How can we obtain that which we already have? Should we drop the goal of obtaining peace as a result of our meditation practice? Can we just sit without wanting something to happen and just be with what is? Having a gaining idea can lead us into a circle of suffering, pain and confusion. Nothing is permanent, so trying to reach a state of permanent peace is an unreachable goal. Can we accept that we will never have a continuous, blissful state of oneness? Can we call off the search and see that the thing we are looking for is right here, right now, in this moment? It can be nowhere else but here because only this moment exists. Everything else is only thought.
- The one who seeks peace doesn’t exist.
- The one who is looking for enlightenment doesn’t exist.
- The one who wants to keep peace blocks the peaceful state that already exists.
- It’s not possible to attain a perfect, constant state of peace.
- That which thinks it’s not at peace will never attain it.
We must ask who or what is seeking peace. Who or what is not at peace or is agitated with present circumstances.
Thank you Robert for taking the time to share this with us.
Listening to you, I have to think of one of Allen Carr’s self-help book I read about 7-8 years ago on how to stop smoking. According to him, the one that craves for a smoke is not us, but something else within ourselves that he called the “little beast”…
On another note, I think I understand this recent tweet of yours a little bit more… “Whoever wants music instead of noise, joy instead of pleasure, soul instead of gold, creative work instead of business, passion instead of foolery, finds no home in this trivial world of ours.”
Take care.
states of mind..self…coexist…now…
Robert,
As always your view is amazing… You are incredibly incisive in your dissection of the human condition, but what makes your work so wonderful is the fact it is nurtured, crafted and cultivated in the real-world… and not from the ‘walled-garden’ of monastic-bliss… I just love the fact that you pause for as long as it takes to drill-down to the core rather than skim the surface.
Personally, my view of ‘peace’ is somewhat like that of ‘happiness’ in that neither can EVER be found! – we must simply stop looking for them… like it was a lost pen behind the sofa or like when we are scouring the classifieds in the local-paper for a second-hand car.
As the years have passed I have learnt, that my own ‘happiness’ is the result of (or a response too) a sense of honest-contentment, which is drawn from accepting an imperfect world. As rarely, if ever will ‘my own true happiness’ be present in an unadulterated form (like some illusion of Paradise, Nirvana or Heaven)… because no matter how hard I work for it, or how long I might wait, or how diligently I search, or even how much I’ve tried to save-up, seldom will everything be perfect.
I desperately try to draw reasonable satisfactions from the ‘NOW’… Satisfaction with a job done the best I can… Satisfaction from meaningful relationships… Satisfaction from enjoyable experiences… Satisfaction from having positive attitudes!!! – I have adjusted & learnt to deeply accept ‘our’ imperfect world, and therefore to be content, with things as they are NOW…
For sure any of us can strive for a warmer home… a more dependable car… or rewarding job… even improvements in our own health, but whatever we do, we must never put-off our contentment until those things arrive!!!!
For me, it used to be my ‘delaying’ or ‘waiting’ for a different tomorrow that caused my own ‘unease’… rather than just the absence of something better.
Love & affection
marka
now is all we will ever have,accept it.love it.be happy!dad.
PEACE CAN BE ASSUREDLY OBTAINED canny be guaranteed but if ones knows eough about evolution and biology and how the brain works its not so difficult to set the conditions so that a quiter mind occurs a greater percentile of the time.
And despite spending a few years in both Buddhist(Thera and Zen) and Benedictine onasteries One doesnt need to know about the perennial wisdom(self ascribed i assume ?!) to have the quieter mind
I appreciate you for posting such a wonderful weblog. this blog is not only useful but also bvery imaginative too. We come across very few experts who are capable of create not so easy stuff that creatively. we keep searching for content regarding this subject. I have gone through dozens of websites to come across knowhow with respect to this.We look forward to much more !!
Despite finding the AQM utterly rewarding, full of inspiration & comfort for over two years now, seeing me through some dreadful times I have never commented previously. – It’s has been supportive to know I am not alone.
When I read the previous comment by ‘Simon Fellows’ I was upset as it seemed so heartless, so cold, as if Simon was in pain himself and certainly not benefiting (in any sense) from ‘wisdom’ from his own spiritual studies. I would just like to extend love to him and let him know he is not alone in the world.
Sadly, whilst some of the facts of his comment are rational; in truth, even evolutionary-biologists suffer from their own darker-emotions at different times in their lives. Robert’s personal-wisdom & steadying hand is most welcome at those times & that’s why he is loved by so many people around the world. I just hope Simon stays with us long enough for Roberts ‘touch’ to lift his sprits, guide his thoughts and thaw his coldness!
Thank you Robert for everything you’ve done for us all! – you are a star!
Jane x x x
This is a conundrum; but, it’s all about getting off the wheel. I so appreciate AQM – more than I can ever express.
Hi,
I would really like to see and hear more content… Looking forward to more podcasts.
Its always a bonus when you listen to something out of the blue which talks about exactly the issue that is current for you. I have become aware of late that there is a field of peace always there – the same way as in the ocean, if you go deep its always still and you can even look up and see the waves crashing away. So when I sit I hold that field of peace in attention and can observe how it is interwoven into even the most dense of painful feelings.Those painful feelings may not dissolve but peace can be found in their midst – I can even be grateful for the pain because without it I would never know the field of peace. And then what is pain anyway? That’s an interesting question. Very associated with the mind made sense of self and the resistance that brings. So Robert thanks for the confirmation. As in Zen… nothing to gain…and isn’t it wonderful that all the struggle is just a way of teaching us that struggling is in vain…there is real hope in that truth because it means I don’t have to succeed at anything …yay!!!! I just have to get out of my own way…not always easy…but then again so easy…woohoo let it ride!!!!
Its the time we find to make time, which plays in our lives…Busy they may be, so to stop and take time out is perfect in its self! I so love your website and the info you give it always leaves me with a feeling everything is OK NOW!!
2010………………….the now
…I feel that the down time has come to me in the new year, everything in my life is not rosy…..
Rant time:
I had a very good job Trucking in the uk as a tanker driver, it was a contract but I was law attracting for a full time position, it did hot happen!!
My Farther has cancer and he has been in hospital now for 4 months and seeing my dad dieing has really effected me in a sad way,
My car is on its last legs and with no money ie no job I don’t know where to turn for help?
My soul has had a kicking.
But its life and even tho all the black clouds surround me I still feel great in an inner way!! I know its making me stronger to just be and let go even more when times are hard.
I hope this helps others as we all have our bit falls in life….
Overal my vocation is out of sink and I am so wanting it to change! as the pattern of life seems to repeat over again………funny that;;;;;life is trying to tell me something?
Thanx again robert for just being you
TreV
trevbeats@hotmail.co.uk
My blog to Robert
Its the time we find to make time, which plays in our lives…Busy they may be, so to stop and take time out is perfect in its self! I so love your website and the info you give it always leaves me with a feeling everything is OK NOW!!
2010………………….the now
…I feel that the down time has come to me in the new year, everything in my life is not rosy…..
Rant time:
I had a very good job Trucking in the uk as a tanker driver, it was a contract but I was law attracting for a full time position, it did hot happen!!
My Farther has cancer and he has been in hospital now for 4 months and seeing my dad dieing has really effected me in a sad way,
My car is on its last legs and with no money ie no job I don’t know where to turn for help?
My soul has had a kicking.
But its life and even tho all the black clouds surround me I still feel great in an inner way!! I know its making me stronger to just be and let go even more when times are hard.
I hope this helps others as we all have our bit falls in life….
Overal my vocation is out of sink and I am so wanting it to change! as the pattern of life seems to repeat over again………funny that;;;;;life is trying to tell me something?
Thanx again robert for just being you
TreV
trevbeats@hotmail.co.uk
Thank you Robert for all you share with us! I have been listening to your podcasts and they have provided me with rememberence of what is real and acceptance for what is now. Please keep the podcasts coming.
Much Love to you.
A little while ago Nobantu and I had a wonderful conversation. She inspired some thoughts and gave me some reading to do. I am also playing with a novel and there is a main character in the book called Ralph. A combination of his creation and where the inspiration from the conversation with Nobantu took me lead Ralph to think the following……..
‘Understanding deeply who and what I am is not determined by others around me or the environment has given me a great strength. Seeing the inner core of me and the beauty of life as a flame burning in me takes away all my anxiety and enables me to be. No longer do I have to win external approval by acquiring more or achieving goals I think others want me to strive for. I can now inhabit the island of me as a rich place of retreat with everything I need to be at ease with myself and the world around me. Every moment is filled with a joy of being and I need to travel no further than myself to experience it to the full.
To the normal person these ideas sound crazy or belonging to weird religious or spiritual sects. Since moving away from the merged state with mother the normal person is constantly seeking a return through judgment, approval, chasing a state others can give them or following those who appear to have got there. The break with mother is so devastatingly traumatic that a normal person can spend a lifetime using all the energy they have to put it all back together again. But all the kings horses and all the kings men cannot put Humpty Dumpty together again.
It is not easy to give up on this task of reconstruction. Our minds say if this, then that so we believe we must do this for that. Challenging that our minds might be wrong or that there are other ways is unnatural. Our minds have thought it so how do we get the same mind to unthink it. Curious people will find a way as they question, think, reflect, challenge and test how things fit together in their lives. Late in life a light may go on and insight rise to the surface. Others will get there through interventions that enter their lives or that they seek in their journey. Interventions from individuals who have taken generations of learning and are able to guide pupils to insight.
Imagine you are confronted with a wall you cannot pass through in front of you. It is made of steel reinforced concrete and extends forever in both directions. You notice a toothpick on the ground and believe this is the only tool you have to break through the wall to find the purpose of your life on the other side. You spend your whole life using the toothpick in all sorts of ingenious ways to get through the wall. Then one day you look behind you or someone makes the suggestion. There is no wall there and with no toothpick work to do life is suddenly filled with the pleasure of experiencing who and where you are. Now those in the know understand there is nothing worth having beyond the wall. Nothing. It was always a mirage you will never reach. It kept you busy with purpose but distracted you from seeing all along that everything you ever wanted was right there within you. Open your eyes and you will see.’
Now I am intrigued to know more about Ralph’s thoughts as they unfold…..but that is for another day. Nobantu….thankyou for the conversation and inspiration.
Robert…
Happy Valentines! Caught the wind in DC…Life has completely changed!
You are blessed and divine…I Totally enjoy the mix of styles. Watching for your break in silence and pray all well for You, T and the dogs!
Keep pluggin and sharin…no one’s judging you that has two ears and one mouth!
Thanks again.
Thanks for taking the time to discuss this, I feel strongly about it and love learning more on this topic. If possible, as you gain expertise, would you mind updating your blog with more information? It is extremely helpful for me
I found your post while I was researching details on kitchen appliances. Whilst it’s not what I was interested in, I liked reading your post. Will bookmark to return and read at a later date. Funny how Yahoo works…
i was starting to presume i would possibly be the sole student whom cared about this, at the very least at present i find out im not mad
i will make sure to see a handful of different threads when i get a tad of caffeine in me, it is actually tough to read without having my coffee, I was until the wee hours of the morning last night practicing zynga poker and after polishing off a few ales i finished up losing all my facebook poker chips cheers 
Isn’t this the essence of what all the great ones have said and what we all know in our heart if we can open the portal to it. The need for momentum, in individuals, taking responsibility for their own mindset is paramount. The arrogant busy mind, that assumes the ability to control life, always is directed in attempting to fix actions created by the mindset of many. The ignorant futility of attempting to control is, unfortunately, in one way or another, the legend of many lives. Robert, so eloquently and currently, supports what all the beautiful one’s have been saying since before man’s word’s have been documented.
There has never been and there never can never be enough wonderful voices like Robert’s encouraging all that he touches, that they are beautiful and great one’s, that need to live a life benefited by the cultivation of the quiet mind and, if so inclined, share their beliefs with those they connect with through action and/or word. Man’s misunderstanding that they are not worthy has kept too many separated from their ability to listen to themselves and know that all the sacred truth in life is their, if they so choose to seek it.