A person experiencing the neutral mind can feel one's universal energy expanding. Selfless in the sense that he lives without expectations of any kind from any person, even from his son. The mind is not personal but impersonal and, therefore, not turbulent. If the mind is not with self then it has to be with the other. He lives with the heart with love, caring and concern for the other only. This is the arahant stage when the harsh intellect is disbanded and he lives with the flexible open heart. Here the universal cosmic energy expands and expands. You live for the welfare of others. Even the dirty beggar boy on the streets you can embrace as your own. The harsh intellect that constantly ridicules, condemns, dissect, analyse, compare, identifies and so on are gone. You realise the utility value of the intellect only. Like a can-opener you use it at times for understanding and to live with wisdom and then discard. Most of the time, live with this wonderful heart where it is the centre of the expanding infinite cosmic energy. All purified energy emanates from this thousand-petal lotus centre. The Omega -point or the mother-love originates from here. Like a mother to her only child selflessly devotes herself she has discovered her mission in coming to samsaric life. That is, through mother love discover "true affection". Then the next Giant Step is to be a universal mother. Expand that discovered "true affection" from the nuclear family to the limitless universe with the same flavour of a true mother. It is then one goes beyond sam-sara.
The saint and the sages that operate only with the heart radiate the rainbow coloured astral aura to the skies. When the Kirlian instrument (invented by Kirlian, the Russian) was held against a saint, the saint's aura expanded to the skies. All that was within the aura, the bacteria, the plants, the animals, the man and the stellar systems were blessed with well-being. We hear of saints living in forest caves leaving their abodes temporarily visiting the distraught urban people and showering them with blessings of well-being. Gross to refinement the energy is refined in solitude in the caves the saints know when their subtle energy is expanding and can universally reach the others for their well-being.
A European experience during the Second World War indicates that neutral mind vibrations have its own returns. I think it was in Holland, when most people took the sides of the Allies or the enemy, there was a small group who did not take sides. It is said that this group continued to get parcels of food during the thick of the war and never suffered from starvation!
When we live in samsara it is the never-ending dualistic nature we encounter. When there is the sunny-side of the mountain there is the shady-side of the mountain. If there is a woman there is a man. If there is water there is fire. If there is a back there is a front and so on and so on. Polarity exists and continues. From these dualities we should learn spiritual skills to manipulate living by living like a coin. The neutral mind seeks a distance for calm, serene, tranquillity of nature. If we can train ourselves to live like a coin, detachment on the side of heads and attachment on the side of tails, independent but together we master the skills of tranquil living. When we do not expect anything from any one or from any task we can fully commit our self to the other or the task and work towards the mission, and even be committed with feelings. But at the same time we can nurture our independence and distance ourselves from the hub of bonds by unclinging and enjoying that space in the mind without calling it 'detachment'. This word 'detachment' gives the wrong connotation of being cold to the other or 'indifferent'. Once you slow down your systems of body-mind you come to a stage when silence and stillness is within you. It is here, there and everywhere, in and out. You walk with it, move with it. That stillness and silence makes you fearless like a lion. You are mountain-solid with slow reaction. When reaction settles in already the 'distance' between you and the other or between you and the thought has tranquillised you. This applies to 'anger', 'excitement', 'happiness', 'thoughts' of likes and dislikes and so on. However, it is wrong to believe that a calm, serene, tranquil person is not fit for modern living, specially walking in the busy streets or driving a vehicle in the thick of traffic. Mindfulness that he has gained from spiritual exercise makes him alert, attentive and aware. He experiences think of thoughts how to change the mind of a person who is bitterly against you like an angry sister-in-law. Then you are in control of your mind and not the mind the master of you playing havoc with you with the sister-in-law's accusations. Do not let your past invade your thoughts, I mean your dead memory, and take away that beautiful pure space from your present mind. The thoughts that jabber away from the past, present and of the future can make the mind vulnerable, turbulent and bring torture. You create your own hell when there are so many openings to paradise.
In spiritual progress practising EMPTINESS is a direct experience of Nibbana. When you know what peace is in space you are with the bliss of emptiness. This way is the way of emptying thoughts from the mind and discovering the space in the mind. It makes the mind open, flexible without discrimination. You never realise till the mind opens up with its space what fantastic, immeasurable vastness you are merged in. You are so tiny, solid or not solid, that any giant problem of yours Instantly disappears like fireworks in vast blue skies. Link the mind with space and flexibly the mind stretches and stretches removing restraints and stress. You are relaxed and In well-being all the time. You can stretch and stretch your mind like a rubber band till it snaps. When it snaps you know there are no limits. Its immeasurable, unmanifested vastness can accommodate anything, any problem flexibly.
You can try emptying your thoughts in a peaceful corner for five minutes, ten minutes, one hour and so on and strike on the deep relaxation of body and mind. You can empty your thoughts focusing on the white ceiling. One who had achieved this through constant practice asked me "can I go on like this for 24 hours?" I told him he is a lucky man if he can manage that in samsara.
How does one function with a neutral mind and its twin sister 'emptiness'? The twins are not identical but from the same source, the mother of purity. Earlier I spoke about a banyan tree. If you succeed to see 'nature as it is' then when you look at the banyan tree messages will not come from the tree for you to interpret, dissect and analyse. You see the wholeness of it, not in parts of good and bad. When the telephone rings at the wrong time you do not ask your son to lie and say, "my mother is in the bath", or "she is not at home", only train your son to take a message down for you to call back. Without your intellect accusing you or the other all the time, innocent trust of the world lighten the burdens of the mind. If your loyal helper who works for you has a bad dream and wants to visit home, take that message without questioning and make all arrangements for him to complete his mission. He is not a liar nor is he faking. You say you care for him but till he comes back you are restless. Are you truly concerned for him or are you missing his personal service and feeling sorry for yourself? This type of thinking help you to get back to the relaxed emptiness and get inspiration to do your own work. Ultimately we know nothing is a permanent arrangement. There are times when someone is shouting at you. Perhaps it is a family member or your sister-in-law. There is no reaction from you. Instead your inside is bursting with laughter! You see in samsara all these disturbances will also subside eventually. You are eternally a witness. A witness some times to the ripples on a river or the thundering waves of the ocean. That is, 'living moment to moment in nature as it is.
The deep blue stillness of the ocean is there in everyone. Some day the thundering waves will find its home, its innate stillness and silence. Till that day, the ripples and the thundering waves will go on. The depths of the ocean is our super-consciousness which is experienced as emptiness and space and it is here, there and everywhere. In and out. As I said earlier all things arise from it and returns to it. Without this sacred consciousness we are dead. When we experience it there are no words to describe its divine quality. We may try to verbalise it and call it the grace of God or Nibbana.
Neutral Mind and Its Cosmic Expansion - Erika Dias - Page 2
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