept awa!
drink to !our heart(s content
111111
nothing seen is wasted
the sight of ever! e!e
increases the range of vision
of that which sees
ever! sight is a gem
of pure perfection
in the inner e!es
of that which sees
each viewpoint
lives on forever
nothing can die
within that which sees
look deepl! into an! e!e
be!ond !our reflection
come face to face
with that which sees
abandon appearance
let go of pretense
!ou are naked and exposed
before that which sees
do not turn awa! !our ga'e
no need to hide
onl! love shines in the e!es of that which sees
111111
all ma! have a mind of their own
but thoughts are gifts of grace
touching mind for an instant
like melting snowflakes
ever! place can be home but rest is a divine blessing
when effort falls awa!
like the setting sun
the heart ma! burn with emptiness
but love comes in waves
smoothing awa! doubts
like a tide erasing footprints in the sand
111111
in the dream I alwa!s pla! the fool
in the dream
m! defenses alwa!s fail
in the dream
m! desires are never full! satisfied
in the dream
m! heart is broken over and over
wide awake
I alwa!s pla! the fool
wide awake
m! defenses alwa!s fail
wide awake
m! desires are never full! satisfied
wide awake
m! heart sings its endless -o!
111111
what should we do
what is the purpose of life
here is the endless task
to do nothing well
here is !our purpose
to be free of an! purpose
wh! do we suffer so
how can we end the pain
here is the source of suffering
in the desire to end suffering
there is no end to pain
nor an end to -o! within the soul of freedom
111111
m! longing was never deep enough
to touch this empt! well
m! effort was never great enough
to move this unmovable mountain
m! understanding was never broad enough
to contain this silent truth
m! dreaming was never real enough
to shape this formless presence
nothing is alwa!s enough
when nothing is needed
111111
the m!ster!
of this simple moment
cannot be spoken
!et all of histor!
occurred to arrive here
the m!ster!
of the endless terrain of self
cannot be mapped out
countless new frontiers
are born with ever! breath
the m!ster!
of awakening
cannot be achieved all that is needed
is to notice inner e!es that never close
the m!ster!
of sweet und!ing love
cannot be understood
the heart alread! knows
what the mind can onl! long for
the m!steries
alwa!s remain
untouched b! worried thought
read! to welcome us home
when we abandon our dreams
111111
take m! hand
feel the vital grip
that love lends to this flesh
listen to m! voice
hear the catch in m! throat
of awe that can(t be expressed
ga'e into m! e!es
see tears welling up
as I recogni'e m! long lost self in !our smile
rest in m! arms
find refuge in m! embrace
until !ou know !ou are forever safe
-oin me now
here where we have never parted
111111
no word is real enough
to con-ure up a crumb of bread
still we tr! to find nourishment
in endless musing
no thought is thick enough to cushion a fall
!et we pursue idle distractions
while tripping on obstacles in our path
there is a silent voice behind the words
there is a quiet source of ever! thought
listen without !our ears
ponder without !our mind
rest !our senses and !our sense
for -ust one moment of this stillness
will sustain and uphold !ou forever
111111
it is here
in the breath
it is here
in the stillness between breaths
it is here
in the active mind
it is here
in the resting mind
it is here
in the dream(s panorama
it is here
in each moment of awakening
it is here
when all is well
it is here
when fear has nothing left to fear
even then
there is pure noticing even then
there is no need for doing
no frantic searching can find the obvious
no seeking needed
to find that which seeks
it is here
where it can never be lost
or found
111111
where does willingness come from
willing to do an!thing
although nothing can be done
willing to surrender ever!thing
although nothing is mine willing to be exposed although there is nothing to hide
where does lovingness come from
loving the flaws in us
although we are perfect
loving the simplicit! although feelings are so complex
loving !ou although no one is there
where does gratefulness come from
grateful for the laughter
although the -oke is on me
grateful for the beaut!
although e!es cannot trul! see
grateful for the bount!
although hands are forever empt!
111111
truth is a living being
that must be nourished and fed
and loved
then it grows and blossoms
filling the air with pure aroma
making us gasp with delight
truth is a friend
that asks for lo!alt! and acceptance
then it enters our hearts
dissolving the boundaries freeing us from loneliness
truth is a demanding lover
that requires constant affection
and endless gifts
then it rewards us
with a glimpse of indescribable beaut!
making us faint with satisfaction
and finall! truth is an empt! hand
that asks for and requires nothing
111111
the obvious signs
a pla!ful smile
absence of pretense
disregard for convention
respect for truth
listen when the! speak
look where the! point
follow where the! lead
abandon hope and faith and dreams
accept nothing less than all the! have to give
!our share in the infinite is infinite
come claim !our birthright
return to the place never left
return and let the seeker rest
subside in the unending peace
let the seeker rest
let that which !ou seek find !ou
let the seeker rest
the task is finished
let the seeker rest
let the seeker rest
111111
behind closed e!es
the world falls awa!
a whirl of empt! sensation
with no boundar!
drowning thought in a silent s!mphon!
burning the bod!
in painless effig!
when e!es open again
the world is cleansed
onl! perfection remains
the room is resplendent
with the absence of illusion
111111
grateful
for grace
that fills mind with visions
of the invisible
grateful
for time
that expands to embrace
stillness
grateful
for breath
that seems to require
no breather
grateful
for gratitude
that breaks the soul wide open
freeing love
111111
in a timeless instant
before a painful idea appears in m! mind
an ever present softness, a gentle hand reaches into m! thoughts
and soothes them until the! reflect onl! empt! sk!
in a timeless moment
before a desire burns in m! heart
an inexhaustible peace, a whispered silence
quells the storm
of fruitless wishing
leaving me breathlessl! still
in a timeless lifetime
before m! stor! is wrenched from silence
a wordless honest!, an unflinching ga'e
shows me m! face
without shadows of doubt dimming the fire within
in a timeless eternit!
before m! soul is torn from infinit!
a passionate tenderness, an enfolding embrace
leaves me alone with the source of sweetness even closer than a kiss
111111
welcome home
welcome to the home never left
!ou have alwa!s lived here
will alwa!s live here
this is home, forever...
so stop now
no effort is required
even during all -ourne!s
!ou have alwa!s been here
this is home, forever...
so relax now
the fire is in the hearth
this inner fire is keeping !ou warm
the storms outside cannot touch !ou
this is home, forever...
so rest now
ever!one loved is right here
we have alwa!s lived here will alwa!s live here
this is home, forever...
111111
I must follow this thought
all the wa!
let the mind have its wa! with me
but onl! with me
not with the quiet presence
the voice behind all thoughts
I must feel this emotion
with m! whole being
and as it sweeps me off m! feet
en-o! the sensation of falling
falling endlessl! into the arms
of no lover
I must, I must
for this dream demands no less
than total suspension of disbelief
total surrender for the dream and the dreamer
are one and the same
I have never been more than a dream
and the dreamer
is awake
111111
endless poems wait to be written while all has been said before
this truth cannot be spoken and so I tr! again
-ust to get a little closer
to the unspeakable realit!
forever gentl! teasing -ust out of reach
forever invisible at the edge of perception
forever tranquil in the maelstrom of feelings
forever present in this moment(s eternit!
111111
it doesn(t matter
what I do
mind -udges
then -udges itself for -udging
that(s -ust what minds do
when I let it have its wa!
it surprises me b! stopping
and in the vacant interlude
the mind finds no grip
and falls effortlessl! into the deep pool of silence
it never left
111111
rain falls
within the endless awareness
the sun still shines
behind the clouds
loss rips
at the heart of love
empt! peace still rests
at the source of tears
floods wash
awa! the precious hillsides
life rises to the surface
for another breath of -o!
thoughts race
across the mind(s attention
quiet still sings
from the throat of nowhere
pure freedom remains
when all else is
swallowed in the river of time
111111
mind alwa!s wins
ever! thought an artful trap
leading further into dreams
resistance speeds the entanglement
surrender, the onl! option
then what surprising silence
entanglement becomes a tender caress
dreaming dissolves in wonder
mind continues the endless game
-umping in to claim peace as its own
creating a new identit! to pla! with
as if it could find something solid in empt! space laughter, the onl! response
then identities come and go
mind pla!s on the surface
silence en-o!s it all
111111
all I have ever wanted is wanting
all I have ever had is having
all I am is all there is
and wanting and having are alwa!s here
in equal measure
all I have ever loved is love
all I have ever loved is loving
all I am is love
and loving is alwa!s here
in infinite measure
111111
quite ordinar! desires
come and go come and go
never needing to be fulfilled
their satisfaction made irrelevant
b! the shining beaut! of a rain soaked forest
the rain washing awa! thoughts
of something lacking
what could be lacking
in this explosion of life
that grows in each nook and crann!
of the infinite heart
the moisture of love
seeping down to nourish the roots
of ever! being
or dancing in streams and rivers
all the wa! home
111111
die a little
with ever! disappointment
or find what never dies
and has no preferences
tr! a little
and keep illusion going
or see the futilit! of effort
and stop pushing on nothing
be happ! a little
now and then when circumstance allows
or rest in the source of happiness
now, then and alwa!s
believe a little
that !ou are someone
or notice there is no separate one
nor an! limit to being
love a little
with half a heart
or let love have it all
filling the heart to overflowing
111111
the dance of emptiness
goes on and on
colors, shapes and forms
arra!ed in courtl! splendor
on the dance floor of infinit!
the patterns of the dance
will h!pnoti'e if watched too closel!
while the entire view
ends all trances
and frees the dreaming mind
now -oin the dance
its irresistible ebb and flow
swallows !our pride
in the pure -o!
of moving stillness
111111
this voice is inadequate
to express the abundant wonder
of this endless moment
this bod! is insufficient
to embrace the sweet infinit!
of this lover(s bodiless form
these e!es are unable
to capture the invisible beaut!
of a cloudless sk!
and !et I sing with -o!,
caress the air with tenderness,
allow beaut! to fill m! e!es with tears,
and know that the love in m! heart
is alwa!s enough
111111
truth is too simple for words
before thought gets tangled up in nouns and verbs
there is a wordless sound a deep breathless sigh
of overwhelming relief
to find the end of fiction
in this ordinar!
!et extraordinar! moment
when words are recogni'ed
as words
and truth is recogni'ed
as ever!thing else
111111
a quiet room
empt! of profound thoughts
in this moment
no need to uncover deep truths
the chairs do not mind the silence
the rug is not burdened b! the lack of weight! ideas
onl! the thought, >there must be something more>
cries out in pretended anguish
the chairs pa! no attention
the rug onl! lies more quietl!
until the pretended suffering
can(t help but notice
there is alwa!s more
that does not need to be revealed
111111
laughter stops thought
and fills the space behind the e!es with light
such simple delight
to find nothing is knowable
I can onl! give ever!thing
to this nothing
and am over-o!ed
to let it tear down the barricade in m! chest
and steal m! heart
111111
the room is empt!
except for these saddened e!es
that find refuge in emptiness
friends come and go
lovers come and go
but love itself never wavers
emptiness is m! refuge
emptiness is m! resting place
ever!where I turn
the end of boundaries awaits
take sadness now
take happiness also
leave onl! clear vision
the room is still empt!
except for these opened e!es
that find refuge in fullness
111111
earl! in the morning
asleep in a dream
onl! to awaken in another dream
wh! disturb the quiet mist
with imaginar! forms
the heart is never fulfilled
with dream lovers
for there is never enough
of what does not satisf!
so let the mist have it all
I have moistened m! cheeks long enough in this fog of dreaming
I will not move again until m! true love appears
when at last the sun burns awa! the ha'e
no one is there
what relief. . . to find her waiting
111111
mind finds a path
to struggle along
never reaching the goal
heart knows it alread! rests
in the path of something wonderful
it cannot escape
mind seeks to hold onto
a still point of final understanding
heart knows it is being held
b! an unmoving whirlwind
that it will never comprehend
mind tries to feel safe enough
to allow love
out into the open
heart knows love is never cautious
and cannot be kept secret
once all hope of refuge is abandoned
111111
simpl! resting
from a full da! of resting
feeling too rested
to even consider an!thing more
simpl! quiet
sta!ing in the silent pauses
no thought
not even the idea6 no thought
too bus!
doing nothing
to stop long enough
to do something less
111111
excitement stirs the blood
!et onl! nothingness is ever palpable
imagined pleasures alwa!s fall short
compared to the simple realit!
this bird in the hand
is worth a million in the bush
sensations have their sa!
promising satisfaction, as if the! could sta!
long enough to fulfill endless desire
!et alwa!s ending in a reverberating empt! stillness
this deafening calm
is cherished b! the core of being as the true source of infinit!
111111
light through a prism...
a rainbow
love through m! heart...
the spectrum of feelings revealed
red anger to blue sadness
!ellow fear to black despair
allow them back into m! heart
and the prism works in reverse
turning the most deepl! tinted pain
back into pure white love
111111
foolish to chase after imaginar! pleasures
the! love to dance out of reach
giving onl! tastes of slight satisfaction
simpler to give heartfelt attention
to the source of contentment
and find there is never an!thing missing
in this moment
then the rising water of devotion
takes the weight out of these hands
and dissolves the dreamlike boundaries
of desire itself
111111
a world of endless contradiction
sad smiles and -o!ous tears
the heart is torn in two
b! feelings that never fail to pull in opposite directions
torn in two
b! dreams that forever dance out of reach
until at last the contents of the heart
spill out in an endless flood
of sad smiles and -o!ous tears
that no longer have an! ambivalence
because of their shared source
111111
words do not come
there is no need for profound utterances or
deep truths
here is an ordinar! evening
wh! spoil it with dramatic overstatement
the silence amidst the noise
the gem at the core
of ever! experience
is polished b! simple attention
into shining magnificence
111111
ever! taste
ever! sensation
ever! possible pleasure
is alread! present
in the timeless
awareness
that is beating m! heart
what use
in chasing dreams
that have alread!
come true
111111
who would have guessed
this empt! feeling in m! chest
is the door to eternit!
who could have known
this longing
is what I longed for
how is it possible
thoughts of freedom
onl! hide freedom
wh! don(t I care
about answers
when questions never end
who would have guessed
this empt! feeling in m! chest could be so full
111111
what kind of fire has no preference for fuel
gladl! burning thoughts, feelings,
bodies and souls
!et it is a cool flame
leaving the core untouched
it flares whenever I give it attention
or has it alwa!s been burning this brightl!
111111
sleep comes in the afternoon
and then wakefulness never trul! returns
drinking in rest like cool water
cold outside does not touch it
!awning does not disturb it
thoughts of friends in pain
can onl! make it more obvious
here in this quiet house
the totalit! comes out to pla!
111111
hot sun fills the e!es to overflowing
while a cooling bree'e of freedom lifts sweat from the brow
ever! experience from the past that visits now is recogni'ed for what it has alwa!s been
pure food for the dreaming oneness
the banquet continues with each breath
I feast now even on heartbreak and loss
as the! burst the limits I held so dear
freeing me from resisting appetite
for fear of a taste of sour fruit
I also welcome the sweet dessert of quiet moments
truth with no trimmings
a simple meal of limitless portion ever! tender morsel of silence
more filling than the last
111111
desire
pure unadulterated longing
tears at the chest with such force it seems the soul might leave
-ust to find relief
sadness
bittersweet taste of emptiness
weighs on the shoulders
like a burden
too heav! to bear
surrender
swallowing all pride
collapsing from all effort
onl! to find rest again
in the depths of pain itself
wh! was I running from this profound
silent -o!
111111
sweeter than an! kiss
the taste of eternit!
lingers on m! lips
tasting me
onl! the slightest pause
before her passion
overwhelms m! feigned resistance
and takes ever!thing I have to give
if this lover breaks m! heart
there will be no pieces left
111111
gratitude burns in the chest
glad tears run down the cheeks
strange illusion fills the e!es
the hum of life thrills the ears
no more sense of mine to senses
the bod! no longer belongs to an!one
leaving no one in the wa!
of all a bod! can contain
and all a bod! cannot touch
wonder awes the mind inspiration raises the spirit
silence soothes the doubts
intuition speaks to the soul
no more idea of someone with ideas
knowing needs no knower
freeing truth to expand
into all mind can contain
and all mind cannot even imagine
111111
when I am held in !our arms
even pain is pure bliss
dark thoughts of separation and lack
are waves of pure pleasure
unfulfilled desire is complete ecstas!
thank !ou for never having let go
111111
the truth catches up with me
I am not enough
never have been
never will be
what relief to admit this finite container
can never contain infinit!
what -o! to find infinit! needs no container
111111
the tears flow freel! now
the mind quiets and the heart breaks wide open
all the hopes and dreams of a lifetime, man! lifetimes
gentl! washed awa!
longings that have burned in the mind for ages
suddenl! flare up, but are quenched
the d!ing embers of illusion
gentl! washed awa!
and the soul thus unburdened of pretense
can barel! stand to open its water! e!es
sights so intense, and !et so unreal
gentl! washed awa!
finall!, a voice that speaks the simplest of truth
intermingled with sweet blissful sighs
all the remaining fears and excitements
gentl! laughed awa!
111111
the tired wanderer
loses the strength to go on
and in surrendering to hopelessness
is surprised to finall! feel at home
the hurried creek
pauses in a cold, ston! pool
and in sudden stillness
arrives
at the distant ocean
the frightened warrior decides
>I am read! to die>
and in willing abandon
becomes immortal
the fitful bree'e
fades to calm in the afternoon heat
and in catching its breath
is reborn
as und!ing tradewinds
the troubled philosopher
finds nothing to believe in
and in unexpected silence
-ust smiles
at the still unanswered questions
the restless sea
becomes smooth and mirrors the clouds
and in ceasing all motion
re-oins
its own depths
the saddened lover
faces the loss of illusion once again
and in d!ing to passion
falls in love
with love itself
the wear! sun
sinks into the embrace of the hori'on
and in resting at last
welcomes other shores
to a new da!
111111
memories of true love
are useless in filling empt! moments
for this lover never shows the same face
alwa!s a new disguise
keeping mind in suspense
and senses alert
surrender to perpetual surprise
and find her waiting once again
in emptiness itself
111111
bod! is pure doing
be!ond doing there is mind
mind is pure knowing
be!ond knowing there is heart
heart is pure being
mind is more than the brain
the heart of being is infinitel! more
than this ph!sical beating in the chest
all resides in this heart
the pulse of all life depends on its endless rh!thm
lifting us in moments of simple awareness
be!ond the limits of doing and knowing
directl! to the source of our most tender feelings
and be!ond even limitless love
where all is merged
in silent wonder
111111
the passion for freedom
swallows the source of passion
if twoness could lead to oneness
we would all be faithful lovers
no reason to dream of love
for it is alread! here in the waking heart
find it now
in the sweet infinit!
of this moment(s
eternal embrace
111111
the flower can onl! wait for the bee to arrive
!et passion appears from nowhere to pla! hide and seek with peace
all that is gained is lost once again
timeless dreams are swallowed in the !awn of an awakened sleeper
!et spring rises like a phoenix from the ashes of winter
all that is lost was never real
is the heart big enough
for the source of weeping
is the heart big enough
for this pure delight
111111
mind pla!s its oldest trick
sighing woe is me
so lonel! so lonel!....being someone
what(s this
a sweetness
in the embrace of loneliness
what deeper longing is being satisfied
111111
I alwa!s thought !ou would come to me in the shape of a beautiful lover
I never dreamed !ou would steal m! heart
with no shape at all
I alwa!s pretended I needed arms to hold me
and lips to kiss awa! m! pain
!et I find fulfillment
in the embrace of empt! space
I alwa!s wished !ou would speak to me
with words of tender sweetness
now I know !ou whisper silentl!
of !our und!ing love
I alwa!s knew I would find !ou although I foolishl! looked with m! e!es
!ou were here all along
hiding -ust out of sight in m! heart
111111
a lasting marriage
when devotion has claimed !ou for its own
no longer an! chance to stra!
a brief fling with illusion no longer satisfies
the truth demands utter fidelit!
with no possibilit! of divorce
all pain must be faced
and embraced as the true countenance of !our beloved
all fear must be met
and recogni'ed as the thrill of tasting the unknowable
all -o! must be surrendered
and acknowledged as a gift with no giver
this union onl! requires telling the truth
even when the truth shatters !our dreams
even when the truth leaves !ou emptied out
even when the truth reveals !our counterfeit existence
then there is no other possibilit! than happil! ever after
111111
fire ma! burn the wood
the ashes do not mind
111111
%&O'T THE %'THOR
After a lifetime of spiritual seeking, Nirmala met his teacher, Neelam, a devotee of H.3.%.
/oon-a 8/apa-i9. #he convinced Nirmala that seeking wasn?t necessar!@ and after experiencing a
profound spiritual awakening in India, he began offering satsang and Nondual #piritual
2entoring with Neelam?s blessing. &his tradition of spiritual wisdom has been most profoundl!
disseminated b! "amana 2aharshi, a revered Indian saint, who was /apa-i?s teacher. Nirmala?s
perspective was also profoundl! expanded b! his friend and teacher, Ad!ashanti.
Nirmala offers a unique vision and a gentle, compassionate approach, which adds to this rich
tradition of inquir! into the truth of *eing. He is also the author of several books including
Nothing /ersonal6 #eeing *e!ond the Illusion of a #eparate #elf. He has been offering satsang
throughout the Anited #tates and +anada since :;;B. Nirmala lives in #edona, Ari'ona with his
wife, 0ina %ake.
Visit Nir!ala(s website"
htt#"))www.en*less+satsang.,o!
,or more info or to purchase Nirmala(s other books on various ebook stores6 http677endless-
satsang.com7free
%bout Non*ual S#iritual -entoring with Nir!ala
Nondual #piritual 2entoring with Nirmala is available to support !ou in giving attention and
awareness to the more subtle and !et more satisf!ing inner dimensions of !our being. 3hether it
is for a single spiritual mentoring session or for ongoing one-to-one spiritual guidance, this is an
opportunit! for !ou to more completel! orient !our life towards the true source of peace, -o!, and
happiness, especiall! if there is not ongoing satsang or other support available in !our location.
As a spiritual teacher and spiritual mentor, Nirmala has worked with thousands of individuals
and groups around the world to bring people into a direct experience of the spiritual truth of
oneness be!ond the illusion of separation. He especiall! en-o!s working with individuals in one-
to-one sessions because of the greater depth and intimac! possible.
2entoring sessions with Nirmala are an opportunit! for open-ended inquir!. In !our session, !ou
can ask an! questions, raise an! concerns that are meaningful to !ou, or simpl! explore !our
present moment experience, which is a doorwa! into a deeper realit!. "egular weekl!, biweekl!,
or monthl! mentoring sessions can be especiall! transformative. &hese mentoring sessions are
offered either in person or over the phone and t!picall! last an hour. 5ou can contact Nirmala at
http677endless-satsang.com7arrange-a-session.htm to arrange a time for a spiritual mentoring
session. At the arranged time, Nirmala will call !ou if !ou live in the Anited #tates or +anada. If
!ou live in another countr!, !ou must initiate the call.
FREE E+&OO.S %N/ E0$ERTS &1 NIR-%2%
&he following e-books and book excerpts are available for free at
http677endless-satsang.com7free
Free E3,er#t" art Two of 2iving Fro! the Heart
1Note6 /art &wo is included in this ebook as a free bonus at the end of this list. ,or more info or
to purchase the book on various ebook stores6 http677endless-satsang.com7living
A collection of teachings about the Heart, including6
-/art one6 ,rom the Heart6 4ropping out of 5our 2ind and Into 5our *eing6 <ffers simple wa!s
to shift into a more open and accepting perspective and to experience !our true nature as aware
space.
-/art two6 &he Heart(s 3isdom6 /oints the reader back to the Heart, the truest source of wisdom.
-/art three6 %ove Is for 0iving, Not for 0etting6/oints to the true source of love in !our own
heart. It is b! giving love that we are filled with love.
Free Eboo4" That Is That" Essays about True Nature
&hat Is &hat6 ssa!s About &rue Nature is a free collection of articles and answers to questions
posed b! spiritual seekers. It captures the essence of spiritual inquir! and provides the reader
with a real transmission of /resence on ever! page. It is much more than an exposition about our
true nature as infinite consciousness, it offers an experiential exploration of who we reall! are,
not onl! through the transmission in the words, but through the man! thoughtful questions it
raises. Nirmala(s warm-hearted and accepting presence makes it possible to drop into the space
he so eloquentl! describes, where peace, love, and -o! abide. ,or more info or to download this
free ebook at various ebook stores6 http677endless-satsang.com7that
Free E3,er#t" $ha#ter 5 of -eeting the -ystery" E3#loring the %ware resen,e at the
Heart of %ll 2ife
4ownload +hapter C for free at http677endless-satsang.com7free
,or more info or to purchase the book at various ebook stores6 http677endless-satsang7meeting
3hat is the source of the aliveness and awareness, which are fundamental to all life= 3hat is the
nature of desire, and how do our desires relate to suffering= How do we know what is true= 3hat
is the nature of belief, and how do our beliefs affect our abilit! to experience the deeper realit!
that is alwa!s here= And in the midst of these m!steries, how do we live our dail! lives in the
most satisf!ing and integrated wa!= Meeting the Mystery explores these questions and will help
!ou discover new dimensions and possibilities in !our life. &his collection of articles and
answers to questions posed b! spiritual seekers is a springboard to ever deeper inquir! into the
greatest m!ster! of allD/resence, which is who !ou reall! are.
Free E3,er#t" art One of Nothing ersonal6 Seeing &eyon* the Illusion of a Se#arate Self
4ownload part one for free at http677endless-satsang.com7free.
,or more info or to purchase the book at various online ebook stores6 http677endless-satsang.com7
nothing
In this concisel! edited collection of satsang talks and dialogues, Nirmala Ewelcomes whatever
arises within the field of experience. In the midst of this welcoming is alwa!s an invitation to
inquire deepl! within, to the core of who and what !ou are. Again and again, Nirmala points the
questions back to the questioner and be!ond to the ver! source of existence itselfDto the
faceless awareness that holds both the question and the questioner in a timeless embrace.F ),rom
the ,oreword b! Ad!ashanti.
ENothing /ersonal is an excellent book, ver! clear and warm-hearted. I love it and recommend it
highl!. Nirmala is a genuine and authentic teacher, who points with great clarit! to the simplicit!
and wonder of nondual presence. He invites !ou to Gsa! !es to the m!ster! of ever! moment.?
0ood stuff.F)Hoan &ollifson, Advaita teacher and author of Awake in the Heartland

*****
FREE &ON'S SE$TION"
2IVING FRO- THE HE%RT
8xcerpt entitled &he Heart(s 3isdom9
Nir!ala
/lease note6 &his free bonus is part two onl! of the book, Living from the Heart.
,or more info or to purchase the book on various ebook stores6 http677endless-satsang.com7free
ndless #atsang ,oundation
&his book consists of three related teachings about the Heart b! Nirmala. &he! were previousl!
offered as downloads on www.endless-satsang.com. &he poetr! is from
0ifts with No 0iver b! Nirmala.
ndless #atsang ,oundation
http677www.endless-satsang.com
+op!right I JKKB b! 4aniel rwa! 8aka Nirmala9
THE HE%RT(S WIS/O-
&he truth is that which opens the Heart. &he capacit! to sense the truth is something we all
alread! have. 3e all have a Heart that is alread! accuratel! showing us how true things are.
An!thing that puts !ou in touch with more of the truth opens the Heart. &his is a literal and
experiential description of truth. 3hen !our experience is bringing !ou more truth, there is a
sense of opening, softening, relaxation, expansion, fulfillment, and satisfaction in the Heart. &his
can be most directl! sensed in the center of the chest, but the Heart of all *eing is infinite and
therefore actuall! bigger than !our entire bod!. #o this opening, softening, and expansion is
actuall! happening ever!where@ we -ust sense it most clearl! and directl! in the center of the
chest.
3hen !ou encounter truth, the sense of !our self opens, expands, softens, fills in, and lets
go. &he me, the sense of !our self, is no longer felt to be so limited or small. It becomes more
complete and unbounded. &he boundaries soften and dissolve, and an! sense of inadequac!,
limitation, or deficienc! is lessened or eliminated.
As a side effect of being in touch with more of the truth, !our mind gets quieter because !ou
simpl! have less to think about. ven knowing a simple truth like where !our car ke!s are gives
!ou less to think about. And when !ou touch upon a ver! large truth, !our mind becomes even
quieter, like when !ou see the ocean for the first time6 &he truth or realit! !ou?re viewing is so
immense that, at least for a moment, !our mind is stopped and becomes ver! quiet.
In contrast, when !our experience is moving into a diminished or smaller experience of the
truth and of realit!, the Heart contracts. &he sense of !our self gets tight, hard, contracted, and
feels incomplete, bounded, and limited. It can feel like !ou are small, inadequate, or unworth!.
&he smallness of the truth is reflected in the smallness of the sense of !our self. &he result of
being less in touch with the truth is that !our mind gets busier as it tries to figure out what is true.
,ortunatel!, !our *eing is never diminished or contracted, onl! the sense of !our self. Hust
as blocking !our view of the whole room b! partiall! covering !our e!es makes !our sense of
the room smaller without actuall! making the room smaller, an idea or belief that is not ver! true
is reflected in a small sense of !our self, without actuall! limiting or contracting !our *eing.
&his opening and closing of the Heart in response to the degree of truth !ou are experiencing
isn?t something !ou need to practice or perfect. 5our Heart has been accuratel! and perfectl!
showing !ou how true !our experience has been all along. If !ou start to notice !our Heart?s
openings and closings, !ou?ll discover that !ou alread! have ever!thing !ou need to determine
what is true. &he Heart is the true inner teacher, the source of inner guidance we all have as our
birthright. 5ou don?t need a spiritual teacher or spiritual books to show !ou what is true, -ust
!our own Heart.
Exercise: Take a moment to sense your Heart. Dropping into the Heart can hep you get more in
touch with what is happening there. Notice if the Heart fees reativey contracte! or reativey
open. "n either case, your Heart is working perfecty to show you the !egree of truth you are
e#periencing in this moment. Aso notice if your Heart is e#pan!ing or contracting in this
moment. The movement might $e su$te or a fairy gross contraction or rea#ation. %ou may $e
a$e to notice that the Heart is aways shifting in response to every thought, feeing, !esire, an!
e#perience that arises in your awareness. There is no wrong way for your Heart to respon!. "t is
aways showing you the reative truth of this moment.
WH%T IS THE TR'TH7
&ruth is what exists, what is here now. #o if what exists is also what is true, then there is onl!
truth. 3hatever is present is trueDbut to var!ing degrees. Hust as there is no actual substance or
energ! that is darkness, but -ust var!ing amounts of the energ! of light or photons, there is no
falsehood or untruth, onl! var!ing degrees of the truth.
3e are alwa!s experiencing the truth. *ut because we don?t experience ever!thing in an!
one moment, our experience of truth is alwa!s limited. #ometimes we experience a large amount
of truthDof what is actuall! hereDand sometimes we experience onl! a small amount of what is
actuall! happening, of what is true. <ur Heart?s openness or lack of openness in each moment is
what shows us how much of the truth is being experienced in an! moment.
3hat about ideas that are mistaken= An idea or belief that has little or no correspondence to
external realit! is going to be an extremel! small truth, so small it ma! onl! exist in one person?s
mind, like the sa!ing6 EHe was a legend in his own mind.F 3hen !ou experience an erroneous
idea or belief, !our Heart will contract appropriatel! to show !ou that it is a ver! small and
inconsequential truth.
,or example, if !ou entertain the idea that !ou will never be happ! unless !ou have ten
million dollars, !our Heart will contract appropriatel! to show !ou that it is -ust an idea. &his
contraction ma! be ver! quick, so quick that it doesn?t cause !ou an! discomfort or trouble. *ut
if !ou reall! believe this, then the sense of !our self will contract for as long as that idea is held.
Exercise: &or 'ust a moment, ho! onto a imiting thought, such as (" wi never have enough
time,) an! notice the response in your Heart. Does that thought aow you to rea# an! $e, or
!oes it re*uire a kin! of effort or contraction 'ust to ho! it+ Now consi!er another thought that
you fin! ri!icuous $ecause it is so untrue, such as (" wi never $e happy uness " $ecome
,resi!ent of the -nite! .tates.) Notice how it might not even $e possi$e to ho! onto this
thought. "t might even make you augh. Many 'okes en! with a ri!icuousy impossi$e truth /e.g.,
(An! then the !og sai! to its owner, 0" guess " shou! have sai! Dimaggio instea! of 1uth23 an!
the smaness of the truth of the punch ine causes you to et go of $eieving in it. Laughter is a
won!erfu movement into a $igger perspective4
&houghts are realDthe! existDbut the! still exist onl! as ideas. 5ou could put all the thoughts
ever thought into a pile, and the! still wouldn?t trip an!bod!. &he! onl! exist as neural firings in
the brain, so to focus on thoughts exclusivel! is to severel! limit or contract !our experience of
realit! and therefore the sense of !our self.
In the range of ever!da! experience, our ideas have var!ing degrees of correspondence with
realit!. &hose that correspond more closel! to realit! won?t contract or limit the sense of self for
as long as mistaken ones. 2an! ideas are of service to our abilit! to be at ease in the world. ,or
example, when !ou need to go someplace, correct ideas about how to get there allow !ou to
simpl! go there and then move on to other experiences. Ideas such as these can enhance our
experience, rather than limit or contract it. An idea about where something is located is, of
course, not a big truth, but it?s also not usuall! experienced as a limiting one.
THE HE%RT8S $%%$IT1 TO SHOW 1O' THE TR'TH
All there is, is truth, and our Heart?s capacit! to reflect the degree of truth in an! experience is
the wa! we recogni'e how true a particular experience is.
3hat is this Heart= 3hat is this sense of self that is ever present= It doesn?t relate to
sensations in the ph!sical heart or chest. It?s a more subtle sense, at times even more subtle than
the ph!sical senses, although the opening or contracting can also be experienced as relaxation
and contraction in the ph!sical bod!. &he sense of !our self, the sense that !ou exist, is
something more intimate than !our ph!sical experience.
3hat does it mean when !ou sa! me= 3hat are !ou referring to when !ou sa! me= &his
simple fact that we are here, that we exist, is a ver! m!sterious aspect of our experience. 3hen
we speak of it poeticall! to tr! to capture its essence, we call it the Heart, like when !ou know
something in !our Heart or when !our Heart is touched.
&his sense of !our self is a ver! alive and changing experience. At times, !our sense of me is
open, free-flowing, and expanded. At other times, like when a -udgment arises, it feels small,
inadequate, and deficient. In these moments, have !ou actuall! changed= Has !our bod!
suddenl! shrunk= 2uch of the time this sense of me is bigger than or smaller than !our ph!sical
bod!. How does that work= Have !ou ever experienced !our inner child= How can !our me be
the si'e of a child when !ou are an adult=
&he sense of me, the sense of self, is shifting all the time. It?s alwa!s either opening and
expanding, or contracting and tightening, similar to the ongoing expansion and contraction of our
breathing.
Exercise: 5onsi!er the i!ea that it is $etter to $e thinner or more $eautifu or younger than you
are, an! notice what happens to the sense of your sef. Does your Heart open, soften, an!
e#pan!+ Does this i!ea aow you to simpy $e+ 6r !oes it tighten an! restrict the fow of your
e#perience+
Then 'ust for contrast, notice what happens to the sense of your sef if you consi!er the i!ea
that you are okay 'ust the way you are. "t might $e chaenging to consi!er this i!ea without
other thoughts $eing triggere!, such as (7ut "2m not reay goo! enough4) "f this happens, your
Heart wi show you how true this response is, not how true the origina i!ea of okayness is.
8ust as an e#periment, see if you can ho! the i!ea that you2re okay 'ust the way you are,
an! then notice what happens in your Heart. Does this i!ea aow your Heart to open, soften,
an! e#pan!+ Does it aow you to simpy $e+ 6r !oes it tighten an! restrict the fow of your
e#perience+ &or most, the i!ea of $eing okay 'ust the way they are aows a greater ease an!
funess to the e#perience of the sef.
&he idea that it is better to be thinner, more beautiful, or !ounger than !ou are is simpl! a
smaller truth than the idea that !ou are perfect the wa! !ou are. ven if !ou are beautiful, thin, or
!oung, the idea that it is better to be that wa! can limit the sense of !our self. If it?s better to be
that wa!, can !ou -ust relax and be, or do !ou need to do something to sta! that wa!=
In contrast, a neutral idea that doesn?t state or impl! an!thing about !ou can be experienced
neutrall! in !our sense of self. ,or example, if !ou consider the color of the ceiling in someone
else?s house, this usuall! won?t open or close !our Heart because it?s not about !ou and probabl!
doesn?t impl! an!thing about !ou. &he sense of !our self doesn?t shift in response to neutral
ideas like this.
&his opening and closing of the Heart is not a prescriptionDsomething !ou need to practice
Dbut simpl! a description of what !our Heart has been doing !our entire life. 3hatever does
happen in the sense of self in an! moment is entirel! correct and appropriate. It?s appropriate for
!our Heart to close when someone is telling !ou a small, limiting truth@ and it?s appropriate for
!our Heart to open when !ou experience a deep and profound realit!.
THE HE%RT8S 9'I$.NESS
5our Heart is incredibl! quick. It instantl! knows how true something is and instantl! opens or
closes to that degree. It?s so fast that it never reall! lands an!where. It is alwa!s either opening or
closing in response to each moment.
#o if a thought triggers another thought, the Heart will then be reflecting the relative truth of
the triggered thought, not the original one. And if this triggered thought triggers another one,
then !our Heart will reflect how true the latest thought is. &he openness of !our Heart can shift
ver! rapidl!, as rapidl! as !ou can think another thought.
I was working with a woman once who had difficult! taking time for herself. I asked her to
check in her Heart to see how true it is that it is oka! to take time for herself. #he closed her e!es
for a moment, and when I asked her what had happened, she said she felt an intense contraction.
I was surprised, so I asked her to tell me exactl! what had happened. #he said she thought, EIt?s
oka! to take time for m!self,F and then immediatel! decided this would be selfish, and her Heart
contracted. Her Heart was showing her how true it was that it would be selfish to take time for
herself. It was no longer reflecting the truth of the idea that it is oka! to take time for herself.
In the quickness of our usual rapid-fire thinking, it can be trick! to determine what !our
Heart is actuall! responding to. &herefore, when checking in !our Heart to see how true
something is, it is helpful to slow down and take each thought or each possibilit! one at a time.
Exercise: Take a moment to think a$out a situation in your ife. Notice if there are any famiiar
or recurring thoughts a$out that situation. ,ick one of the main i!eas, $eiefs, opinions, or
attitu!es you have a$out that situation or a$out someone or something reate! to it. Now 'ust
ho! that thought genty in your awareness. 1epeat it to yoursef a few times, an! as you !o,
notice what happens in your Heart. Does it open an! soften, or is there a kin! of tightness or
har!ness that starts to form in your awareness+ 1emem$er, either way your Heart is working
perfecty to show you how true the thought is.
.ee if you can ho! that one simpe thought for a moment, amost ike a chi! competey
engrosse! in whatever he or she is ooking at. Ho!ing a thought for a moment gives you a
cearer picture of the reative truth of that thought, as in!icate! $y your Heart2s response whie
you are focusing competey on it.
"f your min! wan!ers an! you fin! yoursef having secon! an! thir! thoughts, or even a
whoe conversation with yoursef a$out the situation, that2s fine. 8ust note that the Heart has
move! on aong with your thoughts an! is now showing you the truth of the thought you are
having in this moment.
THE RO2E OF :'/G-ENTS
Not onl! can an initial thought or experience trigger other thoughts, the opening or closing of
!our Heart can itself trigger a thought or -udgment that results in the further closing of the Heart
and a sense of !our self as limited or small. If !ou are a spiritual seeker and have come to believe
that it is better for !our Heart to be open than closed, then a sudden contraction of the sense of
!our self can trigger a further -udgment related to not wanting to be contracted, which closes the
Heart even further. &est it for !ourself6
Exercise: "f you ho! the i!ea that you shou!n2t fee contracte!, !oes your Heart open+ Does
that i!ea aow you to 'ust $e+ 6r !oes it tighten or imit the sense of your sef+ The i!ea that
you shou!n2t fee contracte! is a imiting i!ea an! usuay fees tight or imite! $ecause it is
simpy not very true.
&here is a certain kind of logic to this c!cle of -udgment, even though it results in a
restricted sense of self6 3hen the sense of !our self contracts, !our awareness also contracts and
becomes limited, and !our unawareness expands. 3hen !our field of awareness becomes
smaller, the rest of realit! lies outside !our awareness in that moment. &he logic of -udgment is
based on this simple effect. As a result of a -udgment, !ou become less aware of !our experience
and temporaril! less aware of the initial discomfort that triggered the -udgment. &herefore, !ou
get some relief from it. &he logic of -udgment is based on this temporar! relief provided b! the
reduction in !our awareness.
However, the flaw in this logic is that now that contraction of !our awareness must be
maintained or !ou will become aware again of the initial discomfort. 2aintaining a contraction
is, itself, uncomfortable. &r! making a tight fist and holding it for several moments. It will
quickl! begin to feel uncomfortable. #imilarl!, when !ou keep !our awareness contracted to
avoid an uncomfortable sensation, this generates even more discomfort.
#o when a c!cle of -udgment is triggered, the sense of !our self and !our awareness keep
getting smaller as !ou tr! to avoid the ever-increasing discomfort caused b! this same
contraction of !our sense of self and !our awareness. &his often continues until !ou are
exhausted b! the effort involved in maintaining vigilance against !our discomfort, and !ou
simpl! let go of an! -udgment.
&he good news is that whenever !ou are not contracting !our sense of self through small
truths, such as -udgments, the sense of !our self naturall! relaxes and opens. An open, spacious
sense of self is the natural resting state of !our *eing, -ust as !our muscles naturall! lengthen and
expand in the absence of an! effort to contract them. #o when a c!cle of -udgment wears !ou
out, there is sometimes a profound release of the small sense of self and the contraction of
awareness. In light of this, it?s not surprising that man! reali'ations and spiritual awakenings
occur immediatel! following an extremel! contracted and painful experience.
2ore good news is that the tendenc! to -udge is not !our fault. 5ou were taught to do it b!
those who raised !ou, who were taught b! those who raised them. &he! did this because it was
the best wa! the! knew to manage their own discomfort. 3hen parents are confronted with the
unlimited *eing of a two !ear-old 8and we all know how big that can be9, the! often resort to the
best means the! know for giving that two !ear-old a more limited sense of his or her *eing6
-udgment.
3e eventuall! learned to do this for ourselves. 3e learned to -udge ourselves and hold
limiting ideas about ourselves to get along with the people around us, especiall! those who
clothed and fed us.
Hudgment is -ust one of the man! wa!s we limit our experience of the truth and thereb! limit
our experience of our self. <ther culprits are our ideas, beliefs, opinions, concepts, doubts, fears,
worries, hopes, dreams, desires, and our usual knowledge. Hudgment is -ust one of the more
effective wa!s of limiting the sense of our self because it alwa!s implies something limiting
about the self.
Exercise: Make a ist of some of the 'u!gments you have a$out yoursef, ife, an! other peope.
,ick ones that you reay $eieve. Now rea! through your ist severa times an! notice the sense
you have of yoursef as you !o this. Does ho!ing these 'u!gments give you a sense of yoursef as
someone in particuar, someone who has a very !efinite perspective on ife+ Do you fee more
connecte! with others an! with the wor!, or !o you fee more separate an! apart from the
wor!+ 9ven if that separate sense of sef fees superior $ecause it has the right 'u!gments, how
$ig or open an! rea#e! is your sense of sef when you have these 'u!gments+
&his implied someone in all of !our -udgments is alwa!s a small someone, someone who is
limited and therefore vulnerable to something bad or who needs to feel superior or for something
good to happen to feel better or even survive. &he ultimate truth is that !ou are unlimited. 5our
*eing can never be harmedDor benefitedDb! an! experience. <nl! a smaller 8less true9 idea of
!our self can seem to be harmed or benefited.
OSITIVE :'/G-ENT
3hat was said about negative -udgments applies to positive -udgments as well. 3hen some
experience triggers a positive -udgment, the sense of our self contracts -ust as much as when we
have a negative -udgment. &est this for !ourself6
Exercise: Think a$out something you have a very strong positive 'u!gment of, ike your favorite
movie or something you have !one that you are very prou! of. Notice what happens to the sense
of your sef when you have a positive thought a$out this. "f you fin! yoursef thinking something
ike, (Great4 This is won!erfu:wait unti " te my frien!s4) notice what happens to the sense
of your sef. %ou may $e surprise! to fin! that your Heart isn2t as open as it was $efore the
positive 'u!gment. A $ig truth aows you to rea# an! 'ust $e however you are an! to change in
any way that naturay happens. A positive i!ea a$out your sef impies that you have to continue
to $e a certain way to $e okay.
Implied even in positive -udgments is an idea of !ourself as someone who is limitedD
someone who needs good things to happen to be oka! and feel adequate. &here?s nothing wrong
with something good happening@ it?s -ust that even !our positive -udgments are small truths that
are based on a small idea of !our self. 5our Heart will contract -ust as much for a small positive
truth as for a small negative truth.
,ortunatel!, there?s nothing !ou need to do about a small truth be!ond recogni'ing it?s
small. *esides, even small truths can be useful. #o there is no need to tr! to rid !ourself of them,
which isn?t even possible. #eeing that the! are small immediatel! puts them in perspective.
&hen, when the! arise, the! are seen as no big deal. 5ou might still think them, but no matter
how often the! arise, !ou recogni'e them as relativel! unimportant.
5ou have probabl! experienced this abilit! of a bigger truth to displace or put in perspective
a smaller truth. ,or example, if !ou or someone !ou love is suddenl! diagnosed with a life-
threatening disease, what reall! matters becomes obvious. &he truth, or realit!, of a possible
death makes man! other truths appear small and insignificant in comparison.
5ou don?t need to wait for a big truth to hit !ou over the head to put !our experience in
perspective. #impl! notice how true each thought is. xperiences come in all different si'es. 5ou
are alwa!s moving in and out of different degrees of truth, and !ou are naturall! able to
discriminate how true each one is. 5ou can determine how trul! important something is -ust b!
noticing the content of !our thought and the sense of self it results in. If it opens and relaxes the
sense of !our self, !our Heart, then it is trul! important. If it contracts or limits the sense of !our
self, !our Heart, then it?s not.
%22 TR'TH IS RE2%TIVE
&ruth is all there is. 5et our experience of truth, of realit!, is alwa!s partial. "ight now !our field
of vision is partial. 5ou can onl! see what is in front of !ou, not what?s behind !ou. #imilarl!,
!our Heart is alwa!s showing !ou the degree of truth of the experience !ou are having in the
moment.
5our view or range of experience is alwa!s opening and closing, filling in the blanks in !our
experience or forgetting or ignoring parts of !our experience. 3henever !ou focus on a
particular aspect of experience, !ou necessaril! stop noticing other aspects. As a result, an!
particular perspective is either smaller and more limited, larger and more complete, or roughl!
the same degree of completeness as another perspective.
&he openness of the sense of !our self is alwa!s relative. *ecause truth is alwa!s relative,
an! particular truth could be experienced as an opening or a closing of !our Heart. ven a small
experience of the truth ma! be larger than the experience !ou were -ust having and therefore will
be experienced as an opening or relaxation in !our Heart. #imilarl!, even a fairl! large truth can
feel limiting if !ou move into it from an even larger, more spacious experience.
,or example, if !ou?ve lived most of !our life pa!ing attention to !our thoughts and ideas,
then the first time !ou are put in touch with !our emotions will be experienced as an expansion
of consciousness. It will feel like !ou?ve discovered a new, rich dimension of !our *eing.
However, if !ou?ve had man! even larger experiences of much more expanded states of
*eing, possibl! through spiritual practices, then moving into a strong emotion like anger,
sadness, or excitement ma! be experienced as a contraction or diminishment of the sense of !our
self. &he same truth, the same experience of emotion, can be experienced as either an opening up
in !our Heart or a closing down. It -ust depends on where !ou move into the emotion from and
also how open or expanded the sense of !our self generall! is.
&he difference can be slight between two experiences with similar degrees of truth or
unimaginabl! huge. &he true dimensions of !our *eing are limitless. 5ou are ever!thing, and
when !ou directl! experience this completeness, the sense of self can be equall! vast and
limitless.
1O'R ERFE$T WIS/O-
5our Heart is the wisest thing in the universe. &he sense of !our self is alwa!s perfectl! and
accuratel! showing !ou how true things are, how complete !our perspective is in ever! moment.
ven when !our Heart is contracted because of some deepl! conditioned idea !ou are holding, it
is appropriatel! and accuratel! wise in its contraction.
No one has more capacit! to distinguish how true things are than an!one else. No one is
wiser than !ou, and no one is less wise than !ou. #ince no one else is able to experience !our
individual perspective, no one else can ever be more of an expert on !our experience than !ou.
Hust as someone else can?t eat and digest !our breakfast for !ou, others can?t experience and
digest !our perspective of the truth in each moment.
If no Heart is an! wiser than an! other, perhaps that?s because there is -ust one Heart that
functions through man! bodies and !et is not contained in an! of these particular expressions.
3hat !ou are is this one Heart of *eing.
#ince we are all equall! endowed with the wisdom of the Heart, there is no need to give
awa! our authorit! to another. &here is nothing better than !our own Heart at discriminating how
true something is for !ou right now.
In addition, the thoughts that cause contraction are not !our fault. 5our thoughts and beliefs
were passed on to !ou b! others, who learned them from others. If !ou trace each conditioned
thought or reaction back to its source, !ou?ll discover that all limiting beliefs and ideas are
shared among us all. If an!one is to blame for them, it?s all of us put together. Another wa! !ou
could sa! this is that the whole of *eing is the source of ever!thing, even the limited wa!s we
have of experiencing that *eing.
3ith this understanding, the possibilit! exists to simpl! trust !our Heart, no matter how big
or small the truth is that !ou are experiencing. 5ou can trust !our Heart when it opens, and !ou
can trust it when it closes. 5our Heart is the wisest and most trustworth! thing there is. In the
deepest spiritual traditions, the true teacher, or satguru, is seen to be within each of us. 5our true
teacher is this sensitive and accurate Heart, which expands and contracts as it senses the endless
folding and unfolding of life.
%21ING 1O'R HE%RT8S WIS/O-
*ecause the Heart responds so quickl! to what?s happening now. . . and now. . . and now, it?s
helpful to slow down and take !our experience one thought or response at a time if !ou wish to
find out how true it is. Hust as !ou can more full! appreciate a meal if !ou take each bite and
savor it, the possibilit! exists to take time to full! sense a thought that arises.
,or example, let?s sa! !ou remember a disappointing experience and then the thought arises,
E2! life will never be good enough.F *efore !ou rush into thinking of all the wa!s this is true
or, alternativel!, defending !ourself with reasons wh! it isn?t true, !ou might take a moment to
sense directl! how this thought affects the sense of !our self. &hen, when !ou know for !ourself
how true this thought is all b! itself, it ma! be obvious that it is neither completel! true nor
completel! false. If it is sensed directl! as a relativel! small truth about !our life, it ma! not even
be necessar! to defend against it with an opposing thought. #ensing how true an initial thought is
in this wa! can reduce the importance of an! ensuing thoughts.
Another practical wa! of exploring and utili'ing !our Heart?s truth-sensing capacit! is to
check in !our Heart when making a choice. *! doing that, !ou can find out what choice is the
truer one. However, when it comes to relative choices 8e.g., what to do, what to eat, where to
live, who to marr!, etc.9, the differences ma! be slight in !our Heart. ,rom the ultimate
perspective, the practical choices we make in life ma! not be that important. #o it ma! take a
while to learn to accuratel! sense the differences in how true various choices are. *ut -ust as a
wine connoisseur can learn to discriminate the subtlest difference in flavors, !ou can learn to
sense even ver! small differences in how true a choice is relative to another.
3hen checking in !our Heart for the truth about some choice, it?s helpful to consider as
man! choices as possible. &he truest one ma! be somewhere in between the possibilities !ou?ve
considered, or it ma! be something completel! different. ,or example, a friend was torn between
her desire to go permanentl! on spiritual retreat and her desire to sta! with her husband. Neither
option felt completel! true in her Heart. 3hen I suggested that ma!be she could sta! with her
husband but still go awa! for long periods of time on spiritual retreats, her Heart opened, as she
sensed this was the truest wa! to respond to both desires.
Exercise: Think of a choice you are consi!ering in your ife. "t might $e $est to pick something
where you have a !ecision to make that isn2t too important an! not too imme!iate so that you
can reay e#pore the process of comparing the truth of your choices. Make a ist of possi$e
choices you cou! make, an! $e sure to incu!e some that are in $etween or competey !ifferent
from the first two options you come up with.
Now reay take some time with each choice an! sense your Heart2s response as you ho! in
min! the i!ea of making that choice. Again, keep it simpe, an! 'ust picture having ma!e the
choice, an! et go of secon!ary consi!erations, such as pros an! cons an! further ramifications.
Notice whether consi!ering a particuar choice resuts in a spacious, easefu sense in your Heart
or a contracte! sense of your own sef. There is no right or wrong way for your Heart to
respon!. 8ust notice the way it !oes respon!.
"ncu!e the thought that it !oesn2t matter what you choose. "n many cases, the $iggest truth
a$out your choices is that what you choose !oesn2t reay matter. "f that is the case, then that
thought or perspective wi give you the most room to 'ust $e, an! the argest sense of yoursef.
,inall!, when considering the relative truth of various possible choices, it is also helpful to
check in !our Heart several times over a period of time. speciall! when making ma-or life
choices, checking numerous times before acting is more likel! to result in a more satisf!ing
outcome. ,or example, if !ou want to know if it?s true to sta! in an intimate relationship, !ou
might find a different result right after an argument than right after !our lover has surprised !ou
with a gift. It?s a bigger perspective to find out what is truest over the long term than -ust what is
true in the present moment.
&he Heart is wise and accurate and can show !ou how true it is to sta! or go, how true it is
to bu! a house, how true it is to take a new -ob, even how true it is to eat another cookie. *ut it
also can show !ou much more of the possibilities inherent in this life and much more of the truth
of !our *eing. In relation to these bigger truths, the practical questions of !our life turn out to be
relativel! small matters. Asing !our Heart onl! to know things like what to do or where to live is
like using a global positioning satellite s!stem to find !our wa! from !our bedroom to !our
bathroom. It utili'es onl! a small part of !our Heart?s capacit!.
However, following !our Heart da! in and da! out can put !ou in touch with the richness of
the functioning of this dimension of !our *eing. Along the wa!, !ou ma! also find !our Heart
opening in response to the bigger truths and deeper movements of *eing that touch ever! life.
Exercise: &or a moment, sense if there is any ,eace here. Don2t worry how much or if there2s
ony a itte $it of ,eace here right now. 8ust notice if you can sense any ,eace at a. Now focus
your attention on that ,eace that is here $eneath the fow of thoughts or feeings. Give yoursef
permission to reay sense the nature of ,eace an! the !eep stiness in that e#perience. As you
touch ,eace with your awareness, notice if there reay is any $oun!ary to the stiness at the
core of this moment. Don2t worry a$out !oing this right, $ut 'ust taste as much of the ,eace that
is here right now as you can.
Now notice the sense of your own 7eing. &ocusing on ,eace may have rea#e! or opene! your
sense of sef profoun!y or 'ust a itte. Notice if this has softene! or e#pan!e! your Heart.
THE -%N1 SI;ES OF TR'TH
&he deepest and largest truths don?t fit into words or language. 3hile words can act as pointers,
!our Heart will open the widest and the sense of !our self will feel the most complete and full in
response to the direct experience of the vast dimensions of *eing that are be!ond thoughts and
beliefs. As alwa!s, !our own Heart is the truest guide to these larger dimensions and
possibilities, but the reason the sense of !our self expands when !our view of the truth is more
complete is because !ou are the truth. 5ou are ever!thing that exists. 3hen !ou are experiencing
more of the truth, !ou are experiencing more of !our self.
&he truth comes in man! different si'es. <ne of the primar! wa!s !ou create and maintain a
small sense of self is through a profound involvement with thought. 3e?ve been taught from an
earl! age to think, conceptuali'e, and name things. *ecause there is such a huge momentum to
thinking, moments without a thought happening are rare. &hinking is such a prevalent part of our
moment-to-moment experience that man! of us live mostl! in our minds.
Adding to this momentum of thought are strongl! held assumptions and beliefs about the
world and !ourself, man! of which are unconscious. &his deeper current of thought also serves
to create and maintain a small, separate sense of self. As a result of all of our conscious thinking
and unconscious assumptions and beliefs, most people live in awareness of a ver! small part of
realit!, most of which onl! exists in their mind.
&his momentum of small truths is reflected in a momentum to !our small sense of self. &his
leads to the question of what to do about it. Anfortunatel!, an! idea about what to do about it is
-ust thatDan idea, another thought. However, what is possible is to simpl! be aware of the
prevalence of thought in !our experience. &his awareness is not reall! something !ou do, as
awareness is a fundamental qualit! of what !ou are. Hust as !ou don?t need to do an!thing to
have shoulders, !ou don?t need to do an!thing extra right now to be awareDand to be aware of
!our thinking.
Exercise: ;hat is thinking ike right now+ %ou can notice not ony the content of your thoughts,
$ut aso the rhythm an! spee! of your thoughts, the e$$ an! fow of thought. ;here !o thoughts
come from an! where !o they go+ ;hat happens if there is a pause $etween thoughts+
How is the sense of your sef affecte! $y this fow of thought+ Do you nee! to think in or!er
to $e+ Does thinking give your sense of sef a famiiar smaness an! sense of $oun!aries+ "s it
uncomforta$e to not know something in this moment, to not have a thought+
The invitation is to 'ust notice thought an! its effect on the sense of your sef. Any i!ea of
changing your e#perience is 'ust another thought that wi have a simiar effect on the sense of
your sef. ;hy not simpy fin! out what thought is ike+ 9#perience for yoursef how true each
thought is. There2s nothing wrong with sma truths:they2re 'ust sma. ;hat if a of your
thinking is not that $ig a !ea+ ;hat if your thinking is 'ust not a very arge container for the
truth+ Thinking can ony contain a sma amount of the truth.
There is no nee! to get ri! of thought. 6nce you e#perience that thought is not a very arge
container for the truth, this gives way to another *uestion< ;hat ese is here $esi!es thought+
;hat ese is true+ As you sense the prevaence of thought an! possi$y even the !eeper current
of unconscious $eiefs an! assumptions, you may aso $egin to sense what surroun!s an!
contains thought.
Drop into your Heart an! notice the space a aroun! your thoughts. ;hat effect !oes
!ropping into your Heart have on your sense of sef+
THE /EEER $'RRENTS OF THO'GHT
2an! beliefs and assumptions shape and limit our experience of truth and the sense of our self
even when we aren?t consciousl! thinking them. &he! are ideas and concepts that are so deepl!
believed that the! aren?t even questioned, such as E%ife is shortF or E&here?s never enough
time.F ,urthermore, these beliefs and assumptions generate other thoughts, which add to the
momentum of thinking and keep !our Heart, the sense of !our self, small and contracted.
&wo deeper currents of thought strongl! shape the experience of !our self. &he first is the
belief in a direction to !our life. Asuall! this direction is toward more, different, or better
experiences. *ut sometimes it?s framed in opposite terms as not less, the same, or not worse. In
either case, there is a deepl! held belief that life should move or change in a particular wa!.
<f course, things do change, which keeps the hope alive that the! will change in the wa!
!ou want them to. &his deepl! held assumption that things could or should be better implies a
small you. &he directionalit! of this assumption is based on a reference point6 &hings should be
betterDfor you. If things should be better for you, then you must be lacking something. &his
assumption and the thinking it generates help maintain a small, contracted sense of !our self
because that is the implied reference point of the assumptionDa small you.
&he second, even deeper and less conscious current of thought that serves to maintain a
contracted sense of self is the assumption that ph!sical experience is the most real. &his is such a
widel! held assumption that an! other orientation could get !ou labeled cra'!. ven ver!
sensitive and spirituall!-oriented people who have had ver! real and profound experiences of
other dimensions are often pulled b! this assumption back toward the ph!sical into a more
limited experience of truth and their own *eing.
&here are man! dimensions to realit! besides the purel! ph!sical, and as a human being,
!our experience includes all of these dimensions. &here are the dimensions of thought, emotion,
and intuition. And be!ond those, are dimensions of pure presence and spacious *eing. 2an! of
these dimensions are more real than even ph!sical realit!. xperiences of this transcendent
realit! give !ou a transcendent sense of !our self that is much fuller and more complete than the
purel! ph!sical sense of !our self.
THE THO'GHT TH%T 1O' %RE THE &O/1
&he idea that !our life could or should be better and the idea that ph!sical realit! is the most real
animate an even more basic assumption6 that !ou are the bod!. 5our sense of !our self, and
therefore the experience of !our *eing, is most often shaped and limited b! !our identification
with the bod!, which results in the ongoing question, How is it going for the bod!= Is it better,
more pleasurable, or at least not painful right now for the bod!= &his orientation toward the bod!
isn?t bad, but it is a limited wa! of experiencing realit! and !our self. It?s like watching onl! one
channel on !our television6 It?s something, but it?s limited.
&his limitation can affect ever! experience !ou have. *! focusing on how it?s going for !our
bod!, !ou can miss some of the richest and most profound possibilities in life. &he biggest truths
ma! not even be particularl! comfortable for !our bod!. /rofound states of love and bliss can be
exhausting from a purel! ph!sical perspective. &he deepest reali'ations of the nature of !our
*eing can be so vast and expansive as to feel like a death for !our identit! as the bod!.
Asking what !ou can do about this limitation will onl! reinforce it. Another possibilit! is to
explore the sense of limitation that identification with the bod! gives to !our awareness and !our
Heart.
Exercise: ;hat is it ike to $eieve you are the $o!y right now+ Does this aow your Heart to
open an! rea#+ 6r !oes it resut in a sma sense of your sef+ There is nothing wrong with
sma truths= they 'ust aren2t very compete. %ou !on2t have to get ri! of or change sma truths.
8ust recogni>ing they are sma is enough.
;ith the recognition of the incompeteness of i!entifying with the $o!y, a arger curiosity
often arises< ;hat ese is true a$out you+ Are you more than the $o!y+ ;hat other channes are
there on this teevision cae! your ife+ ;hat ese is going on here+
THE SENSE OF ME
*eneath the assumption that !ou are the bod! is an even deeper one. &he idea that !ou are the
bod! is predicated on the assumption that you exist, that !ou are a me:a separate, individual
self. &he most intimate sense of !our self is often this sense of me, which is a limited and
incomplete sensing of !our self. It doesn?t include the far reaches of !our greater *eing. &his
sense of a separate me is not bad or wrong@ it?s -ust limited and incomplete.
In the midst of a ver! profound and large experience of truth, the sense of !our self can
become so large and inclusive that it no longer has much of a sense of being your *eing. 3hen
!ou awaken to the oneness of all things, the sense of a me can thin out quite dramaticall!. If you
are the couch !ou are sitting on, the clouds in the sk!, and ever!thing else, then it simpl! doesn?t
make sense to call it all me. If it is so much more than what !ou usuall! take !ourself to be, then
the term me is -ust too small.
In a profound experience of truth, the sense of me softens and expands to such a degree that
there is onl! a slight sense of me as a separate self remaining, perhaps -ust as the observer of the
vastness of truth. *e!ond these profound experiences of the truth, is the truth itself. 3hen !ou
are in touch with the ultimate truth and the most complete sense of *eing, there is nothing
separate remaining to sense itselfDthere is no experience and no experiencer, no Heart, and no
sense of self. &here is onl! *eing.
&he experience of bigger truths and even the biggest truth doesn?t obliterate !our capacit! to
experience a small truth and therefore a separate self. *ut with man! experiences of shifting in
and out of a small sense of self, this separate self feels more like a suit of clothes !ou can take on
and off than like something permanent. As !ou move in and out of man! dimensions of *eing
and even be!ond experience itself, the boundaries between all of these dimensions become ver!
permeable and inconsequential. It turns out that these boundaries are -ust thoughts an!wa!. &he!
don?t actuall! separate an!thing.
&he question isn?t how to get rid of a small sense of self, but what is the sense of !our self
like= Is it fixed or is it constantl! shiftingDopening and closing, expanding and contracting,
tightening and loosening, and sometimes even disappearing altogether= &he sense of a separate
self can therefore be loosel! held even though it continues to contract appropriatel! when a small
truth is triggered.
3hat is !our sense of self like right now= 3hat is true right now= 5our Heart is the onl!
guide !ou need for exploring even the biggest truths.
THERE IS ON21 2OVE
An!thing !ou or an!one else has ever done has been the movement of love. 3hat shapes the
movement of love is the sense of me. 3hat we are alwa!s doing is taking care of the self,
whether it is a small sense of self or a more expanded one. 3henever that sense of self is
contracted and small, we take care of that me. And when it?s expanded, we take care of that
larger sense of self. All we have ever done is tried to take care of the self in the best wa! we
know how, which is alwa!s a loving act.
*ut, of course, when our actions onl! take care of a contracted me, the! don?t take care of or
take into account other things. ,or example, we might take care of our taste buds b! eating tast!
foods, while ignoring our bod!?s need for nutrition. <r if we are so identified with a feeling that
all we can do is take care of it, we ma! not be taking care of our whole *eing. &aking care of
onl! the taste buds or onl! the emotions is still a loving act, but because it is such a narrow wa!
of loving ourselves, it can be neglectful or even harmful to other aspects of our *eing or to
others.
If we see love in ever!thing we ma! be afraid that we will allow rape, murder, and other
horribl! narrow wa!s of taking care of a small separate sense of me to continue. 5et in
discovering that there is onl! love, the surprising thing is that our actions naturall! become more
loving. If we see murder as an evil that needs to be abolished without also seeing its basic loving
nature, that is when it makes sense to murder. If murder is reall! bad, then it makes sense to kill
someone who has murdered someone else. <r it even makes sense to kill someone before the!
kill us. It makes sense to bomb a countr! before it attacks us. *ut when we see the loving nature
even of murder, we can respond to it in a wa! that doesn?t perpetuate it, even as we work to
prevent it.
It is possible to recogni'e the love that is alread! inside of us and alread! acting through all
of us. It is in recogni'ing that love that the possibilit! exists for even greater recognition of love.
+ontraril!, when we re-ect an! aspect of loveDwhich includes an!thing that?s happeningDthe
more contracted our experience will be and the less completel! loving our actions will be. #o in
condemning, we actuall! become more like what we condemn. #eeing the beaut!, perfection,
and love within something is what allows it to transform, to move into a more complete wa! of
loving.
3hen the sense of our self expands, our actions aren?t reall! an! more loving@ the!?re -ust
more loving toward a more complete view of the self. 3hen our loving actions take care of a
larger sense of ourselves, we appear more saint-like because the! are taking into account
ever!bod!, since we recogni'e that we are ever!bod!. &hese actions are still self-gratif!ing, but
the! are gratif!ing to a much broader sense of self.
3hen the awareness of self becomes even more complete, !ou come to see that there is
ultimatel! nothing that needs to be changed or fixed. ver!thing is alread! fine. &he world
alread! is full of love. 5our actions and ever!one else?s are alread! loving. 3hatever *eing is
doing is *eing taking care of itself. &hat is all it ever does or ever has done.
&his leads to an appreciation of ever!thing !ou do and ever!thing that happens, an
appreciation of the wa! *eing moves ever! time it moves. %ove is pouring out ever!where.
&here?s no evidence of the lack of love. 3hat a surprise to discover this in a world that seems so
full of problems and things that need to be changed.
TR'E FREE/O-
In this culture where more is felt to be better, there is often an implication that bigger truths are
better. If !our Heart can open and expand, then it ma! seem best to find a wa! to open the darn
thing all the wa! and keep it that wa!.
However, if !ou check in !our Heart right now as !ou hold the idea that it?s better to open
!our Heart and keep it that wa!, !ou ma! be surprised to find that this idea actuall! feels tight or
limiting. It?s simpl! not the biggest truth or the most freeing possibilit!. An even bigger, freer
possibilit! is to allow the sense of !our self to be whatever si'e it is. If !our Heart is alwa!s
accuratel! and appropriatel! opening or contracting to show !ou how true each moment?s
perspective is, then the best result of experiencing a small truth is for !our Heart to contract and
show !ou how small that truth is. It can be as liberating to find out that a small truth is small as
to find out that a vast dimension of *eing is profoundl! real. In both cases, the nature of truth has
been more full! illuminated.
<nce !ou reali'e !ou can trust !our Heart -ust the wa! it is right now, whether it is open or
closed, !ou can -ust rest within the folding and unfolding of all perspectives. 5ou don?t do
an!thing to get rid of the small perspectives, which -ust arise out of the conditioned parts of !our
*eing, and !ou don?t do an!thing to bring on the bigger perspectives, which -ust arise out of the
unconditioned parts of !our *eing. 5ou -ust rest in the moment as it is.
&here is never a need to have a bigger or smaller experience, as *eing is still *eing even in
the small experiences. Its nature is the same, and part of its nature is this capacit! to discriminate
how trueDhow completeDa particular perspective is. &he small experiences of *eing are still an
expression of *eing?s ultimate nature, -ust as a single drop of water is still wet.
#piritual seekers often think of liberation as sta!ing in an expanded experience of truth.
3hile expanded experiences are freeing 8especiall! when !ou?ve been contracted for a long
time9, the abilit! to move in and out of man! different perspectives is an even greater freedom.
3alls are onl! a problem when !ou don?t know where the door is and therefore can?t get in or
out.
&rue freedom is when !ou can move in and out of identification with a small sense of !our
self. 5ou don?t have to take m! word for it. ,ind out what happens in !our Heart if !ou -ust let
the opening and closing of !our sense of self be -ust the wa! it is right now. 4oes this allow !our
Heart to open= 4oes it allow !ou to -ust be for a moment=
WHO %RE 1O'7
3hat is this *eing that !ou are alwa!s sensing to some degree= /erhaps the most surprising
discover! is that the sense of !our self is not showing !ou an!thing about !our true nature. A
limited sense of !our self is never about who !ou reall! are. It?s not indicative of who !ou are
but, rather, shows !ou how true !our conditioning is. "ecogni'ing this can turn !our world inside
out. &he sense of !our self is being shaped and limited b! the unfolding of conditioned beliefs
and ideas@ it?s not a reflection of !our true nature.
&his can be a tremendous relief. All of !our experiences of limitation, incompleteness,
contraction, insufficienc!, or unworthiness have nothing to do with !ou. Instead, the! are
accurate reflections of the limitations, incompleteness, smallness, insufficienc!, and
unworthiness of !our ideas, -udgments, beliefs, concepts, fears, doubts, worries, hopes, dreams,
and desires. &he! have nothing to do with the nature of !ou.
&he most intimate experience of !our selfD!our HeartDis ultimatel! never a compete
experience of !our true self. It is alwa!s a reative experience of the functioning of that true self
as it determines the reative degree of truth in the particular content of !our experience.
&his brings us back to the question6 3ho or what is the *eing that !ou are alwa!s sensing to
a greater or lesser degree= &his question points to what is completel! be!ond wordsDand even
be!ond experience. ven the most expanded e#perience of *eing is still not free of this shaping
or limitation. In this case the question itself points to a bigger truth than an! answer, even an
experiential one.
3hat happens in !our Heart when !ou simpl! hold the question, 3ho am I or what am I=
ven if !our Heart is open, !ou can still wonder who or what is experiencing the openness. &he
ultimate truth will never be captured in an experience because it?s simpl! too big to fit in even
the most expanded experience. &his provides a clue to the question, 3ho are !ou= &he reason an
expanded sense of !our self never quite contains the whoe truth of !our *eing is that !ou are
ever!thing that exists.
/erhaps !ou can rest now from the dream of experiencing the ultimate truth. &he truth is not
dependent in an! wa! on !our experience of it. It is and alwa!s has been functioning -ust fine
through what !ou call !our experience of a self, without ever being contained in that experience.
&he sense of !our self, whether it is expanded or contracted, is a functioning expression of a
much larger *eing that can never be full! captured in experience.
/erhaps the e#perience of truth doesn?t need to be captured. &ruth is something we can also
unfold graduall! bit b! bit like a meal or novel that we slowl! savor rather than rush through. 3e
are and alwa!s have been reali'ing the truth even when we experience onl! a small part of it.
&he richness of *eing is also revealed in the small truths that make up our lives.
*eing is never harmed b! the limited perspectives we experience. *eing is not dependent on
an! particular wa! of sensing !our self, nor even on the absence of a sense of self. *eing is
alread! resting within the endless opening and closing of !our Heart, so !ou might as well en-o!
the ride.
the truth catches up with me
" am not enough
never have $een
never wi $e
what reief to a!mit this finite container
can never contain infinity
what 'oy to fin! infinity
nee!s no container
lease note" This free bonus is #art two only of the boo46 Living from the Heart.
,or more info or to purchase the book on various ebook stores6 http677endless-satsang.com7free
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