“Of course you don’t die. Nobody dies. Death doesn’t exist. You only reach a new level of vision, a new realm of consciousness, a new unknown world.”~ Henry Miller; American writer.
I was talking to my mother about death and about how people fear getting old, which is because they get too attached to other people, relationships, ways of living, and material things–so it is not death itself that they fear but the loss of all the things and relationships of the flesh they have ignorantly made a possession here. Commenting the ignorance and the lack of true wisdom this is in most of the population of the world. Of course, she felt attacked by me, like always, and so started to defend her own lack of wisdom in this matter, because in her view, as in most weak-minded people’s views wisdom comes with old age and the decaying of the flesh.
Whenever I talk to her about profound concerns or issues of life, she displays childish attitudes and an empty and superficial mind, like she does not really understand the reality of the ego in her and how it works in making her feel a false sense of pride in her illogical and incoherent thought processes and defensive words. She knows deep inside I expose the truth in what I say but still she tries to negate that her own son, which lived less experiences than her and that is just 35 years old, might know and understand more about the mind of man and about life itself than her.
But the truth is, even though I can accept her how she is, her mind is filled with the poor and superficial knowledge she acquired in a church born out of the imagination of other small-minded men, and her experiences come from just existing in life and not from the study of life. She does not see this, or, better put, she does see it but she chooses to remain loyal to her ego; because, as most people stuck in lower consciousness, she does not truly understand the purpose of life but follows the herd. The purpose of life is to grow in knowledge of the truth behind all things, and the absolute truth behind all things is what elevates your mind into higher levels of consciousness and into the secrets of life itself. Absolute truth and the conscious knowing of it is indeed true magic, such magic where life displays no fear in your mind and magic which gives you the higher purpose and courage to be the best you can be in all aspects of your unique life.
My mother’s attitude is really pathetic and mediocre, but at the same time it really saddens me, and even breaks my heart and robs me from some joy in the relationship we share, because my own mother is as ignorant and small-minded as the next guy and the majority of the world. Tears fill my eyes because it should not be like that, but it should be like the saying goes: “Like father, like son.”
Sometimes though I think, Why does she think so narrow and obtuse being my own mother…?? Why do we think so differently…?? Why is she so hardheaded and ignorant like most people, blind to even reason and logic in the most basic human concepts…?? Did I get all my thirst for higher knowledge, spiritual understanding, and curiosity of the profound thought and behavior/psychology of mankind only from my dead father…??
It is really difficult for me to understand these mental differences between my mother and myself, because, even though we have different experiences and views in life, we share DNA and there is that important biological and mental connection strengthened throughout decades.
Nevertheless, even though I am writing my thoughts about her here, I do not really judge her in my heart because I respect her as my mother, and also because a percentage of what I am today is due to her love and guidance; however, I have to admit it troubles me so to know that my own mother does not see growing spiritually and mentally as the most important thing in the world as I do, but she just lives life like anybody else and expects to always be right just because of her age and time on this earth. Well, the truth behind the thing is, that life’s challenges do not bring wisdom and a higher perspective to the individual, but going through challenges and then taking the time and mental effort to stop yourself and your lifestyle’s rhythm to dissect with your heart in it the very details of that experience wakes the dormant wisdom already in you. And in most people, like my own mother, that inner wisdom is still dormant throughout their whole lives, no matter what and how they live.
And this is exactly what aches inside of me, the very fact that she stands herself so high and mighty and rejects all higher reason, the very fact that she cares only about feeding her ego and not about the truth, and the very fact, I fear, that she will die in this lower human condition. But, still, she shouldn’t die in this lower condition of human understanding like many others, because she is my mother and not some pitiful creature which cannot see the very tip of its own nose. Although, of course, that does not seem to matter in these painful ocean waters we call life. Life is what it is, and we must accept, for painful and disheartening as it might be, what we cannot change about it.
But, like I said, what troubles me the most is to have to think of her spiritually and mentally at the same lower level of understanding and wisdom as the people I don’t even know around the world. See, death is a part of life, and not the end of it. It is but a lap on the racetrack that is life; because life in its essence is eternal, and it does not know fear and anxiety. Life is not what you see in the mirror or around you, but it is the energy inside the atoms making what you physically see. You cannot touch it or see it and yet you know it makes up everything and anything, your thoughts, your flesh.
Fear of death and the negative thinking and behaving it brings is born out of our ego, which looks desperately for a cunning way to justify the loss of all the relationships and material things it acquired throughout this physical life. So, if you must fear something, fear attachment, because attachment and obsession to the flesh and the thoughts of people, relationships, and to the comfort of material things is what you will lose; however, if you are truly perceptive and highly wise in these matters, then you won’t suffer or become anxious, because death will become you and you will know in your heart that you are both life and death, therefore, remain in peace and joy all your life.
Spend this life gathering deep knowledge and understanding, and you will raise yourself above all fear and mediocrity.
“To believe in the god over us and around us, and not in the god within us–that would be a powerless and fruitless faith.” ~ Phillips brooks; American clergyman and author.
I believe people today has forgotten who they really are and the power they have within themselves to get ahead in life, surpassing all obstacles and reaching their higher goals–whatever those might be for each of us. There lies great wisdom and energy inside of us all which you might call God or Higher Self, and which you embrace and acknowledge whenever you choose health and love above poisonous foods to your body and hatred towards yourself and others, whenever you mentally speak kindly to yourself and motivate yourself out of self-pity; however, there also lies inside of us all a massive ego and terrible ignorance which you might call Devil or Lower Self, and which makes us believe we are broken and undeserving of a better life.
Of course, most of the problem stems from how our minds are conditioned since birth from our parents, from the ones around us, and from a self-absorbed and highly ignorant society. Still, through inner contemplation and by embracing certain wisdom within myself, I absolutely know that humankind has been endowed with higher intelligence and capacities of achievement well above other creatures under the sun, and that we are more than the piece of flesh and the crude and disobedient thoughts we experience on a daily basis during the waking state. And it all lies within ourselves, the capacities of transforming the raw energies in ourselves to be more and bring a noble and unselfish desire into material reality.
Yes, all that is truly needed is to believe that there is no failure in life, because the truth is that failure is an invention of our flawed minds, just like the concept of ‘time’ or the inventions of a place called ‘heaven’ and a place called ‘hell’ waiting for us after we die. See, ‘time’ is an illusion which serves a purpose in society and in this physical life; ‘heaven’ and ‘hell’ were invented by the fearful and ignorant minds of men to control the minds of other men and keep them tied to a religious belief and dogma. It is all a well-orchestrated, mental delusion which may serve us or condemn us. Your choice.
See, the greatness of our conscious, mortal minds is that we can use the energies floating there to create beautiful and motivating thoughts of noble and unique nature, such thoughts which will evoke feelings of higher purpose and self-love; however, we often have to deal with the negative energies which are fueled by our earthly physical senses, dark energies which are biased and agitated by the perceptions and opinions we form out of these same physical senses–i.e. biased and agitated by the violence and unfairness we see in the news daily, biased and agitated by the stupidity and greediness of politicians, biased and agitated by the invisible poisons from food and entertainment companies, biased and agitated by the cruelty against the environment and animals, etc. etc.
And our immediate environment and neighborhood does not help sometimes, because we might be let down by friends, family, jobs, opportunities of any advancement, and so on.
But if we pay attention to our hearts, without the blockage of our physical senses and that obnoxious voice in our minds, we just might be able to understand that all that separates us from being the best we can be is not our environment, our society, or even things which befall us and bring us suffering, but that it is our minds and how we choose to perceive life. As Buddha wisely and simply puts it, “What we think, we become.”
Our minds are filled and shaped by what we choose to perceive of ourselves and of the world.