Our True Nature

Aliveness - your True Nature

There is a full and deep Aliveness that you feel - that is your true nature. The Aliveness is well and truly there - it is always there and you cannot do anything about that. The Aliveness is Life itself.

There is nothing personal about Aliveness - it is the one Aliveness. The One Life.

But then the Mind comes along and says - "this is me" - and the game goes on from there. The 'me' is an optional addition - just like a 'Windows Update' that makes more problems than it is supposed to fix. The Aliveness is already full and complete - not that Windows was ever like that! The Update is just thoughts - the Aliveness has not been updated - it is still there full and complete, unmodified, uncorrected, untouched.

There is a sense of Being associated with the Aliveness - you know that you exist (you be) , you are present and that you are Aware.

This use of the word 'be-ing' , however, is a verb, not a noun - it is a functioning in the instant of the present moment. You can feel the Aliveness of it, but only in the instant of now, as it is an action, a movement. It is not a concrete or abstract object (noun) that can be identified or located or even specified.

Sometimes as a feeling of excitement, or of inner peace, or of rapture, or of love, but other times as nothing, so-called, 'special' at all - you can still feel the aliveness. That is what you 'find' when you look for it - but there is no entity there - just an aliveness, a sense of be-ing. And you can feel it there, as an aliveness, under the storm clouds as well, if only for a moment.

The 'me' is quite different to this - it is totally focused on 'my' needs, 'my' requirements, 'my' story. There is a feeling of contraction connected to it, a tenseness.

You can tell when the 'me' is 'running' and when it is not. You can notice when you go into it, or identify with it and also at times when the identification severs, if only for a moment. You would be aware of when this happens. The 'transition' may be very real to you. The old conveyor belt to suffering !! Welcome to the human race !!

How far away is your essence, your true nature? Is it buried very deep, covered by all kinds of bad experiences and so far away that it is very difficult to contact, if at all?

Life essence, your true nature, is not an object and cannot possibly be separate or remote from you. It is not affected by experiences, good or bad, and cannot be buried, covered or become extremely distant. After all, you are alive, you are present and aware, and this cannot be denied.

Only that of which you are aware, in your essence, changes. Our nature is Awareness and all objects and experiences occur IN that awareness.

However, identification of our true nature with an object in Awareness (specifically a collection of thoughts about the 'me') is the cause of suffering.

Seeing through that removes the cause of suffering and it falls away of itself.

Only your essence – consciousness or awareness – can see, can feel, can hear. Thoughts cannot be aware. The thought "I am aware" is not awareness – it is just a thought. The thought "I see" is not seeing. There is no structure in thought that can be aware or can be a 'me'.

The natural functioning of Presence Awareness is there – fully functional and is looking though your eyes, right here, right now, as you read this.

Jesus of Nazareth

"The Kingdom is in you. And if you know yourself then you know the Kingdom of God."

Written by Mike Graham, 19 Jan 2008, last edited 8 Mar 2008