Authentic Freedom is defined by the degree to which one has Transcended the demands of their own cravings and aversions- which are the fundamental elements of the self. Perhaps the greatest of human dangers lies in the reactive mistranslation of wish fulfillment and permissiveness as Freedom. What follows from its forms is the crowning of narcissism- whether subtle or overt- as Ideal. Thereafter, a self-perpetuating loop is set moving which cocoons Perspective from the Clarity of Truth.
The Transcendence of Self, i.e. ‘Emptying one’s cup’, is essential as the Prelude to Grace. This is accomplished through Great Effort. But Effort can only take us to a certain Point before it folds back upon itself and its momentum then turns into a new cycle of self-perpetuation. Grace meets us at the Point of Emptiness.
 
The addictive power of self-validation, belief, and rationalization can operate without obvious limits. If, perhaps, people would simply factor in the intrinsic uncertainty of things through applying probabilistic and relativistic limits to their analyses, one would not be intellectually crippled by clinging to a particular ‘data set’ or ‘paradigm’, and spending the bulk of their energy in the process of recovery from this tendency.
The modern mode of thinking is soiled with a stain of excessive specialization- something which trickles down from academia, and is particularly prevalent in the ‘hard sciences’. This generally leads to each specialty and sub-specialty being cocooned within its own context of lingo, conceptual framework, and perspectival pre-suppositions (which is a product of the habituated reaction of absolutization which results from the fundamental existential illness of fear of uncertainty, which is itself a reaction to the Essential Transience which marks manifest existence). Originally this specialization resulted naturally from the fact that knowledge was, and is, increasing at such a tremendous rate and to such an unwieldy breadth that its range would otherwise be unmanageable. But specialization has become dissociation. What was intimately related has become an alienated patchwork of fractures and fragments, which has led to a forgetting of and incapacity for the most important skill in the Discovery and Revelation of Truth: the Integration of the Value of the parts into the Comprehension and Coordination of the Whole.What is particularly interesting is the suggestion that the Universe- and thus, in natural macrocosmic-microcosmic relation, the hierarchy of manifest existence- is not a singular, linear happening of space-time, but is something which Breathes, in a cycle (a spiral, really, as each successive cycle is likely an evolutionary improvement over the previous).If we look to the Great Wisdom Traditions, we find a very similar teaching, derived from systems all over the world, ‘separated’ by time and space and language though they were: That the Developmental Movement of Life and Culture has occurred in a series of regular cycles within cycles- whose Transitions are punctuated and catalyzed by remarkable events.Every Inhale, a Birth; Every Exhale, a Death- and then again, Birth.We can See this Breathing everywhere in Mind and Nature. Everything that Breathes, Lives.(This is also why in Meditation such focus and emphasis is placed upon the Breath: Because, in its Essence, it is the Tonal Center of the Song of All Existent Things).And if Creation Itself Breathes, then It also Lives.All of this puts the lie to the fundamental premises of material-reductionism:That the Universe is an ‘accident’; that life is a result of randomness; that there is no reality but that which is material and physical; and that Consciousness is an epiphenomenal development whose importance or significance is only secondary, i.e. something to be reduced or factored out of the context of investigation and explanation.In Actual fact, the Universe is Alive with Purpose; there is Causal Intention within the Enduring Origin of Life; Consciousness is both Essential and the Crowning Achievement of the Momentum of History; and the materio-physical range of forms manifest in order to Facilitate Its Presence, Movement, and Design.
Zen is the Practice which Reaches nearest to the Essence because it Simply peels off all of the layers of aesthetic and activity until there remains nothing but Emptiness.Of course, this is not to say that other practices are less valuable. It is simply that Zen is an Opportunity to take the ‘express train’ to Liberation before going back and visiting all of those places which we passed along the Way- and to Now do so with the Pure Mind as our Vehicle. Once this Mind is Established, the Purity Pours into all Activity and Experience- there is nothing which is not a Gateway Now to the Essence.
 
The Movement Comes before the Change.
Inseminate Being, be Pregnant in your Soul, and wait Receptively for the Real to be Born.
 
Without sufficient Rooting, any solution will be but a husk, a hollow facade, and will topple from its own weight. Authentic Transformation calls out its Demand for a Foundation in Consciousness.There is no hopeful or meaningful solution but that which is, first and foremost, Interiorly Founded. The diagnosis, the etiology, and the treatment are- and can only be- Discovered Within.All else is but a husk.
Life is the Tool which we use to Explore the Shape and Design of the Field of Truth and Consciousness. The Quality and Motivation with which we Live must be primarily governed by the Deep Impulse for Awakening Catalysts.
The Magic of Life seems to be that everything- even falling- can Become an Integral Aspect of Its Art and Purpose.
The stated or implied objective in such a large portion of the domain of modern ‘spirituality’ seems to be self-eradication- or, ‘getting rid of the self/ego’. Impossible!Such an objective was never the motivation of the Teaching.Self-Transcendence is another matter entirely.One needn’t waste their energy on eradicating the ineradicable if they Recognize that in Identifying as Witness, all self-senses can be Free in their Activity within the Essential Space, and Come to Liberated Governance with the Natural Flow of Intrinsic Momentum- This is the Non-dual Point.
The investments of attentional and motivational energies determines so very much in the matter of what is and what becomes. So many of the incomplete, partial, or flawed executions of action are so as a result of a failure to address Life and Experience at this basic level of Being.But more fundamental still is the Point At Which One Is- yet to such an alarming extent bounded and obscured by a Membrane of Forgetting which, if not addressed,  if not Awakened, will keep an individual in a Persistent and Unbreachable State of Slumber that nothing else can cure.
There are two types of Spiritual Pathology: Perceptual Fixation and Unruly Mentation.
We must be cautious that in our search for satisfaction among the fields of the world- things, ideas, knowledge, relationships- we do not forget that the primary purpose of Experience is to be a Theater in which we Explore the Domain of Values; and Life, a Reflecting Glass in which we Examine Ourselves.
This is where the Paradox which is the Gateway Begins (and Ends):As Witness, absolute separateness in Observation;As Experience, absolute identity in Unbounded Revelation.The Doorway of the Senses and the Activity of Thought Suddenly Dissolves into the Quality of the Meeting Place- except, nothing is ‘meeting’, and there is no ‘place’.
Somehow, It All Still Shines- the Marvelous Mystery.
Art, Virtue, and Nature are the Primary Expressions of Quality through Mind. It is By and Through these Conduits that Creation Originates in Being and Purpose is Born as the Soul- which are the Factors of Life. Therefore, they are Linked as siblings- or better, as Microcosm and Macrocosm. It therefore makes sense for us to always use Nature as our nearest Referent and Guide in the Execution and Formation of the Artifacts of Self-Awareness. There is nothing Within Mind and Life which cannot find its Counterpart in Nature.
Insanity is best defined as a condition of Being in which a significant portion of Reality is denied.Observe your mind; Observe the world- Is it not clear that insanity is pandemic? If not, beware- you have just been diagnosed.
The Original State of Spirit is Perfect Buoyancy.Hope, Peace, and Liberty Arise as a Natural Product of This Full Realization; thus bringing into Definition the Essence of Ever-Present Being. One need only Enlighten the obstructive elements, and Consciousness Spontaneously Awakens Of Its Own.
 
The Quality of exterior actions- of whatever type, and at any level of Being- is entirely dependent upon the Establishment of Interior Transformation. To Value this Work and to Seek to Effort it Forth is not only Essential, but an indication of the Manifest Presence of Virtue.The fact that the Principle is so frequently, chronically, and strenuously neglected (expressed in the habituated practices of repression and projection, for instance) generates our tragedy, and may make the Work appear unrealistic or impractical. But that is only an appearance- one from which it is most urgent that we Awaken.Nothing is more real than Reality; Nothing is more practical than the Practice of the Way.
The Emergence of Authentic Quality is facilitated through the Actualization of Simplicity. (Simplicity is the Mid-Wife of the Actualization of Quality.)Kindness, Creativity, Transformation- these are Natural Processes which happen and increase of their own Momentum.When the obstructive elements are Transcended, the Light Shines Alone.
Judgement is an Essential Function of Mind and Life. Without it, the Discernment of Value and Quality of Choice cannot exist. It is not judgement that is problematic. It is the clinging to an insufficient perspective of judgement which inhibits the Transcendence of established limitations.
We are at an extremely critical Juncture. We cannot restrict ourselves simply to questions of momentum (Addiction to momentum is quite common in these times- even pandemic. Its motivational source resides within the agitated ‘need’ to avoid one’s own Interior Work)- or even just questions of direction. We must focus our energy of Consciousness upon the most important distinction of all: That between Appearance and Reality; Imagery and Authenticity. A classical dualistic perspectival position where through one is limited to a 2-dimensional oppositional paradigm will only wind up working in the favor of those who exercise, execute, and perpetuate power from a 3rd-dimensional position- while we are expending our effort to fight for what we believe to be the ‘good side’ (e.g. the overthrow of the pathogenic system), we will fail to recognize that its overthrow is precisely what those in power want because its use has been exhausted for them. They wish a transition - while we are in rapture that a change is happening, we direct our energy away from recognizing the new and greater pathology that is being established under our noses- and our energy and effort will be used to make it so. That is how they attain victory: Not through their own efforts, but through the manipulation of our own momentum.The only antidote is the two-fold Method of Truth: Profound Self-Awareness and Subtlety of Discernment- coupled with the Practice of Non-Participation (i.e. unplugging from the paradigm).This is the only Process which can erect a Foundation sufficient to make Authentic Transformation possible.
Logic is not an ideal method for the Exploration of the Domain of Spirit- since, essentially, the Complexion of Spirit is Non-dual, logic will always run up against the boundary posts of Paradox in the effort. The Ideal Method is a Practice where through one Explores Consciousness to the Point of Identification with and As Its Intrinsic Wholeness- which is Actually and Essentially synonymous with the Totality indicated by the limited, but commonly-used and long-enduring, term ‘God’. We may use the method of logic because, though it is inevitably limited and unable to comprehend and resolve the matter of ‘God’, it is a powerful tool, and a helpful ‘finger’ with which we may point toward the ‘moon’.If, for instance, we must make a journey, but only half of it may be traversed by automobile, we might as well use it for that portion of the venture, and as long as we fully and mindfully recognize its limitations, it can be a help rather than a hinderance.Things become problematic not because they are intrinsically so, but because they are used improperly, or carried outside of the bounds of their applicability- then, what is meant to be of value, becomes a burden or a hinderance.But with Mindfulness and Discernment, all of the ‘fingers’ in the quiver of human capacity can be employed to the Effort of Truth-in-Revelation.
Neither Wisdom nor Compassion is to be measured by weight, but by Quality, Value, and Virtue. Responsibility is only a burden (in the sense of something oppressive and/or worrisome) when it is either inappropriately applied (or misdirected), or when the perception of the ‘receiver’ is insufficiently focused upon Value.Sometimes what feels burdensome is a Blessing in disguise- that is, the weight is just a rind that once removed reveals something Enlightening. Sometimes a burden results from another’s externalization- or projection- of Responsibility.But both kinds of burden can be Turned to some portion of Value, as long as the Discernment and Discrimination is properly Tuned to the Distillation of its Essence. 
Simplicity is the Heart of Truth. Tune to Its Frequency, and All Else Falls Into Place.Simplicity is the Center of Quality; Truth, its Essence; and Experience, the Contact of its Complexion.
Transition is an Edge which must be Traversed in order to meet our Purpose; in order to Meet Ourselves. 
 

By far, the Deepest, and most Important- yet, most commonly neglected- of our Concerns has to do with the aspects of ourselves which produce an identification with the modes of psychic and existential dependence (e.g. suppression-repression-projection), which reactively inhibit the Establishment of the Wholistic Self and bar Radical Connection to the Spirit of Consciousness.
To the degree that one Integrates and Transcends the Self-alienating factors of Spiritual Limitation, the Energy of the Soul is Liberated. Then the Terrain of Being is such that the Momentum of Authenticity Moves Freely Toward the Greater Point of Conscious Evolution.This Work Conducts the Perception in the Interior Direction as it Opens the Heart to the Ceaseless Pursuit of Meaning and the Growth and Unity of Quality, Value, and Virtue as these Elements are Embodied and Represented Within the Being of One.
To Enter the Stream of Awakening is to Become the Spirit of Enlightenment. To So Enter the Essence of Being, one must first Cease to Struggle against the Transforming Current which Stirs the Transcendent Revolution of the Self.There is a Submission beyond the Will of Letting Go- the Mystery will find you There.

Paradox is the Gateway to Reality;

the Presence of Awareness Radiates

Awakening Liberation; 

Grace meets us at the Point of Emptiness.

Be Still in Awe; then I Am.

May we all Gracefully Savor the Stories of Ourselves, without becoming entangled in their threads. May we all Bathe in the Light, without being blinded by Its Radiance. In Surrender to Grace, and Grace Alone, is This Awakened Liberation possible; Only through Arduous Practice may we be Readied and Emptied for the Presence of Grace. Between these Pillars of Paradox we must Pass, to Discover the One Life, Oceanic, of Bliss and Mystery Unbound.

Our affection may be selective, and its degree may be preferential, but our Compassion must be Universal. Otherwise, the cycle of self-perpetual alienation persists, through which all suffering is cultivated.

The Veils between people of the world and the Truths of Existence are so many, leading to a way of living produced by the perception of the ‘Great Field of Experience’ as an opaque and distorting wasteland whose basic impression is founded upon a deep-set feeling of emptiness where the Substance and Soul of the quality and warmth of Virtue should be.

When these veils begin to be Lifted through Insightful Dedication and Transcendent Effort, one can readily see that what appeared to be a reality defined by a thickly-tangled, chaotic assemblage of complexities, is actually a landscape of Ubiquitous Events of Grace and Opportunities for Hope.

The Key to the Transition resides in a Condition of Liberated Inquiry whose Fundamental Set of Questions are exceptionally simple in their Design (though also Blissfully Absorbing and Wholly Involving as Living Processes of Investigation and Discovery): ‘Who am I?’, ‘What is the Essence of things?’, ‘How do the ‘Two’ relate?’ Those three questions sustain the Spirit of a Lifetime.

Belief is a natural beginning- It is the seed-state of functional Being. But if we fail to Found ourselves in the Roots of the Real, in the Ground of Consciousness, belief (in whatever form it is invested) becomes a substitute (i.e. a false idol) for Open Contact with Experience, the Gateway to Liberating Grace.

The Original Intimacy of Open Contact depends upon our Letting Go of the chronic attachment to self-symbolization. Without this, one is unable to bear the Profound Tracelessness of Actuality, and the Transience Fundamental to Existence. In reaction, the reflex of belief, as contracted self-containment, is constructed as a self-reinforcing cocoon which, though ultimately illusory, protects the false (i.e. artificially limited) sense of identity from the Blinding Light of its own Holy Eradication.

Suchness is the Womb out of which we are meant to Be Born as nothing more or less than we Constantly Are: 

An Eternal Flower grown through the soil of a grand illusion.

The Flower governs its movement in relation to the position of the Sun,

and Accepts the Fullness of Its Light Freely.

So also must we exercise Discernment and Discrimination in our Movement,

while practicing Openness and Liberty in Grace.

The Light of Consciousness Itself, the Way in which It Falls, and That which It Reveals are All of One Blessed Activity. The apparent separateness between the Phases derives from the holding of the self-image and its correlative investments. While the divisions are seemingly concrete, they are ultimately as illusory as the distinction between the states of ice, water, and vapor.

Miracles and Wonders are Ubiquitous at the Meeting Place ‘where’ Time, Space, and Consciousness collide- they comprise its very Atmosphere. This is the Place from which Life Emanates. It Is the Only Ground in which a Being should Take Root, and the Only Substance of which the Bond of Grace may be Made. May you Be So Born of both ‘Water and Spirit’.

Know you not that you are dreaming; Know you not that you live in sleep? Wake, Wake!- Being the Way is the Whole of the Way. So Let the Flow and Flood of Life to Its Loose; Let the Soul to Its Fire in Awakening- the Liberation of Light follows the Fulfillment of the Flame.

To Find

Is to Cease to Hide:

Look! See! Apprehend!

The Blossom, It Shines!-

All In Perfect Awareness;

Divine.

When the dream of self-nature dissolves, Existence Experiences Itself in Peace, and the Mystery Comes to Abide Alone.

Our Greatest Responsibility is derived from the Direction in which we aim our energy and Awareness. It is the Quality of Devotion, above all, which Measures and Certifies Depth and Fulfillment of Purpose in Life.

The Ideal Aim sets itself at the Meeting Place between Self-Awareness and Truth; the Central Purpose, the Marriage of Authenticity and Essence. Thus, In This Way, Being and Existence Arise in the Space of No-Boundary- the only Womb from which Freedom and Peace may be Born.

Endurance of suffering refines character; Transcendence of suffering authenticates the Quality of Awareness. Excellence is to master the distillation of value from experience, its assimilation into Being, and its dedication and direction to the Momentum of the Path.

The Meaning of Life is, quite simply, to Live the Question, ‘What Is the Meaning of Life?’, to Embody the Response to Its Call. And in the Course of It, to Become so Filled, to Overflowing, with the Love of Wisdom, the Presence of Virtue, and the Momentum of the Search that one’s personal existence Dissolves into the Radiant Perpetuity of Grace.

The ultimate purpose of searching is to realize that you are always already where you are- neither Salvation nor Freedom can be found elsewhere, for the Source and Summation Live Within and Beyond the self with which searching is conducted.

Even still, explore! Vistas exist for the purpose of Exploration- as do we: To be in a state of Mutual Transformation with Experience; to be Perfectly Intimate with Suchness; As there Is no Other.

This Light of Blissful Intention operates as its own Reference. There is no locality to This: All is Whispering Omnipresence in Motion.

Consciousness-in-Essence Embraces and Transcends the Substance of Limitation. Thus, All Limitation comes to Perfection in and of Itself. 

Only from the Perspective of Suchness, of Holy Emptiness, may the Clear Mind Emerge- That Which Exists Beyond all power to veil and obscure.

The Way of Spiritual Health and Ideal Well-Being cannot be fulfilled merely through fighting infectious agents (for corruption feeds off of the fight, and perishes only by lack of participation), but only by ceasing investment in the factors of illness and the development of the Natural Immunity can the Life of Liberation be Made Manifest.

One’s Quality and Condition of Wholistic Immunity determines whether and to what degree antagonists can be fashioned into the Morning Pearls of Awakening- until, in the Ultimate, All that Enters the Atmosphere of Experience is Made Whole, Pure, and Perfect within the Enlightened Heart, by the Holy Touch of Grace.

The most important function of a Form is to Manifest the factors of its own Transcendence.

Stasis is impossible; consequences, unavoidable; revelation, inevitable….The Truth makes itself known to everyone. The Question Is- What Is Real in This Life? Never confuse the Answer with the Solution.

It is only through facing the things-which-we-cannot-bear and recognizing the things-which-we-cannot-see that we grow our capacity for assimilating experience, and thus, simultaneously, increase the Depth of our Being and our Quality of Life.

Seek after the Peace and Fulfillment beyond dependence upon object-and-experience. Such is the Only that can Endure.

Essence is ‘Mind-Nature’ Unveiled;

Being is Mind-and-Nature Moving Through;

Consciousness is the Presence of Existence~

Self-Awareness is the Only Liberation.

The proofs and evidences for the Reality of the ‘Divine Referent’ (most commonly called ‘God’) are three:

 1.) The Existence and Experience of Consciousness (the Miracle of Awareness); 

 2.) The Universal Movement toward Ideal (the Transcendent Flow of Life); and,

 3.) The Pervasive Thirst for Absolute (the Mystery of Grace).

However, just as the presence of a shadow implies the existence and shape of a Form, as well as the Light that causes Its cast, the shadow itself is identical with neither.

So also, the interpretations, symbols, and representations of the Divine (Absolute), while valuable, can only fail to encompass Its Essence and Entirety.

We can either lose our chronic dependence upon the ‘symbols of our selves’, or lose our Connection to the True. Either way produces a kind of death. Only the first death leads to Life, while the later form can only promise the struggle and pervasive incompleteness of mere survival.

The Greatest Blessing of our Existence is that the Choice is always available to us- but we Ourselves must Make It.

That is where it all Begins; We cannot Be Born otherwise.

In order to successfully Travel the Path of Truth, we must first Cease the chase for illusions.

When we Arrive at a Sense of our own Emptiness, there are three possible responses: Cover it over, struggle to fill it, or Realize the Reality of Its Essential Nature.

Only One of those responses Manifests Liberation- the others always lead away.

Ultimately, there is no way to be Authentically Established without first being Uprooted.

Self-Transformative Awakening- and thus Life- is inevitably traumatic (and the more significant the Movement, the more jarring it is), it is the Way that we Heal which makes the Critical Difference.

This is the Meaning of Life and the Purpose of Existence.

Search for No Other.

To sin is to separate and depart from the Objective. To Live is to Pursue the Perfection of Aim.

No matter how well we may think we understand, no matter how clearly we think we see, or how profoundly we believe- we do not truly Know until Experience is absorbed Deep within the Marrow of our very Existence, Founded within the very Heart of This Body Universal-

Be Awake, and Be At Peace.

One can survive without Love; but one cannot Live without It.

Water and air are necessary for survival, but Love is the Essential Quality defining the presence of Life.

Love and Consciousness are the Inhalation and Exhalation of the Process of Existence:

Breathe Deep, Breathe True, Breathe Always-

And never fear to Be That,

for Nothing Remains to fear.

The cup is made Empty through Self-Transformative Practice- This is the Awakening of Enlightenment. The cup is made Full and Complete through the Divine Gift of Grace- This is the Liberation of Salvation. Thus is the Sphere of Life made Whole. Such is the Essence of the Way of Transcendental Wisdom and the Path of Spiritual Being and Becoming.

The Posture of Meditation, The Eye of Contemplation, and the Pure Mind of Silent Awareness all compose the Holy Center around which this Sphere of Life Turns, and the Atmosphere of Perfection within which It Moves.

Our Character only truly begins to mature at the moment when we fully accept the Sense of Mystery, and release our Life into its Grace; only when we finally accept the Truth of ‘Not-Knowing’ as the Essential Nature of Being, rather than as a condition that is in need of ‘cure’, is our Experience made Consummate. Only then do we Cease to interfere with the Intrinsic Perfection of Ourselves.

Faith is the Spark, Thought is the Flame, Spirit is the Light- and Love, the Warmth which Radiates from them All. These are Father, and Mother, and Sister, and Brother to one another. The enduring conflicts and disharmonies between them are merely family disputes which are destined to be Mended; to be Wedded in the Heart, Mind, and Soul of the One Who Comes Awakened to Life.

We are bubbles in the foam on the crest of the Wave; patterns of spiraling Quality in the flow of the Great Stream, sailing along the edge of Transience, dancing on the boundary of the Wandering Dream, struggling to transcend the self-contraction to become the Light, Perfection, and Motion.

Sometimes we stumble; sometimes we fall, but inevitably and eventually we get back on our feet and begin the Walk once again, because deep in our Heart we know that life is only to truly be found in the act of Traveling; in opening one’s eyes to new vistas and opening one’s heart until its boundaries exceed the breadth of the world.

Our purpose only unfolds in proportion to the degree to which we allow ourselves to be altered by that and those in whose company we are Blessed to be- Even if only for a time.

All things pass- we should love and love fully while we are able.

Faith is the Spark, Thought is the Flame, Spirit is the Light- and Love, the Warmth which Radiates from them All. These are Father, and Mother, and Sister, and Brother to one another. The enduring conflicts and disharmonies between them are merely family disputes which are destined to be Mended; to be Wedded in the Heart, Mind, and Soul of the One Who Comes Awakened to Life.