Move Beyond the Grip of Phenomenality

[video with English subtitles]

Silent Retreat
30 July 2015, Session 1

Move Beyond the Grip of Phenomenality

The greatest effective action you can take

is when the mind becomes insignificant for you.

I'm talking about
the psychological antics of the mind.

Something recognizes and turns away from it,

because you starve it
of the oxygen that gives it power.

[Questioner] There's a seeing that the life ...

the person is there, and it's all fine.

My attention more and more is not going there.

It's there but it's not important.

Also, the daily life of this one, in the life,
who's a wife,

and has all these different roles to play, a job ...

[Q.] That's seen clearly now.
That's just what it is.

It's just the dynamic consciousness there.

And I'm aware of all of this play going on,

but I'm not concerned so much with that.
I'm just seeing it.

[Mooji] Yes, this is true.

[M.] This is also a very natural thing, actually.

Simple, also. It comes by itself.
You're coming to see that,

as soon as waking up happens,
then it seems the world appears again,

and is peopled with so many beings,

and the sense of 'I' arises back in this body,

and the relationship of this 'I'
with the world at large

is also functioning on some level,

and that is taking place
in front of something that has no name.

So the entire waking state consciousness
and its functioning

is happening by itself.

The experiencer, that which is being experienced,

and the movement or the functioning of experiencing,

are all the play and the content
of that waking consciousness,

of that dynamic consciousness you're speaking of.

It's simply happening,
including the sense of this intimate identity,

of a sense of 'me' moving in this world
as a character who's playing,

presently a husband or a wife, or an uncle,
and all of this is going on.

Something is quite apart from this,
but it does not dismiss this role.

It is not cynical about it.
It knows it has to play that part also.

Do you follow? That part is also being played.

But the cynicism is not there, that
'Oh, it's rubbish, it doesn't really ...'

No, no. It is also consciousness acting.

But beyond this active consciousness,
there's also a space of seeing,

where it's as though one is
looking out from this vastness,

and observing the functioning of consciousness,

operating inside this form, doing its thing.

And it may sound strange,
but as you acclimatise yourself to it.

By that I simply mean that
you become comfortable with this seeing.

Because the mind is going to try to say,

'Look, look! Something is very strange!
This should not be!'

But something is feeling,
'No, no, no. It's going by itself.'

And also, the way of seeing it
becomes more perfected.

There is a saying:
'I'm not seeing the world as it truly is,

I am seeing the world as I am.'
So if I am a very stressed being,

the world will come across
as a very stressed place.

But as one is seeing more and more
from this integral consciousness,

from this place of Being, then one sees that,

'Wait, your eyes are seeing more true.'

You see that, bitter or sweet,
each of these expressions has to happen.

But you are not so invested in them,

because you know that, somehow,
some power is taking care of this.

And yet, if you turn your attention
to any particular aspect of it,

that also has an impact.

And the more pure the consciousness is,

meaning that it has
filtered out the egoic conditioned self,

the more effective the attention
energizes what it's looking at.

These are things
that are a part of our mystical existence.

But in our mental world,

we have tried to explain things
in some scientific way,

which is not how they really are,
but how they can appear to be.

If you are fully invested in your outlook,

then you will believe that outlook into existence,

and experience what you project.

There is not one thing in life
that has one single inherent meaning.

It has the meaning that you project onto it.

It becomes what you take it to be.
We must understand this.

And gradually you see that consciousness
is adapting itself to take on

the colour, or the size and shape,
of whatever concepts it embraces,

or it feels inclined to give attention to.

But you are looking now
from beyond this field of operation,

and you're not invested
in trying to change things deeply,

seeing they're going fine by themselves,
bitter or sweet.

Because the bitter has its role to play,
and sometimes a much more effective

and auspicious role, than the sweet thing.

You can only bless it.

But your place of looking,
you have moved beyond more and more

from the grip of phenomenality.
You're looking out from another place.

[Q.] It all happens very naturally,

almost you just slide into it.

[Mooji] Why it happens, naturally,
is because it is natural! [laughter]

[Mooji] That's why it happens naturally.
Also, somehow, in your life,

you're being aligned with that universal principle,
and then you see,

somehow, everything drops into place,
and everything seems to,

without setting any program,
it's all just unfolded naturally for you.

[Q.] Also, when this insight came,
it was like a confirming,

over and over again, that That is. That That's so.

But sometimes that felt like
it was the mind that was trying to confirm.

[Mooji] You see, the mind tries to claim this.

Because if it can get in and put the signature on,

it can claim it as, you know,
'We did really well here'.

But then that is even seen,
out of the sharpness of your own dharma eye.

You are seeing this thing. And what did you do?

You chose to disregard him. Which he doesn't like.

Because the greatest effective action you can take

is when the mind becomes insignificant for you.

I'm talking about
the psychological antics of the mind.

And something recognizes and turns away from it,

because you starve it of the oxygen
that gives it power.

You see? Just like that.

[music]

Beyond this active consciousness,
there's also a space of seeing,

where it's as though
one is looking out from this vastness,

and observing the functioning of consciousness

operating inside this form, doing its thing.

There is not one thing in life
that has one single inherent meaning.

You have moved beyond, more and more,
from the grip of phenomenality.

You're looking out from another place.

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