Self Realization

 By Ryan Kurczak

www.ryan-kurczak.org

You can be Self-realized.  All it takes is a choice.  Rather than identifying with and defending your limited personality concept, chose to let go of your tenacious attachment to that little you, that seems so important right now.  What is the alternative?  You can continue to live as you have been.  If it is relatively pleasant and enjoyable, there is no harm in that, although one day, you will get tired of that too.  If it is stressful and tiresome and full of weariness and toil, then Self-realization can help. 

 

What is the difference between someone who is Self-realized and someone who is not?  One notable difference is the degree and quality of peace and joy that a Self-realized person feels.  Life happens to them, just as it happens to all of us.  They experience good fortune, and they experience not so good fortune.  Sometimes life goes there way, and sometimes it doesn’t.  Why do they experience such peace?  One, because they know and accept the fact of life, that nothing which comes into manifestation is eternal.  Two, they know what is eternal.

 

In all of your experiences there is something that exists throughout each and every circumstance of your life.  Remember when you were a little child.  That ‘thing’ which experienced that smaller body and the greater sense of wonder, is it any different than what is experiencing your older body and current life experiences?  Do you really feel much different way down deep inside? 

 

That which witnesses all of your experiences is your Self.  It is eternal.  No matter what happens to your spouse, to your career, to your children, to the paint job on your car, it will remain as it ever has been.  No matter how smart or how stupid you become, no matter how much information you have, no matter how much money is in your bank account, the you that is eternal, never changes.  It never dies, and it is never born.

 

“But why do I get so upset when I lose something dear to me, or why do I get happy when I achieve my heart’s yearning?” you may ask.  I would answer.  Does the grief last forever?  Does the elation eventually fade and then you yearn for something else?  What is that witnesses the yearning or feels the grief?  Discover that, and neither will grief touch you, nor will you yearn for anything else.

 

For so long we have been dreaming.  We imagine that we are limited beings striving and doing in this life.  Once, many ages and lifetimes ago, we knew we were actors in the divine drama.  But as the years rolled by, acting got to be boring.  We thought to ourselves, if we really want to have some fun, we have to totally forget that we are actors and really get down into the mess of things.  One day, we lost the ability to recall our true nature.  Things got messier.  Our dreams were covered in darkness.  Hope was lost. 

 

Luckily, not everyone forgot the light that shines in the soul’s heart.  Some kept the lamp burning as a beacon, for when the time came to remember who and what we are truly.  Those shining beings have passed on this light from teacher to student since time began.  The way is freely lit for those who will but turn their attention to the light, and away from the mire of the dreaming. 

 

“Then why is it so hard to do?” you say.  When we have been in a place or a relationship as long as we have been dreaming, it can be painful to let go of that which no longer serves us.  Think of the people who know they are being taken advantage or abused, but do not make an effort to leave.  Or think of the person who has been told they have heart disease and if they don’t change their lifestyle they will die, and then never try.   The comfort of the familiar surroundings wins out. 

 

The light of the Self is brilliant.  It is ecstatic and like nothing else.  Faith is required to take the first steps towards knowing our Self.  The dream has been so long and dark that we cannot remember the complete unexcelled levity of the Self.  It seems as a legend, or a ghost, or a shadow of a thought.  Yet when that light dawns, there is no mistaking the sheer joy and freedom that it awakens.  This is why, any words to describe Self-realization or enlightenment can only point in the direction of the experience, and cannot describe it.  Just as teachers cannot make you believe or feel what it is like, but they can show you the way to get there. 

 

And then one day, behold, you wake up completely!  Wiping the sweat from your brow, you say to your Self, “Now that was something! What a ride.  Maybe we’ll try again tomorrow.”