Radiant Mind: Awakening Unconditional Awareness

Every experience is deeply profound yet totally meaningless. We are not sure if this is the most real thing we have every experienced or if it is a total illusion. The Lankavatara Sutra expresses this dilemma this way: “Reality is not as it seems and nor is it otherwise.”

if we don’t give appropriate attention to the areas of our life that throw us into states of denial, conflict, and confusion, reality can come knocking on the door in very abrupt and draining ways, which can unnecessarily side-track us. Of course, ultimately, there is no path and no goal,

If we are, by nature, introspective and self-satisfied, the fear is still there that we will lose our footing if we throw ourselves into relationships and projects. We will make forays into the world but rush back to the still point within for nourishment. We can’t see how we could be nourished by our work.

The only choice is to try to be composed and quiet, savoring the essence of our being, or else be caught up in the lives and work of others. There is no middle ground.

We recognize the distortion of our personality that has been caused by accommodating the needs and concerns of other people. We also see the possibility of living in respectful and mutually empowering relationships. This signals entry into the phase called coexistence.

The very notion of making progress seems elusive. What would constitute progress, and where are we going anyway?

The approach I recommend is to cultivate this state of consciousness without trying to control or strive for it. When we let unconditioned awareness do its work, in its own subtle way, we find it infuses the various layers of our conditioning.

having people around to actively ignore us.

There is no way of telling whether or not it will happen, since there is nothing we can do to make it happen, or stop it from happening. Doing anything to make it happen—including doing nothing—is quite immaterial to the emergence of the final phase.