"Don't resist or fight to attain external freedom before knowing who you truly are. Simply turn inwards, and know ever more deeply the freedom inherent in your own Being. Keep your eyes on the prize, the inextinguishable light that you are; let it give you strength and relax you, no matter what is happening on the outside. Separation will fall, chains will be broken, the powerful will become weak, and external freedom will arrive as spring follows winter, as exhalation follows inhalation. For darkness cannot survive your stunning light, and true freedom cannot ever be taken from you. Knowing who you are - this is spiritual victory!" - Jeff Foster
"Even if you cannot picture your future, do not despair.
All dreams of the future are already in the past.
Your true future is already taking care of itself.
The present moment is your home, never coming, never going.
It can be trusted, so breathe it in."
"Your worst fears have never come true. And even if they have - you're still here. Present. Alive. Breathing. In this moment, life is brand new. You cannot be destroyed." - Jeff Foster
Question:When clarity comes I can see that I can handle the world. One step at a time.
But soon this clarity morphs into a hellish whirlwind that threatens to wipe everything out.
What do I do?
only the now is lucid, solid and clear, isn't it? the past and future are only hazy dreams, right?
so where do you think the true power is? is it in something solid, clear and lucid, or is it in something hazy, dark, unclear and ever confused?
where do you think life lives? in the now? or in some hazy and confused realm?
where do you think the shadow lives? where do you think evil resides?
don't ignore the realm of shadows. just don't get trapped by it. don't allow the realm of shadows to obscure your vision, your now experience.
the now has no past. no future. no time. it is true life. breathe in the now and feel its power. feel life.
the now cannot be threatened or sabotaged by the shadow realm. can the moon take away the light of the sun?
the eclipse is only an illusion. and the sun always comes back. it wasn't destroyed by the moon was it, when the eclipse was occurring?
breathe in the now. do not worry about the stale air of the shadow realm. it will disperse. or it won't. in either case, it cannot do anything. and the shadow realm knows it.
it knows it cannot enter the now, it knows it cannot mix with the now. it can only meander outside the boundaries of the now.
but you can see why the eclipse occurs........
as you can see clearly, the now has no story. and you can see that this is nothing to be frightened of.
do not ignore the shadow's stories or its sensations. do not resist them either.
listen to the shadow's stories without resistance and without fear. that is all it wants. and if you do that, the shadow will not eclipse the now, it will start assisting the now.
the shadow will try to eclipse the now through its stories and hazy emotions. that is not a problem. it's not going to kill you. it can't.
because the shadow is an absurd animal, that collapses under the weight of its own stories, and the eclipse goes away.
the shadow's stories, real or imaginary, cannot withstand the now. just listen peacefully.
the now cannot be threatened. it neither comes, nor goes. it just is. and it is beautiful, story less.
the now cannot be threatened. it is the realm of shadow, the hazy realm that is threatened by its own stories. because it looks for death in its stories. and when it finds it, it collapses, and the only result of that collapse is the un-eclipsing of the now.
the now can't be sabotaged. you cannot be sabotaged.
the now is the beautiful, comfortable home the shadow is searching for. and when the shadow realises this truly, it will start assisting the now, and give up its death centric stories.
because the shadow hates pain and wants relief. it wants a home.
Question: What do you make of the following quote?
"That memory has got you hooked and holds you to the past and it holds you to death." - Alan Watts.
Answer: Who is Alan Watts? A character in the shadow realm. Who is he addressing? An unnamed 'you' in the shadow realm.
Who is being held to the past? Can it be the presence in the NOW? Who can it, the memory, hold to death, except itself?
Question: I keep falling out of the NOW. What do I do?
Answer: If you can fall out of the NOW, you are a shadow entity. When you are in the NOW, you are not there at all. Only the NOW is. But this dissolution of you, as you enter the NOW, is not a violent process. It's normal.
Eclipse and non eclipse of the NOW is a continuous process. Staying in the NOW is not a one time thing. It is a dynamic process. And that is normal. Nothing to be concerned about.
Question: The past and future stories from the realm of shadows keeps overcoming me. What to do. I don't want to be overcome by the shadow.
Answer: We have established that the NOW has true power because of its solid, lucid nature. We have established that the realm of shadow is like a flickering torch on weak batteries.
Don't struggle. That's all there is to it. Do not resist the stories of the shadow realm, no matter how terrible they are. THEY ARE IMPERSONAL STORIES.
The shadow realm will BLESS YOU. IT WANTS TO BLESS YOU. JUST LISTEN TO WHAT IT SAYS WITHOUT REACTING NEGATIVELY AND IT WILL BLESS YOU.
DON'T REJECT IT AND IT WILL BLESS YOU.
THE SHADOW HAS NOT ONLY DISASTERS BUT ALSO TREASURES. AND REMEMBER THAT THIS ENTIRE DIALOGUE IS IN THE SHADOWS. BECAUSE THE NOW DOES NOT SPEAK. IT IS ALWAYS SILENT, SERENE, COMFORTABLE AND STORY LESS.
A correct way of looking at the 'shadow' is that it also unfolds in the NOW. It is a part of the picture. That absorbs your attention due to its highly emotional content.
If we take away the NOW from the human, all that is left is a hazy dream.
