If you remembered to pay attention yesterday for thoughts of self-concept, it’s possible that you captured a long list of ideas. That list would be incredibly long if we also included everything your mind had to say about other people, about circumstances and about the things in your environment. The mind has a lot to say about everything, and it’s through these thoughts that you derive your concept of yourself, others and the world.

As Nisargadatta Maharaj said:

The world you can perceive is a very small world indeed. And it is entirely private. Take it to be a dream and be done with it.

That teaching is the heart of today’s reading. In fact, today’s reading says:

This is great news for you, if you will accept it. This is the truth that will set you free.

When we take the meaning that our thoughts give to everything seriously, we imprison ourselves. By realizing that those thoughts are valueless and have no meaning, we set ourselves free. It is as simple as that!

The problem is that most people value their thoughts over everything else they think they value. Although their thoughts are the cause of all of their problems and all of their suffering, they prefer their thoughts to the freedom that would be present if thought was disregarded.

Today’s reading interprets a parable called The Parable of the Ten Minas.

Link to the parable

After reading the interpretation of the parable in today’s reading, consider giving willingness to see that your thinking is mostly upside-down and therefore, not useful. After you give willingness to see this, stay in the space of that willingness. If you stay in the space of that willingness throughout the day, you will become aware of some of the useless thinking that goes on in your mind. Write down what you see, so it isn’t quickly forgotten. At the end of the day, review your list of meaningless thoughts, and then ask, “Am I willing to release the value I’ve placed on my thinking?”

Today’s reading is about how our thoughts create a false self-concept. False ideas about who I am are core to the ego. Do you remember this image?

The sense of self-existence comes from mental chatter and how it defines ‘me.’

Today’s reading says:

But these concepts do not tell you who you are. Each and every one of them tells you who you are not. … So if you are to discover the truth of who you are, you must be willing to lay your perception of yourself aside. You must be willing to stop believing that you know who you are.”

Have you ever paid attention to the thoughts in your mind that tell you who you are? There are the usual thoughts, which tell you that you are a man or woman, possibly a parent, a spouse, the child of so-and-so with a particular nationality, etcetera. None of these thoughts are true about you. However, they also aren’t the heart of the self-defining messages that run through your mind throughout the day.

The ideas of self-concept that cement your perception of yourself to the ego are much more subtle than those usual ideas of self-identity, and they whisper into your mind with incredible frequency. Maybe it’s time for you to become aware of those thoughts.

Here are just a few examples:

• I am too busy.
• I can’t do all of this!
• They’re going to see that I’m not as good as they thought I was.
• I never feel well.
• I’m lazy.
• I’m not as dedicated as I should be.
• That worked out well. I’m pretty smart.
• I’m really organized.
• I’m such a good cook.
• I’m so fat.
• I love to help people.
• Why is everyone always bothering me?
• How come no one ever helps me?
• They should be as generous as I am.
• I really know how to handle this car.
• I am so good at finding bargains.
• I waste money.
• I’m so patient.
• I can’t take this from him anymore!
• And etcetera.

Today, consider carrying a small notebook around with you, or use your smart phone to capture as many thoughts of self-concept as you can. Make a game out of it. Find out who the mind says you are when you aren’t looking.

Yesterday we learned that our perception comes from past judgments that are reapplied as meaning. As Nisargadatta told the questioner in I Am That, Conversation #9:

The world you can perceive is a very small world indeed. And it is entirely private.

That’s because the world we each perceive is based on the filter of our individual mind.

Today’s reading says:

Now let’s talk about forgiveness. … Of themselves, the thoughts [in your mind] have no meaning. But based on past learning, learned through judgment, the thoughts seem to have meaning. And so you feel offended or hurt based on what you think you know.

Can you see how your brother has done nothing? Can you see how all meaning that has seemed to result in hurt has come from the filter of your mind?

Let’s look at an example:

Imagine that I am a modern day “super mom.” I am a professional woman with a son. After working all day, I come home and cook dinner, help my son with homework, bathe him and read him a bedtime story. He’s in bed by 8pm. That’s when I pull out my laptop computer and catch up on email. I typically work until my bedtime at 11pm.

On weekends, I buy groceries, clean house, do laundry and take my son to soccer games and piano lessons.

One day, a friend asks me to go to dinner and a movie with her on a Wednesday night. I explain that I can’t, and I tell her everything I have to do each night. She says, “Who are you trying to impress?” I notice a flash of anger, and I snap back, “No one! It just is as it is!”

Fortunately, I notice my upset. That night, after my son is in bed, I skip email, and I journal about my upset with my friend.

Why did I get angry at Jill? Because she implied that my whole life is a farce set up to impress someone.

Did she really say that or is that how I interpreted it? I don’t know for sure why she said what she said. She might have felt rejected and was acting out. My interpretation of her comment is my interpretation of her comment.

Why does the idea that my life ‘is a farce set up to impress someone’ upset me? Because I think there’s a truth there. I think I am trying to impress someone.

Who are you trying to impress? Everyone? No, not really everyone. I am trying to impress everyone, but the real reason I want to impress them is to impress me. If I believe they are impressed, then I can feel good about myself.

So, why is your life so busy? Because I am trying to deny my own belief that I am unworthy by hiding that belief under all of the great things I do.

When this journaling is complete, I see that Jill didn’t hurt me. I was hurt, because of ideas in my mind.

As NTI says:

And then, forgiveness is taking this realization one step further by acknowledging you do not want to be hurt anymore. You acknowledge that the meaning that has hurt you is within the mind. You are the owner or believer in that meaning, and so you are also the one that can let go of any meaning you have applied.

Here is a story that Jesus told about a rich man and a beggar named Lazarus:

“There was a rich man who was dressed in purple and fine linen and lived in luxury every day. At his gate was laid a beggar named Lazarus, covered with sores and longing to eat what fell from the rich man’s table. Even the dogs came and licked his sores.

“The time came when the beggar died and the angels carried him to Abraham’s side. The rich man also died and was buried. In Hades, where he was in torment, he looked up and saw Abraham far away, with Lazarus by his side. So he called to him, ‘Father Abraham, have pity on me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and cool my tongue, because I am in agony in this fire.’

“But Abraham replied, ‘Son, remember that in your lifetime you received your good things, while Lazarus received bad things, but now he is comforted here and you are in agony. And besides all this, between us and you a great chasm has been set in place, so that those who want to go from here to you cannot, nor can anyone cross over from there to us.’

“He answered, ‘Then I beg you, father, send Lazarus to my family, for I have five brothers. Let him warn them, so that they will not also come to this place of torment.’

“Abraham replied, ‘They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them.’

“‘No, father Abraham,’ he said, ‘but if someone from the dead goes to them, they will repent.’

“He said to him, ‘If they do not listen to Moses and the Prophets, they will not be convinced even if someone rises from the dead.’”

Did you notice any judgments in your mind as you read this story? Do you know what the root cause of those judgments are?

For example, imagine that you judged Jesus for telling a confusing story. Here’s what that root cause inquiry might look like:

Why am I upset? I am upset at Jesus for telling a story that seems to imply there is a heaven and a hell, eternal reward and eternal punishment.

Why does that upset me? Because I don’t believe in heaven and hell.

Why does it bother me that Jesus would tell a story about something I don’t believe in? I want all of Jesus’ teachings to agree with the way I think about truth.

Why? Because I am afraid that if Jesus’ teachings do not agree with what I think, my beliefs about the truth are not true.

So why am I upset? Because I am afraid the truth is not true, and this story triggered that fear.

You see, the way we perceive, all of the judgments we make and each of our upsets are about thoughts in our mind—typically about repressed thoughts in our mind.

Two days ago I recommended an audio in which I taught from I Am That: Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. In that audio, I taught from conversation #9, which is titled “Responses from Memory.” In that conversation, Nisargadatta says:

Something entirely unfamiliar can be sensed, but cannot be perceived. Perception involves memory. … Perception, imagination, expectation, anticipation, illusion—all are based on memory. There are hardly any border lines between them. They just merge into each other. All are responses of memory.

In this quote, Nisargadatta is making a difference between what we sense (see, hear, feel, smell or taste) and perception. In this case, perception is “a way of regarding, understanding, or interpreting something; a mental impression.” Nisargadatta’s quote says the way of perceiving is memory. In other words, we view new circumstances through our prior judgments (memory).

That is what today’s reading teaches too. As the reading says:

All perception is thought within the mind of the thinker. The thought has no meaning of itself, but it is given meaning by the thinker. If the thought seems to have effects, it is the thinker that gives that thought any effects it seems to have.

What do I do if this story triggered my fear that the truth is not true?

Realize that idea is in my mind, and if that idea wasn’t in my mind, the story could not have affected me the way it did. Be grateful this false idea has risen out of the subconscious so that it can be healed, and give willingness for it to be healed. I need to avoid blaming others for my upset. I don’t want to blame Luke (the one who wrote down this story), Biblical translators, the Catholic Church or anyone else. If I try to rationalize my fear away by projecting blame onto someone else, I bypass my opportunity for healing, and the idea goes back into the subconscious, still a part of my psyche.

After doing enough forgiveness work to return to a relative state of peace, it is helpful to practice awareness-watching-awareness (AWA) meditation. In AWA, I have a direct experience of truth without mental interpretation. Following forgiveness work (like rest-accept-trust and journaling) with AWA is very effective, because nothing reminds one of truth like a direct taste of truth itself.

If the mind were healed, how would it see this story?

A healed mind sees this story as meaningless.

In I Am That, Conversation #9, Nisargadatta is talking to a seeker who wants to know what the truth is about the world. Nisargadatta says:

Take it to be a dream and be done with it. … My world is just like yours. I see, I hear, I feel, I think, I speak and act in a world I perceive, just like you. But with you it is all; with me it is almost nothing.

Why don’t we let the experiences of our day come and go as if they were almost nothing? Because of the judgments we believe, hold onto and reapply to new circumstances. In this way, we relive an imaginary past over and over again.

Note: If you did not listen to the I Am That teaching two days ago, but you would like to listen to it, you can listen at this link.

Today, let’s look at the difference between discernment and judgment.

Discernment

Discernment is a type of judgment. We have already said that judgment is comparing, and then favoring or rejecting. That’s what discernment does too. The difference between discernment and judgment is the purpose. The purpose of discernment is to reject ego (with willingness instead of resistance) and favor truth (or ideas that point toward truth).

Today’s reading says that you will often experience confusion about what’s right to do and what’s wrong to do. When ‘right’ means good and ‘wrong’ means bad, right and wrong are judgments, not discernment.

In order to simplify the decision making process for us, today’s reading teaches us how to discern using two ideas: willingness and resistance. When we practice discernment, we favor willingness and reject (decide against) resistance.

Let’s look at an example:

Let’s imagine there is someone I don’t like. He is loud, he always thinks he’s right, and he often speaks with a sarcastic tone of voice that puts others down. I feel very uncomfortable around him. I never know what to say or how to be. It seems like no matter how hard I try, I always end up feeling stupid and awkward when I am around him.

A dear friend is having a dinner party. When she calls to invite me, I am very excited about getting together with her and friends, so I eagerly accept the invitation. However, as we continue to chat on the phone, she mentions she has invited this man I don’t like. I immediately realize that I do not want to go to this party.

After hanging up the phone, my mind spins with all kinds of confusing thoughts. I don’t want to suffer through a dinner party with this man, but I’ve already accepted the invitation. I don’t want to disappoint my friend. I start thinking about excuses that might allow me to cancel without her feeling offended. I select an excuse that might work, and I begin planning the best time to call and tell her. I can’t call too quickly, or she’ll know that I am lying.

When that last thought crosses my mind, I begin to feel guilty. I am lying to a good friend. She doesn’t deserve that. But I really don’t want to be around this man, especially when alcohol is being served. No telling what he will say!

So far, every thought in this imaginary scenario has been judgment. Discernment isn’t being used at all. So let’s imagine that in my confusion and pain, I open NTI randomly and open to NTI Luke 16. After reading it, I journal with inner spiritual intuition. Here’s what’s written:

Notice how afraid you are right now. You are afraid of being in the same room with this man. You are afraid of offending your friend. You are afraid of the guilt of lying. What do these three fears have in common?

Can you see that you are afraid that you are bad?

You are afraid to be around this man because you believe you are unworthy. That belief comes up when you are around him. When it comes up, you believe it again. You don’t like how you feel when you believe you are bad, so you want to avoid him.

You do not want to offend your friend, because you believe that means you are a bad friend.

You do not want to lie to your friend, because you believe the act of lying is proof that you are bad.

You are lost in confusion, because you are trying to avoid the belief that you are bad, but as you try to avoid it, the belief remains intact. Instead of trying to avoid the belief, which reinforces it, why not make the decision that will help you heal the belief?

After reading what was written with inner wisdom, my perspective changes from judgment to discernment. With discernment, I want to favor the choice that will help me heal. So, I decide to go to the party and use it for my healing. This is what happens at the party:

I notice I am afraid to join in the conversation, because I am afraid he will make a sarcastic comment about anything I say. I notice that avoiding talking is avoiding the ‘I am bad’ belief. I decide to be willing to talk if something arises to say.

Since I am tuned in to intuition, I am quieter than usual. I am not expressing opinions about politics or debating spiritual concepts. However, a story is told that prompts a memory of a similar story from my life. I feel the inner prodding to tell the story. I do.

After I tell my story, there is a pause in the conversation. The man that I have feared looks at me, and then busts out laughing. I notice the idea, “He thinks I’m stupid.” Then I notice my dear friend is laughing too. I realize that if I was alone with her and told her this story and she laughed, I wouldn’t interpret it the way I did when he laughed. I realize it is my own judgment that leads me to think I’m bad. This realization feels like an important insight. Grateful to have seen this, I laugh too.

Judgment

I mentioned that the difference between discernment and judgment is the purpose. When I practice discernment, I favor choices that point toward truth or help me purify or awaken. Judgment is different. Judgment makes choices that emphasize ‘me’ as this body-personality-mind in a world that is separate from me.

For example:

• I don’t want to go to the party if he will be there.
• I’m bad if I offend my friend.
• I can avoid offending her if I make up a good excuse she will believe.
• Even if she believes me and isn’t offended, I am bad if I lie to a friend.

Contemplate the difference between discernment and judgment, and then start using discernment to make decisions instead of using judgment.

Today’s reading is an interpretation of three of Jesus’ parables. You can read those parables at this link.

There is an idea that is accepted as fact by nearly every person alive. The idea is, “I am a person, living and moving independently, in a world that is separate from me and bigger than me.”

This idea is a perception. It is not true.

Interestingly, I got caught up in this mistaken perception recently while reading from I Am That, Talks with Sri Nisargadatta Maharaj. It might be helpful to listen to that audio today, if you have time. It is a 1-hour audio. In the audio, you will hear how I moved from confusion to clarity.

Link to the audio

It’s important to realize that the true Self has never been lost. It isn’t something we need to acquire or earn. It is present as us right now.

Our challenge is not one of finding something that is lost. Our challenge is letting go of something that we cling to, something that obscures the true Self. That something is the mind.

It’s important to be clear that if it were not for the mind, our truth would be obvious to us. This is important, because humans tend to value their mind above everything else that they value. That means that we put the obstacle to truth above everything else in our list of ‘What Is Important to Me’.

That’s what needs to change.

I mentioned that I got caught up in confusion while reading I Am That. What does, “I Am That” mean?

“I Am That” means I am the essence that is everything. I am consciousness. Using an example from some exercises we imagined earlier this year, I am the clay.

It isn’t true that I am a person living and moving independently in a world that is separate from me. That is a misperception caused by the mind.

It also isn’t true that I am a part in a bigger world of many parts, which are all connected into one.

I am the essence itself. I Am That.

Realizing this is awakening. Realizing this is also what Jesus called “eternal life,” because we realize that we are that which is eternal instead of this temporary personality-body-mind.

Today’s reading gives us a thought to accept. That thought uses a stepped process to step away from misperception. One who believes she is a person in a world accepts that she is within the Spirit of God and not separate from it. Once this is realized, she takes the next step to realize she is the Spirit of God.

The same idea can be contemplated this way:

Existence is one.
Nothing exists that is outside of existence.
I exist, and so I must be within existence.
I exist, and so I must be one with existence.
I exist, and so I must be existence.

Instead of just saying these words, you can look and see if this is true. Are you existence?

Here is another way to contemplate that idea:

Consciousness is one.
There is only one consciousness.
Minds differ, but consciousness is always the same.
Every conscious being experiences the same consciousness.
I am conscious, and so I experience the one consciousness.
One who experiences the one consciousness is the one consciousness.
I am consciousness.

Again, you can look to see if that is true. Are you consciousness? Isn’t it true that consciousness is more intimately you than the body or the mind?

Prayer

Prayer is typically associated with a spiritual or religious path, and prayer can be a very useful practice. However, not all prayer is useful. Prayer is useful when it is used to:

• Empty the mind of concerns and desires (e.g., Thy will, not my will)
• Assist one to look at his thoughts and emotions soberly
• Open the heart, spark gratitude, reignite faith or inflame willingness
• Quiet the mind
• Sense and get in touch with the current high vibration

Our Judgment of Others

We have already seen that ego judgment compares, and then favors or rejects. This type of judgment is the cause of the sense of separation.

Let’s look at an example:

Imagine I have two friends. On several occasions, I have made plans with these friends. One friend typically shows up promptly for our engagements. She is happy and excited to spend time together. The other friend is typically late. Occasionally, she doesn’t show up at all. There have been a few times when she was so late that we thought she wasn’t coming, so we left without her. When that happened, she got angry and held a grudge. She would be more prompt for a while, but she’d arrive making a comment like, “I’m here on time so that you two won’t go without me.”

A situation like the one described above provides the opportunity for judgment. The judgments that you or I make are based on the filter of our minds, so we might not make the exact same judgments. However, most people would make some judgments in a situation like this.

The judgments that we make create a sense of separation. One or two people in the story are favored, and one or two people in the story are rejected.

When we reject someone (or something about someone), we close our heart. We attempt to keep them outside of our being, because we believe we are protected if we can keep them outside of our self. The problem is that they are already inside of our being. If they weren’t already inside, we wouldn’t be aware of them.

When we close our heart, we imprison our judgment of them inside of our consciousness. In other words, we hold onto anything we reject. In this way, we cling to our mental images of others as separate, which strengthens our own sense of separation. Anything that strengthens our sense of separation also unconsciously strengthens our sense of guilt and unworthiness. That means judgment as a defense mechanism backfires every time it’s used. It’s the one who judges that gets hurt by judgment. That’s why Jesus said:

Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ~ Matthew 7:1

Do not judge, and you will not be judged. Do not condemn, and you will not be condemned. Forgive, and you will be forgiven. ~ Luke 6:37

How can the story I’ve told above be seen without judgment?

Watch the wind blow through the leaves of trees. Notice how each leaf is unaffected by what the other is doing. … This is because they do not know any separateness. … They blow in the wind and are perfect in their natural state. Your natural state is perfection. Do not look beyond this, and you will know freedom from the ego. ~ Inner Wisdom through Lanae

In other words:

One friend typically arrives on time and happy. One friend is more often late. Sometimes she doesn’t come at all. Sometimes we are confused about whether she is late or not coming, and we go without her. Sometimes she gets mad about that. Leaves blowing in the wind.