The Conditioned Mind
Inner reflection reveals that you are more than thoughts, feelings and memories. That all your actions are reactions towards family, social, cultural contracts that have evolved over years of conditioning which you respond to without thought. We are most of the time like automated machinery acting out our lives devoid of fresh ideas. Our only clue to this tragic error is our angst riddled society which reflects our inner turmoil by manifesting this internal malaise into our outside world. Eventually our symbiotic relationship to society is a mirror image of the conditioned mind incapable of breaking away from this destructive downward spiral. We are captives of the ego following its directives with blind obedience. Our only exit silently watches and waits patiently for some stirring from within. True freedom can only be realized when consciousness is released from form. When we no longer confined ourselves to the definitions of the conditioned mind. When we awake to the fact that we are not just body but also spirit. That consciousness resides between spirit and matter with the awakened mind.
What is the awakened mind? When one awakes to the fact that it reacts to everything conditionally one becomes awakened. No longer do you define ourselves with the limitations of your thoughts, feelings memories, personal stories acknowledging that you exist beyond that and not bound by body. When you open yourself up to the mystery of that question you discover all this. That you are more than your definitions, you are more than your personal history, and you are more than ego. You are eternal; as the observer you observe all things arise in the present moment and realize that in truth you are none of these. From your position there is arising and you are independent of this arising. There is nothing to add, nothing to change it is about remembering that you are everything and that everything is within you. It is just removing this wall of self image which is created to confine you. As the Observer you are no-thing; you are pure awareness till you descend into attention. You have no attributes of which you can speak off. You are not bounded; therefore you can decide whether to use the conditioned minds thoughts, feelings; ideas, concepts about a flower or you can experience it in the now and just be. Having questioned all your predispositions you discover that it is all an illusion. You don’t really know who you are because you can stop action, you can stop emotions. It is something which is being generated, an outside agency which you can control. You can dissolve emotions both which are positive or negative as they arise. Yes even the positive emotions must be allowed to dissolve as it is part of duality. If you follow a positive emotion it will lead you into a happy state or experience which of course is in the mind. At this point thought will lead away and create all sorts of ecstatic experiences and then engage you in dialogue over it. But if you allow all predispositions to dissolve all your memories of who you think you are. You observe that you are still there.
Part of an Essay Titled ' What is Enligthenment
by Carloz
“ An old Monk woke at 4 o’clock every morning walked his way to the gardens to make an offering of incense to Lord Buddha. He did this religiously for some thirty years. On this particular day a young boy was playfully casting stones into the air on his way to the market when one landed shattering the Buddha’s head. With his head bowed the boy walked apologetically towards the monk and tearfully he cried “I am so sorry for what I have done please forgive me. “ The Old monk turned towards the boy smiled and said “Oh! No young man, Thank you for liberating me.”
The mendicant is liberated by a stone thrown at a statue after some thirty years of bondage. Because that is exactly what had been transpiring . An old conditioned habit repeated everyday. Conditioned habit disguised as incense offering. If he was seeking enlightenment he would never have found it in this manner. Thirty years of seeking fruitlessly till he stopped ! Habits can form to such a degree that sometimes we forget our original purpose)
