Oak McIlwain

I’m not a spiritual teacher but I can tell you a tale about one.

Once this man was walking in the jungle and he came across a flower bud and he could
tell by looking at the flower bud that when it bloomed it would be a most beautiful
flower so he decided it would be best if he helped the flower to bloom as soon as possible.

First he spoke to the flower about some physical exercises it could do to prepare itself for
the meditation that would allow the flower to bloom quicker. Strangely, the flower remained silent.

He decided that perhaps chanting would be more appropriate for the flower bud so he instructed the
flower bud on several complex sanskit chants and waiting patiently for the flower to reproduce them.
Still the bud remained utterly silent.

Well, he thought, plants do breath so I must instruct it on some breath extension and retention. He
gave a long discourse on the use of pranayama to bring about a meditative state of mind. The flower
listened very intently however when the teacher was done, it’s breathing remained the same and it didn’t make a sound.

Finally, in desperation the man shouted a simple meditation technique to the flower bud. “Just be Still”.
Upon the instant the man realised his error and left the flower bud in peace.

The next day in the sun, the flower bloomed so full and beautiful and stunning.

It was truly a magnificent flower, yet it made no sound. It drew no attention to it’s awesomeness.

It did not verbally rejoice in it’s exquisit gentleness but it certainly enjoyed it immensely.
Enjoyed it’s self with it’s full being.

And it was still in silence as it faded, still in silence as it fell to the floor and even in
silence as it returned to the earth to complete the circular embrace.

Only the false can reincarnate. Anything cyclical is false.

The idea of true-self reincarnating is absurd.

The ego, afraid of it’s demise, created belief that Atman or higher-self would persist through multiple lifetimes. Being isolated in space and time, the ego perpetuated this belief and in a world consumed by the false, the belief was (and is) easily perpetuated (see how the false perpetuates in cycles)

In a state of no mind, the divisions of body, mind and the sense ‘I am’ are dissolved and without the mind to seperate these there is nothing that would ‘carry on to the next life’. Even the idea of ‘this life’ is an illusion created by the mind.

It is possible for man to go beyond mind and thus beyond time. This is the eternal state which is formless and knows no division. It is not something which arises as it never arose yet has existed eternally. To say man is going beyond is not quite right either because he is just getting out the way and letting the divine meditate through him.

It’s as simple as that. When the mind is silent. The universal energy can act through you unabated.

If you are seeking to answer one question then it may pay to find the answer.

However if you are seeking the answer to all questions then it is futile to find all the answers.

To answer all questions, you must use a different strategy. Instead of answering each question, of which there are infinite variations, you must remove the questions.

And in order to remove the questions, you must remove the questioner.

Once the questioner is gone. All answers are made instantly available.

The deeper order of nature is the real.

The appearance of the mundane arises purely due to obstructed nature.

The real is ever flowing and can never be captured by thought.

The human organism is no more than a conduit of divine energy.

Imagine what it is like to watch this energy flow.

No longer swimming in that river.

And what if the two rivers could meet. The energy rising and crossing back over on itself.

I am free to bask in this; what others have named insanity.

I am free to bask in reality.

Weaving, twisting and curling into eternity.

Without a question; that is, without any burden of thought or it’s barren children.

One

Two - The first division (Understanding Duality)

All division is illusory. Acting based on illusion will always cause suffering.

From one division will stem an infinite range of divisions.

The first division is the division between consciousness and matter. Following this, the human mind (in a state of conditioned unawareness) will create the divisions within the mind space: Thought, Emotion, Imagination etc. And countless divisions within the realm of matter (which has already been divided from the whole) Some obvious examples of this are: Me, you, My house, my car, etc. etc.

The beginning.

Many people will immediately ask the question: If division is illusory, how did it come about? How could the human mind be so stupid to take the existence of things existing in separation seriously if it isn’t actually that way?

Human beings (for whatever reason) have been granted with more complex faculties of functioning than animals and plants. The division begins when these faculties are not utilised. Primarily the ability to pay attention. The moment. The one moment that is eternal behind the veil of matter, is sacred. It is what the Christians called heaven. This is the realm that is free of division. All miracles occur in this realm. This could be called god. And anyone who refuses to leave this realm will most definitely be considered godly. Because in that space. A space free of division. True silence exists and in that silence is a freedom which thought can not penetrate nor grasp.

Understanding the mechanics of division.

There are two persistent illusions that trick humans into believing that separation is a reality. These are the central nervous system, which provides a sense of physical separation within the world. If you touch an object near you, your nerves register the feeling and you get a sense that I (my body) am touching an object which is not me. The other factor of illusion is the ego. Although the ego is not visible, it is by far the greater of the two in creating misery in the lives of humans.

An ending to division.

As long as division exists, man kind will continue to suffer. The conditioned belief that division is real can only be removed completely if humans realise that the root division of consciousness and matter is an illusion. They will then wake up from their collective dream and in this waking a heaven on earth will be created. Such a world is beyond the imagination of current man and could manifest in many different ways however the hallmark would be holy peace.

Remember the story of the three little pigs?

What is your house made out of?

I’m sure they didn’t tell you there was a fouth little pig.

He decided to play in the mud instead of building a house.

Wondering all the while why a pig would even want to build a house.

The big bad wolf, believing that pigs only lived in houses, never even thought to check the mud puddle.

And thus the fourth little pig lived in peace.

The other pigs thought they had peace even though they were surrounded by the brick walls that the third little pig had constructed.

And although these walls provided a sense of security they also took something in return.

Occasionally they would look out the window at the mud puddle with a sense of curiosity and adventure but every time they did, they would remember the big bad wolf and would quickly go back to what they were doing.

Consciousness is that which is eternal, infinite and formless
If there was no field of matter, in which the only constant is change
Then life would be like looking into a kaleidoscope without any of the colour or movement
The play of life provides something awesome for the consciousness to witness

And to witness this ongoing miracle; the field of matter, requires complete silence within
Without this silence, the faculty of judgment will create an artificial layer between you and reality
By the cunning use of thoughts and words, which are blatant abstractions
And the use of images which are obviously imaginary, the mind renders the world arbitrary

The final truth of course is that there is no division between matter and consciousness
They are a single unified field which is beyond the comprehension of the human mind
This single field is the whole; The holy; God.
Which is, once again, just a word; an abstraction.

You must become silent within yourself.
Witness the beauty and wonder yourself.
And then you will see without the seer and know without the knower.
That god is all and you are god.

If you rely on other people to define you. They will always define you as something limited.

First you must cast aside the opinions of others. Then you can experience yourself as truth; the unlimited.

Once you observe the threads of judgment, you realise that it is not the responsibility of others to stop judging you but your responsibility to become immune from judgment altogether. What people think about you is then irrelevant.

Silence is freedom, space and immortality

Freedom from thought is intelligence
Freedom from matter is spaciousness
Freedom from self is wholeness (holiness)

Holy Intelligent Spaciousness is the kingdom of heaven

Self is created by thought

Knowledge is merely the accumulation and repetition of thought

Innocence is the inability to be hurt (psychologically)

In silent stillness exists a realm beyond self, matter, space/time and thought

When thine becomes thee; all is revealed by the brilliance of objectivity

The bliss state arises when the thoughts are suspended (or when the subject of those thoughts is exposed as non-existent – thus the dissolution of duality. This is jyana yoga and can be very frightening without any other grounding such as mantra, selfless service, asana etc.)

When a human locks their mind on a single object the thoughts are suspended and the natural state is entered (beyond time/space).

During physical yoga there are several objects to lock the mind to. The asana, bundas and the pranayama.

The ease with which the mind will lock to these is in direct proportion to the psychological attachments of the individual (illusory self)

Thus explains the unseen reason that some aspirants enter the state more readily than others regardless of physical flexibility.

The average person is distracted from the locks by both external and internal fluctuations.

The inner is the outer thus the best path to remove psychological attachments is not by negation but by true personal insight.

That is, when one no longer fights with that within that is seen as negative and actually looks at it without bias or prejudice.

This is true learning.

When one can look at things clearly, the false will be seen to be illusory and fall away of its own accord.

By this method only the truth will remain.

Once the mind is easily locked to the single object there will come a time when the question is asked “what is the subject to which this object is locked?”

The enquiry, if sincere, will yield no answer and thus the subject will merge with the object; the atman (singular entity in natural state) will merge with the absolute.

Pure consciousness flowing unobstructed; as god painting with infinite brushes,
this inexplicable master piece.