The Wisdom Mind, the nature of Self, Meditation, and finding God within yourself

You, and I, and all of us, we were born with a mind pure and uncluttered, free from all extraneous thought and emotion. We were able to simply "be", resting in a mind that was free from worry and concern. A mind full of love and peace, which knew or cared nothing about yesterday or tomorrow, only about the now. That mind is the Wisdom Mind.

The Wisdom Mind is the place that is within all of us, the place which is the wellspring of love, and of peace. It's not only the place of love, it *is* love. Some people think of this as your "soul", your inner core, your heart, and it is, but it's that and much more.

We're all born with this Wisdom Mind. It's there within you. It will always be within you. You can see the Wisdom Mind, or "Original Mind," in children, who live in the moment, open and carefree, full of love and the joy of life.

But something happens after we're born and as we grow. In order to cope with the world around us, we start to build concepts and structures within ourselves that, while they help us deal with and make sense of the world, are totally at odds with the formless beauty that is the Wisdom Mind. These things we build create the "Ordinary Mind", which surrounds the Wisdom Mind. The Ordinary Mind contains all of our conscious thoughts and feelings, our knowledge, including our sense of "Self" (our name, personal history, where we went to school, whether we're a father, mother, brother, sister, etc, what we do for a living, our likes and dislikes, in short, everything we think of when we refer to ourselves).

We have been taught since childhood that this "Self" is who we are. In reality, this idea of "Self" is just an illusion. We cling to this idea of "Self" because we want to believe in something solid, something concrete. As people, we naturally want to build a framework of ideas and beliefs that we can hang our reality on. The Ordinary Mind wants to relate everything we see and feel in the world to a structure which makes us feel comfortable. Left to its own devices, the Ordinary Mind shies away from the formlessness of the Wisdom Mind. It becomes fearful of losing itself in the vast expanse, the "emptiness", which is love itself.

The reality, the truth, is that this structure, this framework, is not natural; it is of our own creation, and it covers the true reality, that of the Wisdom Mind. The Wisdom Mind is where we began when we were born, and it is where we will end when we die. It is our home now and always. It is the priceless gift we're all given at birth.

Our job, our one true goal in life, should be, must be, to uncover our Wisdom Mind. Only by opening this door can we end the delusion of Self and find true happiness, the peace and happiness inside of yourself which doesn't depend on any external person or thing.

How do we open the door to this place of beauty, where we're surrounded by peace and love? We do this by quieting our mind through silent contemplation and meditation. The purpose of meditation is to clear our mind of all thoughts. Left unchecked, these thoughts chase each other around in our minds. By stilling these thoughts, our minds have the ability to simply remain in stillness.

By quieting our mind, the thoughts, concerns, worries, and ideas of our Ordinary Mind are dissolved, revealing our Wisdom Mind. As the thoughts of the Ordinary Mind dissolve, the clouds of uncertainty dissipate and the sky clears, allowing our Wisdom Mind to shine forth.

It has been said that while praying is like talking, meditation is like listening. For most of us in the West, meditation is a new concept. We're used to praying. But rather than asking for something in prayer, we need to learn to let go of our selfish ideas and just listen. Really listen. Quiet our minds and listen to the beautiful song of the universe.

Only by quieting the thoughts of our Ordinary Mind can we unveil the vast power that is our Wisdom Mind. The Ordinary Mind is like a curtain which is covering our Wisdom Mind. By quieting our thoughts, the curtain is drawn back and our Wisdom Mind is revealed. From that source a bright light shines forth, a light full of love and understanding, of peace and serenity.

That light is the center of your being, the core of human consciousness. That light is within you right now. It is not something new which you need to seek for, because you already have it. All that you need is inside of you. All the components to create, grow, and nurture the perfect, loving soul are within you already. Like a seed it lies in the soil, ready to blossom given the correct tending. It does require tending, though, through contemplation, understanding, meditation, good thoughts, and good deeds.

To be awakened to the nature of the Wisdom Mind is to be awakened to the nature of God. The Wisdom Mind, once revealed, is the source of all divinity. This is what The Great Teacher, Jesus, taught: God is within us. We have only to see it. Not an anthropomorphic God, but a God without form or shape, a God which does not love but *is* love. It is often said by those who anthropomorphize God that Man was created in God's image, but the reality is that the Universe created Man, and then Man created God in his own image. Man was groping for answers, trying to know the unknowable, imagine the unimaginable, and fathom the unfathomable.

But, for the most part, aside from a few, people were caught up in the thought of God as something outside of themselves. If one quiets one's mind of all thoughts and delusions of Self, however, the truth becomes apparent: What is inside of me, beyond Self, is God. It is not that I am God, or you are God; it is that we have God *inside* of us. It is there inside each of us. For all too many of us, it is buried deep down, but for the blessed few, it has risen to the surface.

It is up to you to find this within yourselves. It will be the most worthwhile journey of your life.

Much love and happiness,
Kevin