Without the Story, Can There Be A Fight? - 8th February 2021

Without the story, can there be a fight?

I still feel yes, somehow.

We should look. We should really look at this, no? So let's say in pure perception—is what I call it, no?—the storyless perception. Storyless perception. Now, what has to appear here, you see, that without the story becomes an attack or a fight?

Can you say it again, please?

So, okay, let me expand on that a bit. So in your being, you have this seeming outside world, yes? Now, in this outside world, if there was no story but there was something showing up, you see, without the story, what could cause trouble? It couldn't. It couldn't cause struggle. Now, okay, so then the next level of your existence, let's say, is the layer of the body. You see, at the body layer, some sensations—pain, pleasure—all of this can come. And recall the innocence of a child, where, you know, there was a child in Satsang on Friday and one moment he was crying, the next moment he was laughing. There was no story and there was no suffering. Pain and pleasure was naturally there, but there was no fight. There was no psychological struggle. So I'm giving the answer along with the question, which is a bit unfair, but would you see it like that?

Yes, yes, yes, yes.

You see? Now let's say we go a level deeper and we go to the level of—let's leave thought aside—let's go to emotion. You see, emotion? There's some emotion, anger, what we call anger, but we are not labeling for the moment. You see some anger, then moments later there's some joy, then there's some neutrality where you can't really place what emotion is there. Now, without the labels and the story, can it become a fight?

No.

Are you saying no because you know it's the right answer, or you see it? Or you see it?

I see it that it's not possible. But there's still so much like these voices inside just rebelling against this.

Yes, of course. Of course, it is his job. So don't worry, it will do that. But we are recognizing the playground of the fight. We are recognizing clearly the playground of the fight. And then if you go beyond even emotion, then you come to pure presence and beingness, and you realize that of course it is not possible to have any sort of fight or struggle over there. So all of this exercise was done so that we can localize and we can see that the location of this conflict is just in our mind. You see? You see? Now, what can the mind tell you so that there is conflict or struggle or fight?

I have an idea. It's like this: there's the subtle, there's this expectation that after some years of going to Satsang and participating in Satsang, there shouldn't be this energetic pain on a daily basis anymore.

So this is the suggestion of the mind. Very good, very good. So in a way, what I was going to say is that the mind has all of the proposals for 'better.' You see, 'better' sounds like a good idea, but the problem with 'better' is that it resists what is. You see? Now, because you have gone to Satsang, therefore you should not be in this kind of pain anymore. It is an idea of how your life should be better or how things should be better, but subtly its only job is to resist what is. And in this humble-sounding notion of 'better,' these proposals of 'better,' we become inadvertently—you see, not inadvertently as consciousness, but as part of the play—inadvertently in opposition to what is. You see? So this resistance or opposition to what is is called the ego. You see? And that is why the advice last time was to see that for what is actually existent, which is your being, no sensation or perception needs to come or go. It is fine with whatever is there. It is only this self-image called the ego which has... this self-image is like a shape which says, 'In my perception, I only want good stuff. I don't want this so-called bad stuff.' You see? It picks and chooses, and that picking and choosing is suffering.

Yes.

You see? And then what happens is we come to Satsang and we hear some opposing concepts, and then it can seem like there is a set of concepts and there's an opposing set of concepts, and then both can get into a fight. You see? Sometimes you'll hear the Master's words, which the mind can replay also, and say it's saying something, then it's saying... okay, also replaying the Master's words just to put you into a resistive state. You see? Now, if you were to leave that playground where the fight is happening, you see, then can you struggle?

I need to... I need to feel it out. There's no struggle. It's just that the sensations are here and it's still uncomfortable.

Yes, but these labels, they belong to the image that you have about yourself. You see? Because the mind has convinced you that this should not be. And therefore it can feel like you're only getting somewhere if these sensations are going away. Yes? So it has put you in the scale of 'better.' You'll get better if these go away, which is a setup for failure again.

And also, it always brings this identity of a victim immediately as soon as this sensation is here, and then this fight or this trying to come out of this.

So we can never fix the problem at that level. You see, no problem actually can be fixed at the level at which it is created. So you just have to transcend it. So we're not trying to fix the mind, heal the mind, make the mind quieter—none of that. The mind can be whatever it wants to be. You see? What percentage of your being does your mind take up right now?

There's... I can say it's just the sensation that seems to be quite taking a lot of space in the being.

I'll give you a tip. Really, for a moment now, just don't even label it a sensation. Don't know what it is at all. Just be completely open. Completely open. Not with an expectation that it will go away. You see? Just fully open. And just whatever is appearing is so much in your attention that you don't have any attention left to go to a label and say, 'This is what it is.' Whatever is showing up is fully in your attention. You see? Now, what is showing up can only hurt that which it is touching, isn't it? It cannot hurt that which it is not touching. Now, that which it is touching, can it be hurt?

What do you mean by touching?

Ah, okay. Let me say that in which it is appearing—that is what it is touching, no? Like at its boundary, there is just this space of being. Yeah. So I was trying to avoid as many labels as possible, but maybe just to clarify. You see? Now, just go back. You can try and forget about these labels for a moment. Just go back to your pure... just giving your attention to whatever is showing up and see if you can find that which is actually hurt by it.

That which is seeing it, you mean? If this is hurt? Can you find anything that is hurt by it? This is the quote-unquote sensation, no?

You see? So can you find the one that the mind is trying to protect?

No.

Are you affected in any way if this continued to remain like this?

No.

You see? Now, create an image of yourself that is affected by it. Use thoughts, use ideas, actively resist it. When you invite it, then it seems difficult. You see? When you invite it to come—'Come, let's create the self-image, let's play with that for a bit so that something can be hurt with the sensations, otherwise these sensations are going to waste.' You see? So invite it to come again. Try. Use ten thoughts. Just pick up ten thoughts. Just believe that I'm here with you, nothing will happen, don't worry. Pick up ten ideas about yourself and do it—this reverse Satsang. Tell me when you succeeded.

It's not happening. So it is really when these thoughts come and I believe them, then it creates this fight, it will give a reality to this.

Yes. So remember, my tip is that nothing in pure perception can cause any suffering. To suffer, you need an idea. And when you open, just like you checked, you see? When you're really open, you see, then you can even invite and say, 'Okay, what is this?' But in your openness, in your acceptance, in your openness, even this play cannot happen. Is it? Now, all these thoughts are coming like, 'I hope that next time when it comes I...' but this is already also creating this victim again.

Yeah.

Yes, it tries to pull you back in time. So sometimes I say that if you're in Satsang with me, forget about either time or space. Pick one. I'm not asking you to do both. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you for your openness, my dear. Very good.