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The Search for TRUTH by Michael A. Singer

The Search for TRUTH by Michael A. Singer

by Parker · 95 things on Twos

Chapter 1: Preparing for the search
What are we doing here? What is the purpose behind all of this?
India’s whole exploration for Truth was through the “internal method of research.”
No man can reveal to you aught but that which already lies half asleep in the dawning of your knowledge. The teacher who walks in the shadow of the temple, among his followers, gives not of his wisdom but rather of his faith and his lovingness. If he is indeed wise he does not bid you enter the house of his wisdom, but rather leads you to the threshold of your own mind.
Chapter 2: The Search Based Upon Psychology
Since the entire Universe is one interrelated system, everything is, to a greater or lesser extent, affected by everything else.
If we are our bodies, who, then, is doing the possessing? In essence, the question is, "When you look down at the flesh and blood below you, which is more accurate to say, 'This is me,' or This is my body?" Obviously, these two statements have vastly different meanings.
The type of question which is worthy of a great deal of inner searching is, "Am I my senses?" or "Am I the receiver of my senses?"
We can also ignore pain, smells, and tastes. All this is done by merely applying will power in order to direct our attention elsewhere. This certainly is not an ability available to one whose being is solely rooted in the physical body.
We are strongly affected by the body, by its comforts, discomforts, needs, wants, demands, etc. But as we saw earlier, just because we are affected by something, no matter how strongly, this does not necessarily mean that we are an identity to that object.
Man is not his body; rather, man has a body.
In a sense, the body is our pet, and if we train it well we can have a lifelong, happy relationship with it.
And there is perhaps nothing more ego-shattering than observing just how much this animal dictates our behavior and our moods during the course of each day. What it boils down to is that, due to its animalistic ten-dencies, the body would be an excellent servant, but it is a terrible master.
The ID is the representative of the physical body on the mental plane. He is concerned with the basic drives of food, clothing, shelter, and sex, as well as physical survival and territorial possession.
Whereas Freud defined SUPEREGO as the "ego ideal" —that form of behavior which would make us be what we think we should be—for the purposes of our analysis we shall define SUPEREGO as society's representative on the mental plane.
It is here that the seeds of guilt are planted. It is generally he who is judging our actions and our thoughts. For this reason we most naturally distinguish him from the "we" who are doing the actions and having the thoughts.
Furthermore, in this affluent society most of us listen only to EGO demanding things, since, in general, all of our basic needs are well satisfied.
If we bother to pay close attention to the "voice" over a considerable span of time, we will find that there are almost constantly thousands of demands being placed upon us by EGO. These demands are of two basic types: the first demands things which will satisfy what EGO wants for the body; and the second demands actions which will directly satisfy EGO, himself.
Yet, the truth of the matter is that some ninety-nine per cent of our thoughts are concerned with solely that one, infinitesimally small area of space which is taken up by our own bodies, thoughts, and emotions.
Setting: We are standing in front of a clothing store in the dead of winter and— ID: I'm freezing; I need a sweater. EGO: Boy, that's a pretty one. Mary will love me in that. SUPEREGO: You know you can't afford that. Be more practical. EGO: It's just as important to look nice as to be warm. If I'm going to get anywhere in this world, I have to impress others. ID: Boy, it's really cold. I'm going inside!
For example, when EGO is in a tight spot he can run to memory and/or intellect for a defense.
It takes a great deal of will power to say, "I don't know," for EGO is quite eager to answer as quickly and impressively as possible and has probably never before been challenged to do otherwise.
If EGO wishes to make himself feel good, instead of talking-up a "thought story" about how successful he will be (via the "voice"), he can show us a movie of his daydream. This also holds true for ID and SUPEREGO, as well as the messages sent from intellect and memory. We can relive a past experience via silent visualization, and this ability to hold complicated analytical models in our "mind's eye" can save the intellect a thousand words.
There are two means by which we— the Conscious Receiver-are made cognizant of thoughts: through the "voice," and through visualization. Almost all of the activities of the "voice" fit into five main groups: ID, EGO. SUPEREGO, Intellect, and Memory. Since intellect and memory are merely mental tools, we find that it is either ID,EGO, and SUPEREGO who is using the tools at a given moment.
If we can watch them interacting through the "voice," how can we be them? If we are able to step back and objectively observe a thing, then clearly we must be something other than that thing. Granted, it does take some practice in order to be able to remain totally unaffected by what ID and SUPEREGO are saying. But the fact that such a state can be achieved is sufficient evidence that something "higher" does exist.
Yet, an excellent opportunity for each one of us to see just how distinct from EGO we really are is to refuse to defend the EGO when he is demanding defense. Interestingly enough, when we do not allow EGO to express his defense outwardly, he usually continues to say inwardly all that would have been said had we permitted him to do so. But we can calmly sit back and observe EGO's whole melodrama, and each time we do this we are strengthening our supremacy over him.
For example, looking at ID we see a personality which is very animalistic in nature-blunt, demanding, innately aggressive, and directed mostly by a survival drive. SUPEREGO is a bit more refined, his specific traits vary in relation to the inputs which created him. In general, however, we can say that SUPEREGO is rather conservative and has a fixed value system which is very slow to change. Further, he is always judging behavior and thoughts in order to pass "verdicts" which yield either a sense of guilt or elation. But these two personalities are generally of minor significance compared to EGO. EGO is generally proud, jealous, defensive, competitive, selfish, insecure, lustful, and greedy, to name just a few. But above all, he is quite literally self-conscious, that is, conscious of self.
To begin with, we must see that emotions are another example of "things" which obviously exist, but do not exist in the realm of matter. We all feel emotions, and do so without the use of our five physical senses.
In fact, when the "voice" starts, the pure emotion often stops. Thus, we see that emotions themselves are in neither the physical nor the mental plane, though they can be affected by each. The actual emotion exists on a plane between the two, on a level which we shall call the emotional plane (also referred to as the astral plane).
The first step in our analysis of the emotional plane, and the most important one, is to realize that "You" are not your emotions.
The seven chakras are the crown of our head, on the brow, at the throat, over the heart, over the navel, over the sleep, and at the base of our spine. It is the part which these chakras play in sensing the messages from the emotional plane which causes us to "feel" certain emotions in different parts of the body.
But just as we can learn to ignore (turn-off) our physical senses and to control our thoughts, so, also, can we learn to regulate our emotional sense centers.
It is the relative strengths of ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO, combined with the corresponding emotional aspects, which compose our varying personalities.
The nature of our thoughts greatly influences our emotions at any given moment. Yet, it is also true that our emotions play a major role in determining our thoughts. For example, if something happens on the physical plane which causes fear, this emotion generally stimulates thoughts of fear on the mental plane. These thoughts of fear, in turn, become the primary stimuli for a continued emotion of fear, and so on. There is a perpetual interaction between the mental and emotional aspects of man, and it is for this reason that our description of the EGO also turns out to be our predominant emotional traits.
Thus, meditation is the art of withdrawing one's consciousness such that no messages are received from either the physical, astral (emotional), or mental planes.
The most important characteristic of the "Higher Self" is that of consciousness.
Thus, we conclude that the only manner in which the body is able to become conscious is when "You" become conscious of the body.
There is actually a trade-off occurring as to how much consciousness is distributed between the three planes at any given moment. But at this point in our analysis what is most important for us to note is that neither our emotions nor our thoughts intrinsically display the quality of consciousness. Rather, as was the case with the animal self, the psychical self's claim on consciousness is based solely upon the fact that we are in the habit of being conscious of him. Thus, we conclude that consciousness is the quality of the Spiritual Self alone, and awareness of all else in the physical, astral (emotional), and mental planes is done from this Center.
Stepping back for a moment, we have acknowledged that ID is the physical body's representative on the mental plane. That is, the actual elemental substances of the body have certain needs for their basic maintenance, and ID is responsible for making sure that we become conscious of these needs. Furthermore, we have said that SUPEREGO is society's representative on the mental plane, i.e., the aspect which holds our consciousness to the thought patterns which have been impressed upon us by the various social relationships throughout our lives. Now we are able to see that EGO is the direct result of the Spiritual Self (consciousness) being under the delusion of identification with the body, emotions, and thoughts. When consciousness, which has no specific limits, spends most of its time in awareness of the body, emotions, and thoughts, it begins to identify with them. The result is the concept of "I." Thus, the "I," which we all use so often, refers to the consciousness of one body, one set of emotions, and one matrix of thoughts. From this perspective it is not hard to understand how we come to find ourselves, by force of habit rather than by an act of will, in a fixed state of ego-consciousness.
For to totally remove consciousness from the mental plane means to abandon not only ID, EGO, and SUPEREGO, but also intellect and memory-and it becomes impossible to share a logical argument without the intellect to structure the chain of thought, or the memory to provide a frame of reference upon which to create and evaluate the basic premises. All that we can logically say at this point is that if the state of consciousness of something exists, then there must also be in our Universe the potential state of "pure consciousness," i.e., prior to identification with or attraction to anything else.
Likewise, consciousness can focus on a body (or on any other physical objects), on emotions, or on thoughts. From this we can conclude that there is such a thing as "consciousness" which remains the same regardless of what it is focused upon. And we can all enter into this state of pure consciousness, though it may involve a large amount of training. In this state, one is conscious only of one thing-being conscious. The words "I AM" have often been used to describe this state. The only alternative is, I AM NOT; and if you were not, there would not be any intuitive awareness of being. At this level of pure consciousness, one is not conscious of anything else in the Universe-just that I AM. This is the first step out of ego-consciousness (the psychical self) and into higher states of consciousness (the Spiritual Self). Thus, we again conclude that Spiritual Man is pure consciousness.
Chapter 3: The Search Based Upon Physics
Thus, stars, planets, soil, water, air, fire, earthworms, and elephants all have this one thing in common-they are all composed of atoms of one type or another which have bonded together to form very specific molecular patterns.
Prior to Relativity scientists had pictured the universe as a vessel containing two distinct elements, matter and energy-the former inert, tangible, and characterized by a property called mass, and the latter active, invisible, and without mass. But Einstein showed that mass and energy are equivalent: the property called mass is simply concentrated energy. In other words matter is energy and energy is matter, and the distinction is simply one of a temporary state.
Thus, for our purposes the entire physical Universe is the result of energy vibrating at different rates. The slower the vibration, the more gross the resultant matter; the higher the vibration, the more subtle (fine).
The astral plane is that range of energy vibrations which is above what is normally detectable by the five physical senses, but below the vibration rate of the mental plane. The objects in this plane with which we are most familiar are, of course, our emotions.
Furthermore, as in the physical plane, there is an entire spectrum of vibration rates within the astral plane. For example, earthly emotions like fear, insecurity, and jealousy are lower rates of vibration than the higher emotions of love and devotion.
Man's aura is a combination of both the astral and the mental energy vibrations. Just as man has a body on the physical plane made of energy vibrating at the rate which manifests as matter, so also does he have a body in both the astral and the mental planes. Man's "astral body" is composed of energy vibrating at the rate which becomes manifest on the astral plane (hereafter referred to as the "elemental sub-stance" of the astral plane) and is considerably larger than the physical body. Likewise, the "mental body" is structured from the elemental substance of the mental plane, and is larger than either of the other two. The astral and mental bodies are less stable and less defined than the physical body because of the finer quality (higher vibration) of the elemental substance of each plane, much in the same manner as steam released into the air is less defined and more pervasive than either water or ice.
The important principle here is that these thoughts remain with us for a period of time directly related to the amount of energy which we put into them. Thus, if we dwell upon a thought, we are building a more and more intense thought-form which soon becomes quite difficult to rid ourselves of.
A thought-form left unfed, however, will quickly dissipate due to a lack of the necessary energy to hold it together.
Man is not his personality ... his personality is nothing more than a collection of specific mental and emotional energy patterns (thought-forms) which, due to the effects of habit, have come to surround him.
Each man travels through space enclosed within a case of his own building, surrounded by a mass of the forms created by his habitual thoughts.
The complete model of man
Chapter 4: The Exploration of the Conscious, Subconscious, and Superconscious Minds
Thus, a habit is an energy flow pattern which has become so fixed that little or no additional conscious will power is required to carry out the action.
Each of us definitely does have control over the energy flowing within our bodies. Furthermore, the degree of this control is directly dependent upon how strongly and how consciously we use our will power. That is, a poorly developed will can lead to habit-run energy, while a strongly developed will can control more than we normally consider possible.
Thus, with proper training (and this is well accepted by medical science) we can learn to slow our heartbeat, lower our blood pressure, alter our breathing rate and so on.
It is what occurs in the conscious mind, and not what directly happens in the outside world, which determines the thoughts in the subconscious.
If we wish to do mental work which requires a great deal of energy, we do so by directing our consciousness onto the mental plane. The way in which we manage to center energy in the mind is by holding our consciousness there. Thus, we can conclude that consciousness and energy flow together.
Consciousness = Energy
In order for con-sistent, ordered direction of the energy to take place there must be a rudimentary intelligence present. For without deliberate, conscious direction we have only randomness. And randomness is, by defini-tion, non-ordered and non-consistent. So in order to have an orderly flow of energy which is present in all forms of life there also must be consciousness present.
Freud argued that there are three main types of dreams: (1) fulfillment of a consciously recognized wish, (2) undisguised fulfillment of a repressed wish, and (3) disguised fulfillment of a suppressed wish.
EGO also is present in the subconscious due to pure consciousness' false identification with a limited, finite body (i.e., the dream body).
It is this subconscious EGO which aids conscious EGO in its attempt to defend and maintain the self-concept.
When Conscious Energy is centered in the subconscious there are no distractions demanding some of our attention which is why we can focus on dreams for long periods of time.
The superconscious mind is that state of consciousness wherein we are fully identified with only our true nature-that of Pure Conscious Energy.
Turning to Yogic science, we are taught that prana (life-en-ergy) enters the astral body through the sixth chakra, a point corresponding to the area of the brain which medical science labels the medulla oblongata.* The energy is then distributed down the spine, through the chakra system, by way of two tubes at the astral level which in Yogic literature are called the ida nadis and the pingala nadis. It is from this infinite source of life-energy that much of our own energy is made available for expenditure. However, this great potential for energy which is open to us is rarely used. The reason for this minimal use concerns the intricate workings of the chakra system.
To begin with, we have seen that the chakras are not only channels for prana (the life-force), but also are our means of receiving emotional stimulation formed on the astral plane. Because of this dual role, when we are shrouded in a mass of emotions caused by body and ego-generated desires, these chakras become blocked and energy is unable to flow freely past them. They become like a one-way door-energy can flow down the spine, but not back up. The greater the emotional blockages of these chakras, the less energy will be available to us from this higher source.
Chapter 5: Sleep, the Yogic State of Samadhi, and Death
The relation between location of conscious energy and activity of basic bodily functions
The ultimate goal of Yoga, as one might imagine, is to withdraw Conscious Energy out of the body, conscious and subconscious minds (the water in the branch), and to reunite it with the Infinite Source of Conscious Energy from which it flows (the River).
Chapter 6: The Search Based Upon Religious Teachings
His questions on life's meaning naturally lead him to the religious teachings. He becomes aware that others (like Buddha) have trod this path before and have managed to attain Realization. Their teachings are the tracks which give definite evidence to that which he feels inwardly-that there is more. He is taught that the entire world around him is just different manifestations of the same Energy.
He must learn to concentrate deeply, since only through concentration can he direct and focus the Energy within. Again we are told that Energy is everything—It is that which is.
Training the mind is most difficult. It helps to realize that even thoughts are just Energy, the same as is all else. But he must break his identification and emotional ties with them if he is to view them objectively. The important point here is that the lower self can be trained.
Once the lower self is brought under control, consciousness is centered in the Spiritual Self, and a state of profound tranquility exists. Always remembering that all is the same Energy, concepts such as gain and loss lose their significance. He is free of the constant demands of the senses, be they physical, emotional, or mental.
In the Truth (Dharma) all is of the same non-unique Energy. The perspective of a Higher Self observing a lower self (the Ox) has helped him to come this far; but it, too, is an illusion. This duality is no longer needed-Energy is observing Energy, and, thus, no observation is necessary.
He goes forth to spread the Truth. His life now serves as "footprints" for others who are seeking knowledge.
The teachings of Buddhism are centered around man attaining Universal Consciousness. This is the state which Buddhists call "Nirvana." Despite the fact that Buddhism is often labeled "atheis-tic," it is this union with the one underlying Source which other religions choose to call "God-Consciousness."
The Eastern doctrines (like the Vedas of India) teach the Beginning. that all of Creation is based upon different manifestations of a single vibration. And that this vibration is the Holy Word-Aum (Om).* Furthermore, the yogi is taught to meditate upon this sound until he comes into tune with, and literally melts into oneness with, the vibration. In this manner he enters Universal Consciousness because he has become one with that vibration which is behind everything.
Turning to the Bible we find many passages which clearly suggest that Jesus and his disciples were aware of this holy vibration, of how to contact it, and of its significance in Creation. It is referred to symbolically as "the Word" (the voice of God), and in Christian literature it carries the physical pronunciation of Amen.†
The light of the body is the eye: therefore when thine eye is single, thy whole body also is full of light; but when thine eye is evil, thy body also is full of darkness. Take heed therefore that the light which is in thee be not darkness. [St. Luke 11:34-35]
For if it is true that the Cosmos extends outward indefinitely, then the findings of Western physics necessitate that Energy be considered Infinite. And it follows that Energy is also Eternal-Energy was, in the beginning, before all else was created; Energy will be, in the end, after all else falls away-FOR ENERGY CAN NEITHER BE CREATED NOR DESTROYED.*
Chapter 7: Applying the Results
It is the combination of each individual's externalized, desire-directed energy flow which is responsible for all aspects of a society.
Man now attempts to gain security, peace, love, and inner contentment by serving EGO. And since stimulations of EGO are a matter of interpersonal comparison (whereas satisfying animal man is more of an individual activity), this naturally calls for a more socialized existence. We are all quite familiar with the modes of stimulating EGO, since this is, in general, the drive behind most of our actions. But, alas, man slowly finds that perma-nent, absolute gratification is not to be found via psychical man, either. The positive stimulations of pride, self-accomplishment, and security (usually through the accumulation of material objects) are all temporary-they always pass away. Like the physical senses, each time that we satisfy EGO it subsequently takes larger and larger stimulations to please him.
When we seek our gratification in the terms of another man's eyes, there is no such thing as the absolute feeling of, "Whew, I finally made it! Now I don't have to worry anymore." It is all relative and temporary. Our natural drives for love, inner peace, contentment, and freedom cannot find a satisfactory fulfillment via an energy flow through EGO, because EGO can never be permanently satisfied.
Since it is the free passage of this energy flow through the body and mind which creates the sensations which we normally call bliss, love, inner peace and contentment, as well as more highly developed states of intelligence, then the most desire-satisfying thing that a man can do is to keep the flow going. In this light, "work" (i.e., the expenditure of energy) takes on a whole new meaning. We learn to work for work's sake, not for the fruits of our labor. This is because in the very act of working we are expressing our inner flow, and, therefore, getting higher.
Work is love made visible. And if you cannot work with love but only with distaste, it is better that you should leave your work and sit at the gate of the temple and take alms of those who work with joy. For if you bake bread with indifference, you bake a bitter bread that feeds but half of man's hunger. And if you grudge the crushing of the grapes, your grudge distills a poison in the wine. And if you sing though as angels, and love not the singing, you muffle man's ears to the voices of the day and the voices of the night.*
When a man finally realizes that he is not his body, emotions, or thoughts, he also comes to see that he was not consciously responsible for such things as how well the bodily tool functions, or how good the intellect and memory are, or what particular background he comes from (rich, poor, educated, uneducated), and so on. From a purely Higher Self point of view we come to realize that our present "means" (our ability to work and to earn) and our current "needs" (our requirements for bodily and mental health) have relatively little to do with anything that we ourselves actually did, either past or present. Thus, a person who finds himself with a body that always gets sick, and who comes from a family which neither had the means nor the motivation to send him to college, has the perfect right to stand up and scream, "What did I do to deserve this?" In contrast, a person born with a shapely body and a beautiful voice generally will find herself on the top of the world. Yet, upon reflection, she may ask herself, "What did I do to deserve this?" As we come to see things as they really are (instead of falsely identifying with body, emotions, and mind), we learn that the only truly equitable manner of providing for the needs of lower self is "from each according to his means, and to each according to his needs." This is because, as shown above, the current state of both our means and our needs have relatively little to do with any conscious decisions of our own.*
We have shown that the astral (emotional) body of an object is like an aura which vibrates around the physical form. These higher rates of energy vibration vary from person to person and depict our emotional state at any given moment. The receptivity to human thought which the experimental plants displayed is really due to man's astral body vibrating in accordance to his thought of "friend or foe." This vibration is then passed on to the plant's aura by altering its rate of vibration. And the same thing happens between plant and shrimp. Thus, just as we can get "bad vibes" from people, plants and animals can also get "bad vibes" from us.**
In order to understand the WHY of Creation, each of us must first bring his life into tune with Truth. For we can come to fully know Truth only by becoming Truth-by dispelling all ignorance and fear and living in Truth every moment of every day.
The first key to Truth: the senses are a trick—they create an illusion.
And it is not just the "optical atoms" which have this effect. The only thing which renders to us the sharp distinction between "our bodies" and "not our bodies" is the particular pattern of the "tactual atoms," i.e., that system of atoms which yields the sense of touch. So "we," the conscious receiver of the sense messages, by having identified with them, become subject to their trickery. If we would really live in Truth, we must use our minds to continuously remind ourselves of that which scientific research has revealed. Instead of becoming attached to the specific forms which the atoms have taken, and then nurturing desires for them, we must Remember The Truth. For if we have a craving for what we see through a telescope, we will continue to look through the eyepiece. However, once we free ourselves from these desires by fully realizing their illusionary nature, we are free to walk away from the "eyepiece" and directly experience our own true nature. Scientific knowledge has clearly marked the Path before us. It is the same Path sought by wise men of all times. It is ...The Search For Truth