“Seek and Ye Shall Find!” In daily life this may be true; the more we search for something, the more likely we are to find it. Although, even in this realm, synchronicity sometimes plays an important role, opening us to possibilities we never could have planned for. [see: How to be a Wizard]
But when it comes to finding our own inner essence, the opposite is true. Whether it be settling into meditation, finding inner peace, or discovering the true nature of the self, seeking stands in the way of our discovering the truth.
Seeking has some goal in mind, something it wants to find. It creates a focus and a slight tightening of consciousness. It may not be obvious at first, but when the mind is quiet this faint background tension becomes apparent.
In such a state we cannot, by definition, be totally at ease. Only when we let go of all seeking, or any wish to find some other state of mind, can we be truly free. When we do let go completely, and accept our experience exactly as it is, the mind falls back into its natural unconditioned state. [see: The Natural Mind] We find what we have been seeking; and realize that it has been obscured by the very act of seeking.
But do not try to stop seeking, for that will only repeat the error at a subtler level. When you notice that an attitude of seeking has sneaked its way back in, simply notice it. Let it be. Accept it as part of what is happening in the present moment, and you will fall back into the truth that lies beyond all seeking.
I’ve asked over and over again why I have anomalous experiences. No one can tell me. I keep saying that I didn’t go looking for this, so why did it happen? I don’t think I did anything to precipitate having an NDE, with the possible exception of being a lousy driver (I had the NDE as a result of a head-on collision). And the weird stuff that the NDE seems to have brought up was completely unexpected. I’m pretty sure there are people out there who have meditated for years and done all sorts of very mindful things in the hopes of having what I have been trying to avoid.
Maybe you just answered my question. I did actually try a strategy of “enlightenment on purpose†once as a way to stop having anomalous experiences. And it backfired. Totally. I think the universe has it’s own set of rules to play by, and when you try to work those rules to a sneaky advantage… well, the universe just cheats.
Hello Peter
I have chosen this post as a place to say “Thank You” to you for your book “From Science to God” which I read during a profound dark night of the soul period in which reading and writing were key tools in keeping me from going under and never re-surfacing. I am fine now, re-read your book last month ( January 2010 ) and realised with some satisfaction that my own long and tortuous process of building a satisfying bridge between science and religion, logos and mythos, has got to the stage where I can just relax, let go, and feel peaceful about the relationship between my tiny speck of transient matter and that vast light of consciousness of which we are all part. “From Science to God” assisted that process greatly. Thanks from a non-scientist with a lifelong interest in science, for your clarity in enabling clear perspectives to be born in those less well informed than you.
I have given your book and this site a plug on my blog – here’s the link if you want to read what I said.
http://anne-whitaker.com/2010/01/19/favourite-quotes-max-planck-on-scientific-truths/
As a very very WISE MAN once told me, “JUST LET IT HAPPEN.”
Too bad it took me about 15 years to figure out what that meant.
😉