Being self-aware is nothing but dropping the cacophony in the mind – both can never coexist

Ninety nine percent of the time what goes on in the mind is not by my orders but by orders from a source other than me, and not being aware of this deception I completely identify myself with this non-me source. The one percent of the time when I directly take charge of my life without any filters or division (when the non-me drops) is when my life is in danger or that of my loved ones is in danger or I might lose my job, house, or there’s a war or when I’m very creative, intuitive, joyful etc. What’s the difference between these two times (99 and 1 %)? Ninety nine percent of the time I’m reacting to events in my life by looking at the world the way I want it to be, and just one percent of the time I’m responding by looking at the world the way it is. In the first there’s more of expectation and judgment while in the second there’s more of understanding and surrender. In the first I’m consumed by “I” and “me”, and in the second the “I” has resolved into my being or universal existence. In the first I’m possessed with what I want to do, and in the second I simply do what needs to be done. The first is more of doing while the second is more of undoing. In the first, I may grow functionally, in the second I’m evolving as a human being. In the first, I’m a consumer while in the second I’m a contributor. Albert Einstein said, “The significant problems we face cannot be solved by the same level of thinking that created them”. This resonates with what the Upanisad says “The eyes see what the mind thinks”. This means that there’s a level of thinking beyond or other than the one which makes us see life only through a veil or the prism of the cacophonic mind. These statements also signify that it is the level or pattern of thinking that is the problem and the way we respond to events in life is just an extension of the fault line of the veiled level of thinking. Meaning, let’s say my life consisted of a mixed bag of a hundred events – some very good, some bad and some very ugly. The way I responded to them thru the prism of the cacophonic mind, would have been entirely different for the same hundred events, from the way I would have responded if the mind was free of the cacophony! This response is an empowered one. This is possible only when I can see beyond what the prism of the cacophonic mind allowed me to see which I mistakenly thought all my life, is all there is to see! In other words, we’re simply treating the symptoms, mistaking them for the disease. While different religions may have different paths to liberation, they all initially lead to one thing, i.e., to drop the cacophony or the clutter in the mind. The clutter, apart from other things, mainly includes some of my rigid beliefs and perceptions of life and people which I vehemently refuse to accept as obstacles toward my freedom. This is the toughest part. But if I dare to drop these stubborn beliefs and perceptions (you need tremendous courage to do this) and the mind is emptied of the clutter, what it gets “filled” with is not in my hands. It comes from a source which is beyond the known realm of my mind. It is universal, unlimited and all-encompassing. Then, what religion or path you chose to reach it, doesn’t really matter. No matter what practices we follow to clear the mind of its clutter, what we are basically doing is becoming self aware. The one percent of the time that I respond to events by doing what needs to be done, is when I suddenly become self-aware. The only way to crack the prism of this cacophonic mind or go beyond the known realm of my mind is to become more and more self-aware consciously, and not wait for events to force me to become self-aware. Ninety nine percent of the time when I look at the world the way I want it to be, I’m not in touch with my being or self-aware and this is what the cacophonic mind thrives on. It keeps dividing me relentlessly, dangling more and more carrots, creating more and more clutter in the name of novelty and choices, by extracting memories from my unconscious, which is a reservoir of past impressions and experiences. It convinces me that, a miracle from the external world will one fine day solve all my problems. It will never come from the external world, because the real world is my inner being where the miracle is waiting but this cacophony is blocking me from consciously re-linking with it. And self-awareness is a powerful weapon to cut across this cacophony and unleash this miracle. The more I get in touch with my being or self-aware the more I loosen the powerful grip of the unconscious over my mind because both can’t co-exist. The more I’m self-aware the more my level of thinking which was conditioned by the cacophony in the mind, moves beyond its realm. Now the gap between looking at the world the way I want it to be and looking at the world the way it is, simply drops. And once the inner miracle is unleashed, it expands my vision of life which empowers me to understand deeply my oneness with the universe and at an individual level to do the right things even when things are not right. rekhabairav@hotmail.com