Ora disponibile nella sezione libri.

Word has it that the first step is the most crucial one and that sleep is the small death. Nobody knows where people get this from, but should you try not following them in the train transfer station and you never get to the departure platform for the one and only train everyone needs to catch. Well then, assuming sleep is indeed equals death and that the very first thing done in the morning is very much like the first step in the life of your new day, it’s better to make this step wisely.

Here is what Lao Tzu wrote: “If you want something to weaken, you must first allow it to become strong. If you want something to be removed, you must first allow it to flourish.” There is a sense of translation challenge here but the point is clear in general: chronic conditions worsen before they get cured; similarly, our default states have to reach their prime and pinnacle of manifestation before something new can take their place.

Human mind loves certainty; it adores concise planning and straightforward sequential instructions. Certainty leads to predictability which is a foundation of tranquility and the source of boredom at the same time. Also, without certainty, there is no stability which, in turn, becomes a blessing for some, abysmal dullness for others; the bottom line is, it is often welcomed and endorsed to feel certain about the present and future.

Proponents of bringing ego down insist that liberation from yourself should be executed to the extent when there are no manifestations of individuality left. Go for no-mind, humble characterlessness, and absence of presence; go for the hard-core. Any manifestations of ego should be curtailed immediately —freedom is acquired by conquest exclusively. Maybe that is why, when I told one seeker that ambitiousness is a good thing to have on the Path, he was astounded and eagerly accused me of betraying the bright ideals of enlightenment. I told him that premature castration can be unhealthy, especially in case if you want to reach maturity; and that it's better to have healthy ego than damaged and feeble one, and the same is true of mature versus immature ego. 

Most of my acquaintances wish they could ditch their egos. For some reason, it appears to them that they will feel way better if they leap straight into this world full of danger with no ego at all. It appears to them that ego makes them miserable, as if it were a monstrous parasite which has invaded their brains and makes everything murky with its horrible mephitic discharge. They prefer to think of ego as of something sick and foreign which is to be torn out with some special wrench of will.

A bodily sensation becomes an experience once conveyed verbally, i.e. if it has been described and conceptualized. The process of translating sensations into words is spontaneous contemplation, which is hardwired in humans and may come easy or be challenging for different people.

The request for a change—be it a personal situation or global circumstances—has to be shaped verbally as well, following prerequisite reflexing on the underlying motives.

If you are looking for changes, it is indicative of a certain need unmet or your discontent with yourself or your current life. Dissatisfaction, for example, is essentially a sensation and it needs to be realized and spelled out.

Now available in the books section.

Ora disponibile nella sezione libri.