The following concern living a life of beauty, joy and clarity. In them you will discover a secret that, when understood and applied, will lead to peace, love and harmony in your life. Reflecting on these questions, you will recognize the role devotion must play for inner fulfillment.

Q: I find that when I am caught in an emotional state I have no control over it!

A: We are our feelings because we are feeling-beings. When you feel fear, you are all fear from head to toe. In a state of contraction (negative feelings) we have very little energy to do anything, much less control our feelings. So, do absolutely nothing and be aware of how caught you are. Feel how much you want to think about it, how you want to feel sorry for yourself. The willingness to do absolutely nothing, but be aware, will awaken devotion. Without devotion one’s life is a waste.

Q: But most people live without devotion!

A: That is why we need to wake up from our painful sleep. The average person knows nothing about devotion. The key point is this - do not be concerned about other people and how they live. Be focused only on your own devotion to your being. Then when you awaken that devotion, you will feel such love and inner peace that you will be a blessing to others.

Q: I am listening to you and feel the energy of this subject but I still feel I am incapable of it!

A: The contracted feelings known as negative feelings are total. In other words, when you are caught in them, they are all you can know at that moment. There is nothing you can do, absolutely nothing. So DO absolutely nothing, and observe yourself doing nothing. Once you allow yourself to do nothing, not even think, you become awareness itself. Contracted energy is dissipation of energy due to thought-preoccupation. When you allow yourself to do nothing, not even think, then by doing nothing you regain the energy you lost. Remember, energy is only lost through thought. Did you ever think about that? (no pun intended).

Q: I catch myself thinking, “How I wish it were that simple!”

A: What is simplicity? Did you ever reflect on that? Simplicity is allowing your heart to dictate your moves instead of your thoughts. Thoughts are complex. Thoughts cannot feel and so they think about themselves. For example, when a thought comes and reminds you of something you fear, you start thinking about that thought, then a chain of other thoughts come in, and before you know it, you are caught. Once you are caught, your whole personality becomes contracted and you have no energy for anything. Thought takes more energy than lifting weights or running. Thoughts can even kill you.

Q: Here I go again, how do I stop thinking?

A: You don’t! You don’t need to stop thinking. Thought is what gives us the world we know. It is our whole experience. It is all we initially know. Therefore, DO NOT TRY TO STOP THOUGHT (which is impossible anyway), BUT OBSERVE IT. Observe how thought dictates your whole feeling nature, your whole behavior pattern, your whole life. Become aware of how a single thought can be equivalent to a punch in the stomach if you identify with it.

Q: So what is the difference between thought and feeling?

A: Everything is a feeling. However, when you feel a thought and identify with it, it stops you from feeling and so contraction occurs. You begin to feel dead inside, and emotional feeling takes over. Thoughts stop our feeling nature and deaden us.

Negative emotional feelings are not real feelings. They are resistance to feeling. For example, let’s say you feel a painful memory coming on (a thought). There is immediate resistance to it, as if you are saying, “I donÕt like this feeling, I don’t want it.” It is this resistance to feeling which causes overwhelming emotions.

Q: Sometimes I can’t tell the difference!

A: That is natural. When one is used to thinking all the time, with the mind constantly wandering or lost in thought, we lose the ability to feel. This inability to feel is displayed as fatigue, boredom, listlessness, moodiness, anger, depression or indifference to life. When we develop the willingness to change, then we start by listening to our resistance, our self-preoccupation, and becoming aware of what is happening to the body, in all its subtlety. This starts to awaken our ability to feel. At this point, we move from the head into the heart. The more we feel though the heart, the more alive and happy we feel. Since we are feeling-beings, the more we feel, the more alive we are. We become afraid to feel because, we think, feeling brings pain. It is the opposite. Oftentimes when people suffer a great deal, they lose their ability to feel and become apathetic, indifferent, dead. When we allow ourselves to feel pain through the body, avoiding thinking about it and involving the mind, the whole dynamic shifts. We discover that allowing ourselves to feel pain is not painful. It is the thought about it that makes it painful. Suffering only happens through thought. Without thought, suffering is impossible.

Q: Isn’t thought necessary in daily life?

A: Of course it is! By becoming aware of our thoughts, we become highly creative. This is the realm of the genius. It is through this awareness that we can become the highest we are capable of. Remember, however, it is only through thought that we can engage our awareness. We don’t awaken by thought, we awaken through thought.

Q: Can you clarify the difference?

A: When you think and identify with a thought, you become the thought. Thus, if you think or obsess about someone’s insult then you become it. Every ounce of you becomes contracted. If, however, you become aware of the thought about the insult and see it as just a thought, you have seen through the thought. Now, you are a master instead of a slave.

Q: What is the opposite of devotion?

A: Since feeling is everything, we can feel the truth of our being the same way. For example, close your eyes for a moment and FEEL out the answer to this question. What do you get? Isn’t it self-dislike? Yes, the opposite of devotion is self-loathing. It is the constant, subtle feeling that there’s something wrong with us. It is so common that we see it everywhere exhibited in people’s moods, erratic behavior, defensiveness, anger, stress, boredom, lack of interest in life, and so on.

Q: How is self-hate brought about when it is so common?

A: It is the belief that we are just a body, and therefore an over-identification with all thoughts and emotions that occur. The body is a wonderful instrument for tapping our potential and when used as such, our life becomes rich and filled with joy. However, when we believe we are merely the instrument, it becomes destructive and self-limiting. Paradoxically, the more you identify with the body, the more you resist it. It tries to destroy itself in simple ways such as over-eating and carelessness about its well-being. It begins to seek pleasure through too much sex, drinking, drugs, sensations, over-sleeping or under-sleeping and so on.

Q: Why do we do this to ourselves?

A: When we believe we are just a body, we feel separate, lonely, and unloved and therefore unlovable. This is all very subtle and hardly ever on a conscious level. It is called resistance to life. When this resistance becomes part of us, we find ourselves resisting ourselves all of the time. This is called self-sabotage or self-punishment. We seek love because we feel deprived of it, however, when we do find it, we sabotage it. There is an underlying feeling that we do not deserve the best. This low self-worth is the common human dilemma. It is destructive and the opposite of devotion.

Q: Is resistance what we call negative thinking then?

A: That is correct! We only resist ourselves. For example, let’s say a defensive thought comes to you, perhaps that you are being taken advantage of, or being ignored or rejected. You feel the pangs of the thought and react. This reaction is an immediate resistance to the actual situation that triggered that thought. Of course, none of it is real.

However, let us assume that you decide to do away with all this negativity and start living real life. Now you become on guard against negative thoughts of rejection. What happens? The next time a thought occurs you deny it, ignore it, suppress it or feel, “I shouldn’t think this thought!” This is all resistance also. You are resisting yourself. This also leads to contracted energy and self-hate because it is self-betrayal. You are dividing yourself by disowning your feelings and thoughts. Do you see how subtle it all is?

Q: Now this becomes confusing, how are we to get rid of such resistance then?

A: Feel it out please! Isn’t getting rid of resistance more resistance? You do nothing! This is the secret key. By doing anything at all, you are merely prolonging the pain and aggravating the situation. Many techniques and methods have been devised for dealing with internal conflict, confusion and fear, but they are only means to an end. Once we can understand ‘doing nothing’ we have began to grasp what devotion is.

Q: This sounds even more confusing, that doing nothing is devotion!

A: The trouble with words is the interpretation we give them. They give a limited explanation of something so incredibly simple. Let us assume you understand that you are more than just a body and its thoughts. You’re a feeling being without limitations. You commit yourself to the incredible potential of your feeling nature. You start observing things around you in a new way. Let’s look at some of them:
* The seed holds the potential of growing into a flower, tree, etc.
* When we get hurt, life force immediately comes to our aid in repairing the damage.
* Intelligent life knows how to create a human being from a fetus.
* The planets are kept in place and in perfect operation by natural universal laws.
* Every cell of our body is consciousness itself and knows how to maintain itself.

We can go on ad infinitum but you get the point. Life is good, intelligent and loving. We can know this by simple observation. Our puny attempts to control life are redundant and absurd and yet it is what we have to do. Thoughts happen because the world is a thought. All appearance is a thought. Without thought we could not function in the world. Thoughts come to us from our conditioned past. However, here’s the good news - we are not the thoughts that cross our mind. They are just conditioned impressions. To try to control them, resist them or get rid of them is simply to give them more power over you. This is the dilemma of emotional dysfunction.

So what is one to do? Here is the great secret very few people are aware of - Do nothing! Observe your thoughts as simply thoughts coming from past conditioning. Now, when you start simply observing them in a detached way, devotion to your higher being arises. Do you see the point?

Q: Are you saying then that ‘doing nothing’ is itself the devotion we have been talking about?

A: ‘Doing nothing’ and ‘devotion’ are two expressions of the same thing. For example, could you ‘do nothing’ if you still believed you were just a body? Of course not! There has to be an inkling that there is something higher within you. Thus, when you observe the thoughts and let them be, there is the awareness that the observer itself must be greater than the thought. Placing more importance on the detached observer than the thought is devotion itself!

Q: Is that why we find it so difficult to do nothing?

A: Exactly! We think we are the controllers when we are using only about 5 to 10% of our capacity. The idea alone is ridiculous. We find it difficult to do nothing because we think we have to do something. We fail to realize the incredible power of our inherent nature - life itself! When we get out of its way we can observe its miraculous and staggering power!

I did not ask to be born and yet here I am. I AM LIFE! My thoughts, my body and emotions are temporary movements of this energy called Life. Therefore, I can either be Life observing the thoughts, emotions and body, or I can identify with limitation and live in fear and separation. The realization, even minute, that you are more than your thoughts, emotions and body, can start to awaken your devotion.

Q: This makes me think that devotion is towards Life itself, but what about God?

A: What is the difference between Life and God? Aren’t we talking about the same thing? It is only semantics. We have been talking about God the whole time. Every single sentence contained God. God is all there is - Infinite intelligence, infinite goodness, and infinite love. We can use the term ‘devotion to God.’ However, the trouble is that we make it a religious term. Truth is not religion. Truth is what-is. It is Life itself. It is this very moment.

Q: Why do we need religion to follow God?

A: We don’t! We have been conditioned into this belief. There’s an old Zen joke about the devil and his disciples walking down the street when they saw a man find truth on the road. The devil’s disciples are perturbed about it, but the devil laughs, saying, “Don’t worry, soon the man who found truth will organize it into a religion.” The devil knows that religions fight amongst themselves and create separation, which is the only evil.

It is the nature of the ego-mind to control. It can’t be helped. Thus when it finds truth, it organizes it so that it can control it. Conventional religion is man’s control of the truth of Life.

Q: Are you saying that religion is wrong?

A: The word ‘wrong’ is another term that creates separation. Everything in life happens as it should, according to the evolution of consciousness. Religions are a necessary part of evolution. Just as kindergarten precedes high school, so does religion precede enlightenment. Nothing is ultimately wrong or right; it is as it is because it has to evolve that way. Everything works out as it should in this infinite and intelligent universe. We cannot see the end result, and our foresight is limited by too many thoughts from the past. Ultimately everything is perfect as it is. We need to change nothing except be aware. This awareness leads to devotion.

Q: Are we talking devotion to God then?

A: Definitely! Is there anything else? Isn’t everything God’s Consciousness? Does Consciousness belong to you - or do you belong to it? If everything is Consciousness and Consciousness is One, then are you that One or a separate individual?

Imagine for a moment that you are that One Self - just imagine - what would happen to your petty thoughts of the past? What would happen to your ego defensiveness? What would happen to the fear of rejection? What would happen to fear, period? It would all be dissolved by a devotion so grand, so beautiful, so overwhelming that you will experience joy that overrides all pettiness. You will see God everywhere and in everything, even in a murderer.

Q: Is devotion total then; is it all that is necessary?

A: When people on the path keep complaining, “why do I forget this truth?” “Why do I keep falling back to old ways in my daily life?” “Why do I advance in my understanding and then forget it all?” “Am I progressing or standing still?” “Why do I get stuck so often?” These are the usual questions people ask. The reason we keep asking them and remain confused is because we miss awakening our devotion towards the truth in us. We have not allowed ourselves to glimpse the only thing that matters.

People say, “But I have glimpsed the importance of this and I still backslide!” At this point you have to be honest. Aren’t you still paying more attention to your thoughts than you are to your inner being? And aren’t you the product of what you pay attention to? Isn’t your full attention your devotion?

Make it simple - you are either devoted to your surface thoughts, or to your awareness of them! It can’t be both. Devotion to God brings love, beauty, peace, harmony and everything we have ever desired in our heart.

Q: It sounds wonderful, but how do I start when I am inundated with so many beliefs?

The mind is complicated and its nature is to think. Thoughts become real to us, and therefore, become unconscious beliefs. However, here is help - everything you believe is just a belief, nothing more! They are only real because we believe in them. And, here’s another scoop - beliefs are not real. However, when they are explored and looked into, they become realizations and we are again on solid ground. For example, take your belief in God; how real is it? If your belief were a reality, then devotion would be part of your expression.

When we get offended, hurt, and defensive, it is because of beliefs we have about others and ourselves. However, if we know beyond a doubt that what we believe is real, defensiveness and personal hurt will not arise. Do you know why? Because if it IS real, and you know it beyond any doubt, you’ll also realize there’s no point in struggling against it. And if it is isn’t real, then why bother? Beliefs are not solid. They make us waver, fluctuate, and entertain doubts.

Q: Since we are a bundle of beliefs, what can we do so that they do not control us?

A: Learn to spend some time with your own inner silence and observe your mind, which is made up of all the beliefs you have about life, and none of which are real. If one particular belief stands out in your mind, explore it. Ask yourself, how do I know it is real? How do I know it won’t change? Does it stand the test of time and is it beyond time? Does it contain love? Does it bring peace and harmony? If it passes the test and it brings an inner knowing of bliss, then that belief becomes a faith.

Q: If a belief does not have peace or love in it, then, as you say, it couldn’t be real?

A: If a belief does not make you a better person, then it’s just extra stuff you are carrying with you. Please do not take these words for granted, for if you do, you are adopting yet another belief. Everything has to pass through your awareness.

How can you make sure it is real? Ask yourself what is real in your life and you will come to the unavoidable conclusion that whatever it is, it has to be unchangeable, undying, and beyond time. In other words, it has to be part of God. If it fluctuates and changes like a passing thought, then it is not real.

Take a look at the sky; it is always there because it is a ‘forever’ space. The clouds come and go even although they at times hide the sky. The clouds have no reality per se because they fluctuate and change, appear and disappear.

Q: Why do you say that the clouds are not real when we can see them?

A: The clouds are real temporarily, but are not reality. They exist only because of the ever-present sky. Similarly, thoughts occur to you because of consciousness. Without consciousness, thoughts could not exist. They seem to be real only temporarily because of consciousness. When we become conscious of them, through detached observation, we have activated the ground that makes them possible to exist. We are then functioning from a higher position than the thought. This consciousness, aware of thought, is pure because it is not identified with the thought. Thus we can touch our reality. And although at that moment we might not know it, a feeling may occur, subtle as it may be, that there’s more to us then meets the eye. It is this subtle knowing that starts to take over.

The body is not reality either, but that doesn’t mean it doesn’t exist. It means it is an effect of a greater cause. It is the cause that is the reality. The body is an expression of energy called Life-Force. This Life-Force is Pure Consciousness or the Self. So, to repeat, when we use terms like ‘not real’ it does not mean that it doesn’t exist, simply that it is an effect of a greater cause.

Q: Why does it take so long to recognize this simple knowledge?

A: All knowledge is within us and it doesn’t take an Einstein to recognize that. All it takes is willingness. If you are driven to know the truth, the truth will not hide from you. The reason most people are asleep to this simple reality is because they have identified with the wrong premise. In other words, they have assumed they are the effect rather than the cause. For example, let’s assume you believe you are the shadow you cast against the sun. Since you are functioning from the wrong premise in this viewpoint, then everything you think, feel and emote will be wrong as it comes from that mistaken premise. When you begin to feel lost, empty, frustrated, confused and so on, these negative qualities do not exist either, but are merely the result of wrong identification.

If you believe you are merely a body, and forget about the Life-Force that gives it life, then everything you think and feel will come from that limited belief. The result is obvious - deep feelings of emptiness, loneliness, the belief that there’s something wrong with you, a nagging feeling as if you are missing something, and an outward personality addicted to the sensations of the body. The body then becomes its own destruction. It burns itself out.

Q: How can I start awakening my inner knowing?

A: Start by becoming very silent and observant. Observe the miracle of life itself. Did you know that you are surrounded by miracles? For example, sit still, take a few deep breaths and close your eyes. Then observe your normal breath without trying to control it. Observe your breathing. Who’s breathing you? Who is doing it within you? Is it your body or the Life-Force within it?

Next, observe your heart-beat and ask, Who and What is beating my heart? Do not try to answer these questions; otherwise your ego will have a field day. Just observe in an exploratory manner. You are a miracle that you have taken for granted.

Next, become aware that every thought that crosses your mind affects your body. For example, if a car goes by and you hear it, it registers in your body. If you feel a thought, it is your body that feels it. If you feel an emotion, it is your body that experiences it.

When you start observing the body’s responses to inner and outer stimuli, you have taken a giant leap in consciousness growth. You have become a watcher of your mechanical responses and activate, as a result, the higher intelligence within you. It is at this point that awakening starts to happen, slowly but steadily. You can feel it growing inside you - a wonderful feeling of okayness with yourself and the world. You start feeling safe wherever you are. The boredom that had plagued you now becomes a thing of the past. A whole new energy comes alive.

Q: As I listen to you I feel motivated and can hardly wait to start observing; however, I also have a nagging feeling that soon I will forget all about this and get back to my old ways!

A: The mind is made of thought, which is a conditioned response. We have so long identified with our thoughts that they have become a habit. Our blocks are not from lack of discipline, but enslavement to old habits. We are addicted to contracted and narrow thinking. And, even though we know better, we still go back to the old pattern.

Q: What can we do to break from these habits?

A: This is where honesty comes in - are you willing to break free from your conditioned thinking? Be very honest, as most people like their comfort zone, their familiar neuroses. Do you know that most people would rather suffer, because it is familiar to them, then face the unknown?

If you do have willingness to do this, then you’re halfway there. The rest is merely being aware in each moment. The reason we forget is because we want to forget. Nothing happens by chance. So be honest - if after hearing all this you still go back to your old ways, do not feel bad about it. You have simply chosen it in that moment.