The
first line from Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah”
stirs the
spirit and ‘plucks heart-strings’.
Speechless,
one can only say “Hallelujah”, and
it says everything! The
mind cannot decode
this.
The
mind can hypothesize, and imagine many things,
but when the
“spirit” and “heart” move in full vibrancy,
the mind is
dumbfounded. It can only “babble”.
Where
are YOU when this happens?
Who are you? What are you?
This
“stunning of the mind”, is like the blast of bright
sunlight
that hits your eyes when you quickly throw
open heavy window
curtains. The “heavy curtains of
inhibiting concepts” have
suddenly parted transporting“you”
into non-local reality.
In that instant of non-local disorientation, where is the "personal"
you? Your mind/thoughts, self-image, opinions about who
you are
etc. are incapable of entering the dimension beyond mind.
That
“you”, the “personal” you, the self-image you, are all
constructs
of mind. They are limited ephemeral images that are
always changing
with no concrete substance.
That
YOU that you ‘think’ you are, had a beginning
and will come
to an end when the body/brain/mind
passes away. But, there is a
YOU that is not bound
by the limitations of body/mind. That YOU,
knows
that it exists.
The
body/mind “you”, the “you” that you normally think of
when
you refer to yourself, your ideas, your feelings, your plans,
your
desires, your fears, etc., that “you” is constantly changing.
It
was once with a baby body; next “you” were associated with
the
feelings and body of a school youngster; later “you” became
a
teenager – then an adult.
Which
“you” was the real you and not a conceptual mental
image-based
“you”? Through all those “life experiences” of “you”
there was
a steadfast, consistent YOU that was there “witnessing”
all those
characters that you thought were “you”.
Begin
with small steps, with little things of everyday experience.
Observe
the activity of mind, the thoughts that cross your attention.
Notice
how certain thoughts ‘grab’ your attention in such a way
that
you feel helpless in reacting to the demands and stimuli
affecting
body and mind.
Become
a “witness.” A dispassionate witness. Do not get involved in
the
thoughts parading before your awareness. Do not give them your
attention.
Just watch them with curiosity. These thoughts cannot
harm you, they
cannot move you to do anything undesirable –
unless you let them.
These
are the initial steps to Mastery of self. That “self” that is
the
image of the mind. Go slowly, gradually. Note that you cannot
really
define the real YOU which is not of the mind.
That YOU might be
labelled as the “Self” as opposed to the
“self” of the mind.
As
you begin to be Master of self,
the greater Self has more and
more opportunities
to guide you through life experiences.
There
will be a lessening of inner conflict and turmoil.
You are on the
road to the peace.
Not
peace from something, but the peace that you naturally are.
Mastery
of self is the road to freedom – not freedom from
something,
but freedom itself, which is a state of being rather
than a condition.
And
then perhaps you might say
that you “heard a secret chord”
that
the “holy spirit” played
on your “heart-strings”.
Hallelujah