x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

x

copyright 2000
jan cox

October 6, 2000. I write to you this Friday from a chalet on Lake Geneva about an hour’s drive from Lausanne. It is the heart of the skiing season, and the slopes are covered with hunters taking advantage of the plentiful game. A popular local topic is the UFO sightings said to be common to the area, which invites me to approach that certain matter I report on herein from yet another angle. Few people who consider themselves already involved in an effort to,"Awaken", or, "achieve Enlightenment", (or whatever terminology is used by the system they follow), are interested in hearing their goal dissected and described in a straightforward manner as it relates to thought, which indeed is its essence and entirety. And I entirely understand their reluctance and apparent disinterest. People with our interest in this particular matter, (I say, "our" interest in that I assume only those with it would be reading these words, for they are obviously not written for the general public), people with that innate interest in this ingenious affair, upon discovering its existence, usually feel immediately aligned with whatever was the source of their discovery. When your time is right, if you first read about, "Waking up from a state of sleep into one of greater consciousness" in a book about, (let us say), The XYZ Mystical School, then in all likelihood you will feel an instantaneous connection-to, and extraordinary affection-for that system. And whatever may be the main method they teach to achieve "awakening", it will probably strike you without question as being the obvious, and only proper one. There is nothing at all questionable going on inasmuch as you would expect any person to feel an immediate closeness, and appreciation bordering on devotion, for someone who had just saved them from drowning, or had rescued them from being lost in the woods. This is exactly how the few with that certain hunger feel when, after years of not being able to describe to family, priest, rabbi, professor, or anyone else, a certain incessant longing in their mind, finally one day, accidentally -- miraculously, (it often seems), while thumbing a through a book, suddenly -- BAM! -- there it all is. All laid out in words that instantly speak to your, up-‘til-now, unidentified longing. You almost explode with joy at having finally discovered the name and the cause of your peculiar dissatisfaction. You excitedly read such words as: "Although man believes that he is fully awake and conscious, he is not -- and in fact lives his life in a state of semi-sleep and in a world of dreams. But through certain efforts he can awaken and live a more conscious and satisfying life." For some, it is as though their REAL life at that instant, began. Now the question is simple: "How do I get myself out of this, dull and annoying state of sleeping consciousness and make myself, ‘Wake up’?!" And let us say that the XYZ School employs a method they call, "Vigilance." They teach that to ever "awaken" a man must mentally be, eternally – "Vigilant". And the method – even its name -- seems to you, unquestionably the one and only proper way to ever reach your goal. How could it be otherwise?! No one could ever find a way to get started in this activity without they first find a "School, System, or Teaching" which appears to suitably describe to them their own personal condition, and which offers some method, or discipline for achieving the ultimate goal. How could it be otherwise?! How could the circumstances be more appropriate?! But the fact that few who become involved in this sort of activity ever come to realize is that no system, teaching, method or other person can "awaken" you, and that pursuing such a course past a certain point becomes counterproductive. No harm befalls those who never see this, (any more than any harm was befalling them before they ever discovered that they were "asleep"), for failing to do so simply marks the degree of their hunger for the full truth-of-things. But looking back at the matter from a view farther up the road, I say to you that past a certain place in all of this, the continued, non-understood pursuit of a method-to-awaken will itself, keep you asleep. I know that to the thoughts of a person sincerely trying to awaken, these words are extremely annoying if not downright offensive, (which in itself should be a hint to an alert man), for the thoughts that initially led a man into this kind of activity, and make no mistake, it was thoughts alone that was behind your longing and metaphysical hunger; the gods did not direct you to this; there is no "spiritual destiny" that brought you here; the stars did no dictate that you be here -- nothing but certain conscious thoughts in your brain were responsible for your interest in this, and nothing but them can gain from it, and throughout all of your activity herein, from beginning to end, it is nothing but thoughts. And this is what few of those who seek awakening ever realize, and are not in fact, much able to tolerate even hearing about. (But on to the UFO’s, in case you thought I had forgotten). The debate over the existence of intelligent, extraterrestrial beings offers a solid example of thoughts’ normal inability to, in any meaningful manner, grasp a direct conception of their own nature-&-reality. Thoughts throughout the sane, educated, even scientific communities of planet Earth pronounce as obvious and indisputable that if it were known for absolute fact that other intelligent life existed in the universe, this knowledge would, at the most fundamental level, instantly and totally change forever, human life! But this is not so. It would change thoughts -- but not life. Aliens could broadcast a simultaneous, worldwide message, heard by everyone, irrefutably announcing and thus proving their existence, and although it would certainly become a hot topic of conversation and written comment, this knowledge alone would have no effect whatsoever on human life. Or a mighty voice could suddenly be heard all over the Earth that proclaimed: "This is God speaking. I want to put an end to all of the debate & uncertainty regarding my existence. This is me talking to you, and I do exist. I created you, and I am watching you -- and don’t you forget it." And if told of such a possibility, the religious and non alike would agree that from that moment on, human life would never be the same. But that is not so. Other than for having new conversation fodder, nothing about life would change. Some things that thoughts think about would change -- but other than for that, nothing would be any different about life. Understand that neither God, nor the extraterrestrial take any physical action, they simply make their presence undeniably known, which is all that thought said would be necessary to, "Change human life forever!" Do you see what, within you, I am pointing to? You do understand that the subject of what I have just said to you is not gods, or extraterrestrials, or anything else other than thought, and my purpose is to try and make you realize that thoughts as they talk to themselves, can say anything -- and anything that they can say, they can accept as being quite acceptable, regardless of a total lack of tangible support therefor. Thoughts live in a world-of-reality that is totally theirs alone. In this realm, thoughts are all of the background, and all of the foreground. All of the nouns & objects are thoughts, and all of the verbs & action are thoughts. In their private domain, thoughts can say and believe anything, and there is nothing normally present to offer any resistance. This is simply the demonstrative way the area of our brain that produces thought operates, and arguing the point and refusing to see it is thoughts’ predictable reaction. I can say that: "No one wants to see this." but the more accurate telling of it is that thoughts themselves, observably, have no natural capacity to make such a sighting. Now here is my instant point in these expedient comments: Thoughts can think up anything possible for thoughts to think up -- no matter how implausible, or outlandish it may be, even by their own more sober standards. Thoughts can think up gods, extraterrestrials, life after death, or the idea that, "Man is asleep but through certain efforts he can awaken." Wanting to awaken is in a sense, a desperate cry by thoughts for, "self knowledge" and expression of their own longing for, "self-awareness". All in all, you wanting to, "wake up" to some more satisfying state of mental activity is your own thoughts wanting to do so. You may safely take my word for it, once you realize this for yourself you will be both greatly pleased & relieved, and also sort of astounded that it took you so long to see. I understand fully that thoughts presently dedicated to The XYZ System For Awakening, and involved in trying to execute such methods as being forever, "Vigilant", such thoughts have no ready interest in what I am telling you here. In fact the thought in your head that originally embraced the thought of you "being asleep and waking up" considers even the entertaining of what I am saying to smack of betrayal to the system that saved your life. Once a thought has adopted a certain thought it can become a paragon of orthodoxy, and I understand all of this quite well. Yet I still want you to grasp what I point to when I say that past a certain point in your efforts with this thing, all progress will stop until you undertake your own personal investigation into the question: "What is it that is really going on in my attempt to be, ‘Vigilant’, and in my, ‘Wanting to wake up?" Today I have attempted to save you time and energy by telling you now what is really going on in all of this: it is your thoughts wanting to understand themselves. And before you listen to your own thoughts disagree, or say that they do not understand what I am talking about, I say stop! Clear your head for just a moment, and LOOK -- just turn you own inner vision on itself and the whole matter becomes obvious. Seeing this is the beginning of a whole new stage of a person’s involvement in trying to Awaken, achieve Enlightenment, and be Liberated. But you cannot wait for your ordinary thoughts, even the one that wants to awaken, to ever realize what I am saying about them. You must take the responsibility. You must doing their looking it themselves for them. And you must look past them; you must look beyond them; you must turn and look over their shoulder and -- Voila! There is the secret you have longed for, and the realization that answers everything.