Am I expressing Truth or belief?
As we grow in consciousness we become active seekers of Truth. In the quest to know and understand Truth, interesting questions arise. And, many seekers come to this same enquiry: Am I expressing truth or belief? One enquirer recently asked:
‘My partner and I have been discussing beliefs and thoughts… I was saying something that felt to be from my heart, to be a truth from somewhere higher than my belief system.
Could that be so, or is everything expressed a belief?’
This important enquiry points to the core and intention of enlightenment. The path to enlightenment involves the process of shedding our beliefs about the world and the identity we have constructed with thoughts and formed beliefs. Almost everything that everyone experiences in human consciousness is driven by the collective of our conditioned thoughts and beliefs.
Yet some people, instead of following the usual mode of behaviour, have committed to surrendering to the silence within – the pure realm of consciousness itself – the ‘beingness’ that is simply witnessing. Like Buddha, each of these people has reflected a clear state of pure awareness: a way of experiencing the world that is free of our projected opinions and beliefs.
Such beings demonstrate that it is possible to become the living expression of ‘isness’. The more we release our attachment to thoughts and beliefs, the more we become a witness to simply what IS.
Imagine two people walking through a forest. ‘Jane’, with an open heart, is deeply breathing in the now, all senses alert to the experience. Meanwhile, ‘John’ is in the mind, occupied with the noise of mental assessment and subconscious thoughts: ‘Trolls live in forests, I get cold in forests, these trees are dark and ugly … and his mind goes on and on.
Neither ‘Jane’ nor ‘John’ has to have thoughts or beliefs about the trees for the trees to exist. The trees simply are their own perfect creation and being. And both Jane and John have a level of their own being which is simply aware of the trees.
In simply being present and aware, Jane can be so alive to this, so in contact with this, that in a moment, filled with the delight of pure witnessing, she may speak of the encounter. In this instance the mind is simply an instrument: a voice for pure witnessing. Awareness precedes the mind. The mind follows the state of simple awareness. And in doing so, Jane makes a statement of observation – simply what is.
John can be so sure of what the trees mean to him that he generates within himself (from memory) the emotions that correspond with that meaning. He has lost touch in that moment with the state of direct awareness of the trees that always exists within him. Instead he is engaged with his ideas about the trees. Like Jane he may speak of this. Yet, for John, it is thought that precedes the statement. The statement is a product of the mind. And so it is that John expresses opinions rather than simply ‘what is’.
There is a great distinction between these two states and yet, for many seekers of Truth, this distinction seems blurry. The distinction seems even more difficult to determine when relating to matters of the heart or soul. In this regard it is important to consider the level at which an observation or statement is being made. Either a statement arises from awareness – and an alignment with the soul which enables a person to express ‘what is’ (whether true within that moment or true to an ongoing natural law), or a statement arises from interpretation – the individual’s personal historical and conditioned view.
Either way, all statements and observations in themselves are impermanent. What matters most is that we may be free of attachment to the statement or observation. And if the statement really is one purely of observation, then it is unlikely the individual will have any attachment to it – whether it is seen or accepted as Truth by any other. Conversely, if there is attachment, it indicates an agenda underlying the statement – which points to a personal condition.
Despite the possibilities of these distinctions, the tendency to want to assert what is true or not is a distraction from our ability to encounter life, simply as it is. Naturally, the spiritual journey is about this quest. And so, for many, the enquiry continues.
Even whilst the enquiry continues, we have been blessed with various individuals who are the living testament of our ability to live and breathe as pure awareness, centered in the heart. This reminds us all that everyone has the capacity to experience and express a dimension of life that is free of our projected thoughts and beliefs. Such a life is innocent, alive, flowing and radiating with a delight that reaches out beyond any definition – yet still a life that we can celebrate in the moment through the voice of our heart. As each individual surrenders deeper into the presence within and the ‘isness’ of the moment, the heart of Truth is encountered. It awakens a gift within – the ability to feel and express the love, lightness and joy of life’s Truth.
Namaste.
One Life, One Love.
