I Am: What's in a Name

I Am: What’s in a Name?

September 7, 2013

Colin Bondi, Contributor
Waking Times

Who are you? You might say, I am Mary, or I am John, or whatever your name happens to be. Yet when you were first born, you didn’t have a name much less any of the other ‘stuff’ that gets attached to it. Your parents or guardians selected a name for you and then conditioned you to accept it. There isn’t any choice in that process. At first a baby does not recognize or respond to its name, but, after a time, it learns that the specific sound refers to an actual experience it has of itself. This is the sense of presence, and it is the most basic of feelings, the feeling of being alive or the feeling of life. This is what we all begin with, and then we are given a label to attach to it, and on that label all the rest of our conditioning is built.

Our name becomes the foundation of our identity, and to it we attach all sorts of characteristics. We may be considered attractive or unattractive, intelligent or dumb, clever or clueless. We may be a student or a teacher or any other practitioner of an occupation. We may be a husband, wife, brother, sister, son, daughter, aunt, uncle, boss, vagrant, politician, etc etc. By the time we are adults so much has been built into our identities that we are, in a sense, imprisoned within them because the more we identify with them, the less we can see and experience outside of the limited framework of our identity/personality. The longer we live, the more far removed we typically become from the simple innocent presence with which we come into the world.

Yet the fact is that simple presence has not gone anywhere. The sense of presence, or I AM, is always here but all the subsequent conditioning tends to obscure it. We pay attention to the phenomenal world of objects and thoughts moving almost ceaselessly from one object of attention to another while almost no attention is given to the source of attention. What is it that is doing the looking or seeing of our existence? One way of describing the spiritual path is that it’s a simplification of ourselves. It is a return of attention to the root or source of what we actually are, not what we imagine or believe ourselves to be. For this, I AM is the key and the simplest spiritual tool you will ever find, if you ask me. It is so powerful because we all know it intimately. You go to a teaching on the nature of God or some form of the Divine and it may be very beautiful, but if you are asked, you might have to say that you have no direct experience of what was discussed. Do you know God? I mean, KNOW God, beyond any doubt or concept or duration? Do you know God directly?

For myself I thought I did for a time, but when I truly looked and was totally honest with myself, I had to answer – no. I did not know God because what I thought I knew was an imagination. It was a product of my mind and changed over time while never feeling complete. This tends to be the case when we look for God because it’s usually looking outside our own heart for something we imagine. If you don’t imagine into it then what exactly is God? Well, God is not an imagination or an image or a concept or an experience. God is a discovery. God is a discovery to be made right where you are, right now. God is playfully hiding behind the idea you have of who you and is disguised as I AM.

When we bring our attention inward we release the tight grip of external phenomena. We also release the association with thoughts and feelings. I am not my possessions, my job, my money, my house or my car. I am not my relationships. I am not my thoughts, beliefs or feelings. I am not even my body. All of these things come and go, they are constantly changing, temporary. You came before these things, and you will remain after they are gone. So who are you? In my experience the most simple, most truthful response we can make to that question is simply I AM or I exist. This has to be a felt experience so we can simply sit and feel the presence in the body and ask ourselves the question: who am I? Rather than respond we sit quietly and simply observe as a witness to all that occurs. When you are able to easily feel raw presence, you can step back in any situation and be the witness. This creates a great deal of space in our lives and helps us not to take things so personally or seriously because we can see there is something beyond what is happening to us, and that something is always absolutely stable.

When we are able to remain as I AM all the time, our experience of life is completely transformed. A good exercise with this is to practice not attaching I AM to your experience. For example, if you feel angry, you don’t say I am angry because this means you are identifying with anger as being what you are. It is not what you are because it’s temporary, and even while it is present, there is something witnessing it that was present before the anger came and will be present after it goes. Instead of saying I am angry, we can say anger is arising within me or I notice anger. This is a very small difference, but it’s a major shift. Anger is then seen as a temporary state that is noticed, remains for a time and then is gone. We don’t need to make such a big deal out of it if there is no story about it or identification with it. This is very freeing. If we don’t attach I AM to these temporary states, it becomes something sacred, and we know that we are that sacred presence which witnesses everything and yet is unaffected.

In this way we recognize the very freedom we seek as the basis of what we are. There is no need to search for it anywhere, not even inside because, if we search for the Divine, the irony is we are the Divine searching for itself. All seeing, all perceiving originates from the mind of God. When searching ceases and engagement with sense objects ceases and the attention rests in the heart of presence, we are home, we are at rest, we are free. From here we can continue to engage the objects of the world but while remembering what we are at the core. It’s a much more relaxed and joyful way to express the incredibly creative expression we call life.

About the Author

Colin Bondi is the author of the website, AwakenInTheNow, where this article was originally featured. Please visit his excellent site.

Matrix Mindscrews And Other Embedded Idiocy

by Zen Gardner

We’ve got to learn to spot the mechanisms buried in our language and the tricks of the media, education and propaganda, mainstream or otherwise. Engrained recitations and parroted phrases are a prime example. Don’t assume anything you hear or learn is true, or begin to mindlessly swallow anything you’re told from whatever source.

Learn to think critically and give everything serious, conscious consideration. Then listen to your heart.

We have to slow down to do that. Get off the treadmills of pressure, expectancy, and daily emergencies. One of the main tricks to get anyone to do or follow or swallow anything is to put the pressure on and say, “Hurry! Time is short! This is an emergency! It’s your last chance! Decide now!”

Just look at an infomercial…no, don’t. But that’s it in a nutshell, as one dimensional as that may seem. It simply works. It plays on fear and triggers waiting to be pulled. By whom?

Parasitic manipulators. Preying on humanity’s innocence and naiveté.

The Programming Falls Off with Conscious Awareness

It takes some doing to change this pressure issue in our lives with all there is going on around us to keep us busy and distracted, but it’s integral to leading a conscious life. Don’t worry, it comes more naturally as things progress in our wake up.

Conscious awareness is its own solution. Everything superfluous just falls away.

I was a pushy, intense, hyperactive speedy guy most of my life but as I became awake, aware and conscious I learned to live easier. It just came, albeit slowly, with a greater understanding of the big picture. I even began to drive much more slowly, and I didn’t allow myself to get under pressure like I used to. I gradually learned to see so much more around me, with my thoughts flowing more naturally, and life became way more fun and depressurized.

if_i_should_die_before_i_wake...What Programming? Now Repeat After Me…

I’ve hit on some of these before but it’s time to point out the idiotic idioms of the matrix – sayings that are only designed to subdue, dumb down and freeze in fear the human psyche. There are myriad examples but I’ll hit on a few that I hope will do some “mind liberating” or elucidation of programming truths.

This seemingly innocent rhyme has been taught to kids for recital before going to sleep for ages. It exemplifies not only the disempowering effect of bludgeoning religious indoctrination, but believe it or not this seemingly innocuous prayer is a perfect example of the embedded trauma based mind control method that’s one of the key underlying elements in the imposed matrix of society.

Now I lay me down to sleep,
I pray the Lord my soul to keep,
If I shall die before I wake,
I pray the Lord my soul to take.

Mind control has been around for millennia and here’s a perfect example of how it is culturally perpetrated. This little recitation may seem innocent at first, but let’s look at it. Conscious trust and knowing instead of fear is clearly a good thing; but rote repetition of half truths and imposed relinquishment of your own authority and personal sovereignty in a spirit of helpless is downright nasty.

Never mind the death mongering.

If-I-Should-Die3Holy Crap and Eternal Insecurity

There’s an example of a child forcefully declaring their helplessness and vulnerability in the night. “I need protection and I’m going to get it from the great white father in far off heaven who loves me if I’m good and say this prayer every night. And just in case I die tonight (which of course everyone thinks about before bed..not!) please take me to your nice castle. Oh, I hope you will. I’m asking ‘cuz I’m not sure. Oh God, that makes me feel creepy and afraid but I’m not supposed to because I was taught this and the whole church does it and they make it sound so nice and innocent”…and on and on.

The mind twist and hogwash embedded there is sinister.

Even so called “doctrinally” it makes no sense. Christians are supposedly taught they’re unconditionally loved by God—so why do they have to keep asking? Talk about eternal insecurity. If you’re so called “saved”, why are kids repeating over and over “I pray thee Lord my soul to keep” and then “if I die tonight, lord, please take my soul”?

Anyone see anything wrong here? It’s completely disempowering, outright death worship and screwing with their impressionable minds and hearts. But that pretty much summarizes religion overall, doesn’t it?

The point is it’s not just religion, but manipulative society in general.

How About Rock-a-Bye Baby?

How’s this one for calming and reassuring children before bed for the less religiously inclined?

Rock-a-bye baby, in the treetop
When the wind blows, the cradle will rock
When the bough breaks, the cradle will fall
And down will come baby, cradle and all

Nice, huh? Great image before sleeping, couched in a soft, rhythmic “lulling” song while scaring the crap out of children with this violent image of a helpless baby falling out of tree.

Getting the depth of the diabolical programming? You might not see it as that severe just yet, but give it time. When the fabric of what we’ve been handed becomes clear you’ll be as livid as I am and want to wake everybody up to it.

Creating Alters for the Altar – The Religion Scam

This psycho-schism engineering of the human mind is everywhere.

-Love your neighbor but bomb the shit out of people of other religions half way around the world.

-Worship the far off “Prince of Peace” on Sunday then go dress like a ghoul and scream your drunken head off at a violent football game.

In mind control that’s exactly what they do. By very extreme disconnects from a plausible reality using sadistic trauma of every sort, they force people to compartmentalize to such an extent the subject creates different personalities or “alters” to escape to someone(s) else they’ve split off into who literally have different lives and viewpoints. The institutionalized mass versions are somewhat less extreme but nonetheless use the same basic psycho-technology.

Cognitive dissonance is one of the mild sounding terms for this type of effect, but there’s much more to it than that as I recently said in Cognitive Dissonance? Or Mass Disassociative Disorder.

The religious scam is the most infuriating. Talk about alters at the altar. The “conversion”, the indoctrination, the memorization, the catechisms and all the levels of condescension, guilt manipulation and heavy handed hierarchy are consciously unbelievable. How we all fall for it to one extent or another is a study in itself, but if you realize the programming began where children in the bedroom are reciting death scenarios you start to get the point.

I mean billions worldwide are hooked on one religion or another. Is it any wonder they’re “lulled” to sleep?

Don’t be fooled. Your “religion”, your supposed faith, your “beliefs” are what you live. Screw the phony ethereal mental crap. Your life is you. What you do, what you stand for, what you live, and what you help propagate. It’s where your time, energy and intention go.

curiosity-killed-the-cat1Since When Did Curiosity Kill the Cat?

Another crippler. Curiosity killed the cat.

Is that right? Are you smacking my hand just for having a question? What the hell is that all about?

I looked it up and yahoo answers has this revealing, dutifully submissive definition:

It just implies that if you have too much curiosity, especially about things that you should leave alone, you could get into a lot of trouble.
You say it when a person wants to know something that he/she should leave alone.

Welcome the world of withheld information. Get used to it, children.

And who decides what’s to be left alone, may I ask? The government? Your pastor, parents, friends or some controlling interest group that has plenty to hide?

Another arbitrary cudgel in the hands of any wanna be oppressor, be it prophet, priest, professor or president. No wonder the sanctioned districts like the Vatican can have a secret library, the City of London its secret finances, and Washington its secret government.

Let’s Try Some Other Taboos and Conundrums

These will get you going.

–”You can’t teach an old dog new tricks.” – Nice. Give up on people past a certain arbitrary age. How to justify selfish reluctance. Eugenics and euthanasia sniffing at your heels?

–”Don’t talk about politics or religion.” – Ha. Couldn’t be more obvious – Don’t debate, don’t engage. Might lead to realizations.

–”Quit while you’re ahead.” – What the f**k does that mean?

–”Children must be seen and not heard.” – Muzzles on those pesky, lively children please. They are a nuisance.

–”Do as I say, not as I do.” – I know. Nuts, but used like a cudgel on kids.

–”Needless to say” or “honestly now”…what? Are we talking here?

–”Look Before You Leap” and “He Who Hesitates is Lost” – put those together. Ha!

–”You think too much!” – Another sit down and shut up phrase.

–”Don’t look a gift horse in the mouth.” Really? Ever heard of a Trojan horse?

The list goes on. Beware the assumptive and confusing programming that’s designed to come across as ancient, common wisdom. It’s not. Nothing in this fabricated matrix is sacred or truthful. In fact, it’s outright destructive and debilitating.

Synchronicity is the Name of the Game

I truly am experiencing synchronicities and learning to follow life’s signs continually and it’s a blast. I’m sure I don’t catch them all, but it gives me great peace and joy to know I’m honestly open to them now and in a place I can act on them. It really helped when I detached from any entanglements and sold virtually all my stuff and uprooted. That felt great. And acting on and passing on what I was learning was even better.

That’s a real key.

But beware the pressure, as I mentioned above. Think of all the wrong decisions you’ve made. I’ll bet pressure was involved, consciously and/or subconsciously. I know it’s true with me, I’ve made some real doozies based on fear of being too late, missing a presumed opportunity, worrying about what other people thought, etc. etc. It’s when we’re in that flurried state of mind these trick precepts and sayings they employ and our years of this kind of programming can be so effectively activated and manipulated.

As well as our own, homegrown stupidity.

Conclusion

It’s amazing and liberating to pull things apart and see the truth about the garbage we’ve been handed. It’s all part of getting deprogrammed from the grooves in our minds that the matrix has made over the years. But so very important to do.

Don’t worry, lies are powerless and dissipate in the light of Truth.

Wherever they’re embedded.

No shrink, no analysis, just the glorious effect of full on Truth.

Radiate in peace.

Much love, Zen

www.zengardner.com


Source: http://www.zengardner.com/matrix-mindscrews-and-other-embedded-idiocy-2/