The key to freedom is within…
There is an incredible secret that too few people seem to be aware of and it’s a secret that nearly everyone would benefit greatly from discovering and taking advantage of.
When you consider the chaotic nature of the world today it becomes quite clear that something is missing. Human beings are more fearful, more depressed and hopeless, more apathetic and angrier than I have ever seen before. When you understand the state of the average person the state of the world begins to make sense.
What is missing is individual peace.
The lack of peace in the world reflects the lack of peace in the individuals that make it up. We as individual human beings are not at peace within ourselves which causes the unpleasant emotions mentioned above. We are so caught up in the conditioning and mental programming we’ve been subjected to that we have become disconnected from something critically important.
The secret I mentioned involves recognizing this disconnection and its consequences in your life and knowing how to reconnect with what seems to have been lost.
The secret is the Heart.
I don’t mean the physical organ that pumps blood. I don’t mean the emotional heart either or even the heart chakra if you are into Yoga. What I’m referring to is the heart as the “center” of one’s existence or being. The root or source of what you are at the most basic level.
To be clear let’s call it the Heart Center.
What is the heart center? Well, it’s not so much what it is but where it is. The heart center is literally what is at the center of YOU. Another word for it is “I”.
When I is not connected with anything else like — I am a body, I am a man, I am John, I am an American etc. But instead is left as it is alone — just I — it refers to simple presence or being or the Heart.
When you attach I to something, like I am a body, you I-dentify your Self which is pure being or presence with an experience — in this case the experience of the body. So you say — My Body — and you feel that the body is me or I.
The point is not to deny the body or any other experience but to point out an important distinction. I and my body are not the same thing. At the deepest or simplest level I refers to existence or the feeling or presence or beingness or aliveness.
This basic sense of I is what we have forgotten but remembering it and reconnecting with it has absolutely profound and life changing effects!
Let’s stop here for a moment. Instead of describing it any further let’s pause and consider the Heart Center directly. To realize what I am talking about you just need to turn your attention within.
Usually, our attention is focused outward. On sense objects or on what is going on with the body or thoughts moving through the mind and the feelings that go with them. But here we turn our attention around 180 degrees and use it to look deeply within toward its source.
So…stop for a moment and be aware of where your attention is going.
What is it focused on?
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Whatever it is currently focused on turn it around and be aware of how your body feels.
Take a deep breath and really feel into your body for a couple minutes.
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Now be aware of your thoughts.
Observe your thinking for a couple minutes without getting involved in your thoughts.
Just be the observer of them.
Notice the thoughts come and go.
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Now ask yourself, who is noticing the thoughts?
The usual response is — I am. I am noticing these thoughts. I am noticing the body and its sensations.
Ask yourself, what is this I that notices thoughts and sensations?
Don’t allow your mind to answer that question. Just ask, what is I or who am I?
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Simply be quiet and observe. “Feel” or “notice” the answer to that question rather than thinking it. The answer cannot be a thought or feeling because that is just another experience. The point is to see what is observing these experiences.
Once you ask — Who am I — try to remain still and silent for as long as you can and really feel into your own being. Feel the sense of presence or aliveness.
Allow yourself to JUST BE for a moment.
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The question — Who am I? — turns attention around 180 degrees and focuses it within to its source which is the Heart Center. This place is before thought or identity. It is pure simple being or presence and it is ALWAYS totally at peace and ALWAYS available if we can turn within.
This is the secret place which if you know how to access it can and will completely transform your life. It will remove all fear and despair and allow you to understand clearly what life is all about and what your place in it is.
This understanding is not intellectual but more intuitive, yet it inspires and informs the intellectual mind. It keeps the thinking mind grounded, peaceful and clear allowing you to live a much happier life. This type of understanding can guide you through any experience life throws at you and help you navigate it with ease and clarity.
The realization of this deeper Self is the whole point of the human journey and the birthright of every living being. It is waiting within you at your very core. All it asks is for your interest and consistent attention.
So basically, to find real peace and freedom all you must do is learn to quiet down a bit, be still and look within. Abide in that Heart Center and let its peace radiate into your life impacting all who encounter you.
This is a true service to humanity.
Colin has been a contemplative and practitioner of mindfulness and eastern spirituality for 35 years and holds an MA degree in psychology. His mission is to live authentically and joyfully and encourage others to help bring about an upleveling of consciousness to form the foundation of a more peaceful world.
Thank you Colin for sharing this simple yet profound reminder of how we can be at peace within. The practice of remembering this teaching is my life’s work so I appreciate hearing your translation of the path home to who we truly are. Thanks for passing this on, I look forward to more of your work.