“This moment, just THIS, however it’s appearing, when it’s for no one, is always more than enough. But when it’s for a “someone” we imagine ourselves to be, then it’s never enough, for the energy of seeking is never satisfied.” –Michael Jeffreys
“The mind” (the reason for the quotation marks is because the mind, if investigated, is ultimately unfindable and thus a concept) has a story about who it thinks “you” are based on everything that has apparently ever happened in your past. I.e., the family your body was born into, where that body grew up, where it went to school, jobs/titles it has held, friends it has had, traumas it has appeared to suffer, how it’s been wounded and needs to heal, etc. (By the way, note that all stories exist in the mental realm only, as the body itself has no story!)
And these stories, when believed, are very convincing! However, is this the absolute TRUTH of your being? In other words, is “your story” what you actually, as in literally, are? And if so, which story are you prepared to go “all-in” on and claim is the real you? I’ve looked, and I can’t find one. Can you? Really look.
Actually taking the time to really look for yourself is what sets the direct path teachings apart from every other philosophy/spiritual path. It’s allowing your own direct experience to have the final say, rather than what a book, video, friend, family member, or guru tells you. It’s a knowing that is not second hand or mediated, but unmediated, direct and obvious.
What if there is just THIS? (THIS being whatever is presently happening). That despite the mind’s never ending attempts to label and define everything—including you!, Life is completely and utterly unknowable, and thus defies all attempts to label it!
How do you define or accurately label something that is never static, but always in a state of flux, forever changing? It’s like trying to define a raging river… as soon as you say, “I’ve got it figured out; it’s this way!” it’s no longer the case as it’s already moving on to becoming something else.
The mind’s nature is to seek, but never actually find. Which is why the story of “as soon as I get all my ducks in a row,” i.e., as soon as I have enough health, money, love, friendship, security, etc, then I will be happy is a fantasy. Because it is coming from the assumption that happiness is not located here and now, but somewhere in the future. But the thing about the future is that it only exits as a linguistic concept, and not as an actuality.
Can you actually find, as in touch, the future? No, because as Eckhart Tolle reminds us, all you have ever experienced is NOW. And the thing about the NOW is that it’s not located anywhere, because it’s ALL that IS. And because it is ALL that IS, it doesn’t require any story.
And if NOW, which is inherently inclusive and leaves nothing out, doesn’t require a story, then you don’t either, unless you believe you are somehow separate from THIS moment? Pause for a moment and let that sink in.
SEEKING IS COMPULSIVE ENERGY, NOTHING MORE
One question that can be helpful in seeing through the illusory, but compelling nature of seeking is: Does the seeking voice in my head actually have ANY verifiable substance behind it? In other words, other than the compulsion to seek, is there anything more to it than that? What proof do you have that it can actually make good on its numerous claims? And if it really could, wouldn’t it have delivered by now? How many years/decades must you continue to chase your tail before admitting that it always remains just out of reach?
But perhaps you have to keep doing it in order to see the futility of doing it. To become so exhausted and stressed out from constantly trying to micromanage the moment, that eventually you give up out of sheer exhaustion. And, having exhausted all your tries and strategies, you simply (and truly for the first time in your life) just STOP. Stop trying to do or not do anything, and instead just silently BE as you are and have always been.
Does being as you already are require any story? –Michael Jeffreys
What if whatever you are, whether we call it “Consciousness” or “Awareness” (or any other label) doesn’t need ANY story to exist? That in fact ANY story is an artificial mind generated overlay that, when believed in, is the very thing that is blocking your direct experience of the natural peace that is already fully and effortlessly present?
LET GO
So what’s the “solution”? My suggestion is to just Let Go. Just for a moment, drop all attempts to define, figure out, or understand anything that is presently arising.
When thoughts come claiming that there are reasons why, in this moment, letting go is not possible, simply let that thought go. And when another thought comes that says, “Yeah, but…” let that go too. Just keep letting go until there is nothing left to let go of. The key is that you have to actually do it if you want to experience the “peace beyond all understanding.” This is because it’s not merely an intellectual understanding, but an energetic shift in perspective that must be experienced directly for it to have any power.
When you let go of needing to know or figure out anything, it can begin to dawn on you that it was the attempt to try to hold on to or improve an “I” or “Me” that only ever existed as a concept, that was the source of your suffering. Once you are clear on what you are not, and in fact have never been, then the ever-present truth of your eternal essence begins to effortlessly shine through and with it a natural joy and peace which is beyond anything the mind can ever imagine.
CE BLOGTALK RADIO SHOW
If you are interested in delving deeper into this topic of, “Without Your Story, What are You?,” I invite you to check out the CE Blogtalk radio show I recently appeared on, with my two welcoming and engaging hosts, Mark DeNicola and Amanda Monteiro, titled (surprise, surprise!), “Without Your Story, What are You?,” which you can listen to below:
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![Full Interview From Steven Greer’s Close Encounters of The Fifth Kind – [Joe Martino]](https://insights.collective-evolution.com/assets/uploads/2024/07/Screenshot-2024-07-08-at-4.43.12 PM-360x180.jpg)
Whereby “Time” in and of itself is a conceptual abstraction that signifies conditional transformation, the “Past” is an abstraction that signifies conditions that once were, and the “Future” is an abstraction that signifies conditions not as they are now.
Notably, to even be able to notice conditional transformation, or “time” passing, we must have some idea or memory or sense of prior conditions, of what was; which is self-contained within or even upon the body itself in the form of, for instance, scars or the particular, unique grooves of an individual’s brain; or “in or upon the mind”–whatever that really means.
(What I personally find interesting is that, if roughly 65% of the weight of a human body is water–which is highly conducive to electricity–and roughly 20% of the mass of a human body is carbon–which is magnetic–I wonder how much our activity or behaviour if any at all is determined by the electromagnetic force?)
There is nevertheless a varying continuity of and to things; in other words some things last longer than other things.
However, it seems as though a general rule of the varying continuity of things is that, the denser and or larger something is, the greater its instrinsic continuity; a planet typically maintains its form longer than a human being; whereas a human being usually maintains its form longer than a dog; by which dogs more often than not have longer lifespans than insects–at least from a human perspective. Likewise, a rock maintains its form longer than a body of water, such as a pond, that is constantly renewing itself by evaporating into the atmosphere, only to humidify therein and restore itself the next local rainfall, or sometimes even disappearing or rather being displaced altogether.
Yes, the mind is also an abstraction. But the story, as well as information in general, serves a purpose; and quite an important function at that. Information allows us to reprogram human capacity or functionality, insofar as some information (or structures thereof) are literally empowering while other information (or structures thereof) are literally disempowering.
The physical brain and the immaterial mind are counterparts. You can literally change your brain by changing your mind. Change your values, or what Matters to you, and ultimately you change your functional capacity as a human being in the flesh. Reinform to reform.
thank you… i tend to see all recommendations about letting go as futile as well… that is… although i sometimes find that I do do it… to me it seems that any recommendation or instruction has no point when things just happen as they do… I do not wish to use this to bypass… I have delved into this possibility that i may be doing that… but I see that a more “appropriate” way to express any such things would be something like “you may find yourself letting go…more and more…” as something that is either grace or our turn to experience -so to speak- in our path… seeing whatever is going on… whether is letting go or not… seems to be more my reality right now… with a higher component of not letting go so much but a growing abilitiy to see it and accept it… sort of… in any case… whenever I have these thoughts I find myself thinking afterwards that there’s not much point in expressing them since you -also- do as you do without a choice… etc etc… and I think of erasing this… but I think I’ll leave it this time… i seem to have no choice… 🙂
Such inspired words. Beautiful! Although to me it seems the body does actually have a story. Contrary to what you point out (the body itself has no story, only the realm of the mind has it), to me it seems that for example tensions built up in muscles, intestines and stomach and/or emotions rule the (functioning of the) heart. Are you able to clear out your mind or to clear out your story without clearing out your body?
The mind’s nature is to seek, but never actually find, you say. I find that the mind is there to solve problems, to find exits in stuck circumstances, to analyze. It seeks and finds solutions constantly to all sorts of (practical) problems. BUT the mind is so focused at finding solutions to problems, that it has become a stubborn habit and it will look for problems in order to function as it is accustomed to.
Once you’ve experienced the satisfaction solving a riddle gives you, you’ll look for more. So even in places where there’s no actual problems, you’ll think of something. And you’ll find it for sure.