Premananda's Blog
September 14, 2013
Be As You Are
I can’t allow myself to have an open heart, to love myself; to be silent, or not to be silent.
Well, the secret is that you don’t have to ‘allow’ anything. Just be as you are. For example, this evening you are a man. Did you have to do something to be a man?
No, but what I mean is that when I’m quiet I get really silent and it’s very painful. It’s always like that.
It’s painful to be silent?
Yes. I feel like pain happens in my heart. It’s not bad pain or good pain – just pain.
Is it really pain or could you also say that you feel simply touched? Maybe you contact your loving heart and you’re just not so familiar with that.
Yes, it feels a bit like falling into something that’s stopped.
And this stopping you’re calling pain?
Yes. The crying stops and I can’t go deeper. It’s like a shutdown.
Who says what’s deeper and who says whether the crying should stop or not? Can you just accept it as it is?
Thoughts arise and then it’s so confusing and I don’t know what’s happening.
What you are expressing is very common. Unfortunately, in our journey of life, through our upbringing, we very often become divided. We can’t accept ourselves as we are because we have come to believe we are not okay like this and we have to be different. This message comes to us in many different ways from many different sources. That’s why it’s so difficult just to be as we are.
Without even realising, we can’t accept ourselves. We become divided because the judgments that were put on us as children are like voices that become thoughts. These thoughts stay with us. They are no longer coming from parents or society – now they are part of the structure of our minds.
We become our own judge, constantly judging ourselves that who we are is not alright. It’s a funny paradox, because how can we be different? We can only be as we are.
Not wanting to be as we are is like an avoiding.
Yes. We avoid being who we are because we think it is not okay and we should be something else. So the invitation is to discover what is true here and then be that, which is happening anyway but we can’t accept it.
If you could be different, you would be. If this is not the right place, you would be some other place. You are probably just discovering what it is to be free; you are discovering what it is to be yourself. And you are completely allowed, not because you are here in this community, but because you’re running around on this planet.
(From a recent dialogue with a young student)
Well, the secret is that you don’t have to ‘allow’ anything. Just be as you are. For example, this evening you are a man. Did you have to do something to be a man?
No, but what I mean is that when I’m quiet I get really silent and it’s very painful. It’s always like that.
It’s painful to be silent?
Yes. I feel like pain happens in my heart. It’s not bad pain or good pain – just pain.
Is it really pain or could you also say that you feel simply touched? Maybe you contact your loving heart and you’re just not so familiar with that.
Yes, it feels a bit like falling into something that’s stopped.
And this stopping you’re calling pain?
Yes. The crying stops and I can’t go deeper. It’s like a shutdown.
Who says what’s deeper and who says whether the crying should stop or not? Can you just accept it as it is?
Thoughts arise and then it’s so confusing and I don’t know what’s happening.
What you are expressing is very common. Unfortunately, in our journey of life, through our upbringing, we very often become divided. We can’t accept ourselves as we are because we have come to believe we are not okay like this and we have to be different. This message comes to us in many different ways from many different sources. That’s why it’s so difficult just to be as we are.
Without even realising, we can’t accept ourselves. We become divided because the judgments that were put on us as children are like voices that become thoughts. These thoughts stay with us. They are no longer coming from parents or society – now they are part of the structure of our minds.
We become our own judge, constantly judging ourselves that who we are is not alright. It’s a funny paradox, because how can we be different? We can only be as we are.
Not wanting to be as we are is like an avoiding.
Yes. We avoid being who we are because we think it is not okay and we should be something else. So the invitation is to discover what is true here and then be that, which is happening anyway but we can’t accept it.
If you could be different, you would be. If this is not the right place, you would be some other place. You are probably just discovering what it is to be free; you are discovering what it is to be yourself. And you are completely allowed, not because you are here in this community, but because you’re running around on this planet.
(From a recent dialogue with a young student)
September 12, 2013
Doing Nothing
A Buddhist phones the monastery and asks the monk “Can you come to do a blessing for my new house?”
The monk replies “Sorry, I’m busy.”
“What are you doing? Can I help?”
“I’m doing nothing”, replied the monk, "no one can help me with that."
So the next day the Buddhist phones again, “Can you please come to my house for a blessing?”
“Sorry,” said the monk, “I’m busy.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m doing nothing,” replied the monk.
“But that was what you were doing yesterday!”, said the Buddhist.
“Correct”, replied the monk, “I’m not finished yet!”
"There is nothing to do if you just accept it. We are very attached to trying to change the illusion into the perfect illusion, but a perfect illusion is still an illusion. The truth is that nothing is happening and there is nobody to do anything. Through examining the false self all our wrong ideas and beliefs fall away to reveal what we always were, what I call the Self or the eternal Self. We become present with life unfolding."
The monk replies “Sorry, I’m busy.”
“What are you doing? Can I help?”
“I’m doing nothing”, replied the monk, "no one can help me with that."
So the next day the Buddhist phones again, “Can you please come to my house for a blessing?”
“Sorry,” said the monk, “I’m busy.”
“What are you doing?”
“I’m doing nothing,” replied the monk.
“But that was what you were doing yesterday!”, said the Buddhist.
“Correct”, replied the monk, “I’m not finished yet!”
"There is nothing to do if you just accept it. We are very attached to trying to change the illusion into the perfect illusion, but a perfect illusion is still an illusion. The truth is that nothing is happening and there is nobody to do anything. Through examining the false self all our wrong ideas and beliefs fall away to reveal what we always were, what I call the Self or the eternal Self. We become present with life unfolding."
September 10, 2013
Why leave Freedom until later?
A general noticed one of his soldiers behaving oddly. The soldier would pick up any piece of paper he found, frown and say, ‘That’s not it,’ and put it down again.
This went on for some time, until the general arranged to have the soldier psychologically tested. The psychologist concluded that the soldier was deranged, and wrote out his discharge from the army.
The soldier picked it up, smiled and said, ‘That’s it.’
'What is important in your life? If you are reading this, freedom must be important to you. So why postpone what you can do right now? Actually there is nothing to do. You just have to be very clear about what is really you and what is not you.
Find out what doesn’t change. Find out what is constant, what has always been here. It doesn’t matter what we are doing on the outside. It doesn’t matter what the thoughts are. It doesn’t matter what we feel, or what the structures are. What is here all the time is awareness being aware of what we are feeling, what we are thinking, what we are doing. This awareness is constant.'
This went on for some time, until the general arranged to have the soldier psychologically tested. The psychologist concluded that the soldier was deranged, and wrote out his discharge from the army.
The soldier picked it up, smiled and said, ‘That’s it.’
'What is important in your life? If you are reading this, freedom must be important to you. So why postpone what you can do right now? Actually there is nothing to do. You just have to be very clear about what is really you and what is not you.
Find out what doesn’t change. Find out what is constant, what has always been here. It doesn’t matter what we are doing on the outside. It doesn’t matter what the thoughts are. It doesn’t matter what we feel, or what the structures are. What is here all the time is awareness being aware of what we are feeling, what we are thinking, what we are doing. This awareness is constant.'
Ebook previews are available for all the books on the site.
Ebook previews are available for all the books on the site.
I just put them up so you should be able to download a preview pdf soon of the books to get a taste!
I just put them up so you should be able to download a preview pdf soon of the books to get a taste!
June 26, 2013
Life is beyond pain and happiness
Life is beyond pain and happiness. When you stop all your effort of resisting what is, then suddenly life is really incredible! It’s not that everything turns to gold, or all the trees start to blossom out of season and drop petals on your head. It’s not like everyone suddenly loves you. It’s just that everything is absolutely accepted, and every ordinary thing becomes very beautiful.
June 19, 2013
The Wave and the Ocean
"If you look from the point of view of a wave you could say, ‘I am a wave and I can see all you other waves over there.’ All my conditioning has led me to believe that I am a wave, separate from all the other waves, but looking from another perspective I see all the waves are always part of the ocean. Everything is ocean. There is no real separation. The waves are never separate from the ocean and we are never separate from consciousness."
(extract from 'The Great Misunderstanding')
(extract from 'The Great Misunderstanding')
June 14, 2013
The Great Misunderstanding - Accepting Existence
Welcome,
For now in this blog I want to share some of the most humorous, juicy and touching parts of the books.
So here is the first blog from 'The Great Misunderstanding':
Existence is not separate from what is. You are also not separate from what is. And 'what is' includes everything: emotions, feelings, everything. If you are bored, be bored. If you are happy, be happy. If you are pissed off, enjoy it. We always have the idea that we have to change pissed off into something nice. Nothing has to change. Anyway, how can you change it? You have simply to accept it as it is, but you always take the position of wanting to change it.
'Deep within a forest a little turtle began to climb a tree. After hours of effort he reached the top, jumped into the air waving his front legs and crashed to the ground. After recovering, he slowly climbed the tree again, jumped, and fell to the ground. He tried again and again while a couple of birds sitting on a nearby branch watched his sad efforts. Finally, the female bird turned to her mate. 'Dear,' she chirped, 'I think it's time to tell him he's adopted.'
Just accept it as it is. There is a lot to do if you are trying to change it.
For now in this blog I want to share some of the most humorous, juicy and touching parts of the books.
So here is the first blog from 'The Great Misunderstanding':
Existence is not separate from what is. You are also not separate from what is. And 'what is' includes everything: emotions, feelings, everything. If you are bored, be bored. If you are happy, be happy. If you are pissed off, enjoy it. We always have the idea that we have to change pissed off into something nice. Nothing has to change. Anyway, how can you change it? You have simply to accept it as it is, but you always take the position of wanting to change it.
'Deep within a forest a little turtle began to climb a tree. After hours of effort he reached the top, jumped into the air waving his front legs and crashed to the ground. After recovering, he slowly climbed the tree again, jumped, and fell to the ground. He tried again and again while a couple of birds sitting on a nearby branch watched his sad efforts. Finally, the female bird turned to her mate. 'Dear,' she chirped, 'I think it's time to tell him he's adopted.'
Just accept it as it is. There is a lot to do if you are trying to change it.
