The Truth of the Present Moment -- 'My Philosophy'
by D.R. Butler on Sunday, July 24, 2011 at 1:20pm
My writings in general, including the Course of Training via email, the blog, and Facebook, present
the Truth of the Present Moment as I have come to understand it after 50 years
of seeking, studying, training, being whipped into shape by various teachers in
various ways, having my ego obliterated over and again by the Guru until I
couldn’t be anyone other than who I am, and the experience gained as a teacher,
writer, speaker, answerer of innumerable questions, and leader of many classes,
workshops, and retreats over the 35 years I functioned in such a role.
The past is a memory; the future is a projection; neither exists now
except in our mind. What is the Truth of the existing moment? Is it the pain in
my back and hips? Is it the confusion in the mind? Is it the continuous
emotional ups and downs? Probably it’s not any of those, as they all come and
go; relative truth is only temporary, or for this time only.
The Truth with a capital ‘T’ is the one Principle that never changes in a universe where
everything else on every level of being constantly changes. The body changes,
thoughts change, emotions change, the world around us changes, ‘others’ change,
but the Truth of divine Awareness within never varies in the least. It is
eternal, all-pervasive, and all-inclusive. Nothing exists outside it. It
includes the entire cosmos of the waking world, the innumerable realms of the
dream world, the vast world of deep sleep, and the Turiya state that
simultaneously permeates the other three. It is the only Truth there ever is,
ever has been, and ever will be. It is without beginning or end. It is an
unmodified, undifferentiated, unconditioned, formless Awareness of Being.
Did you know that scientists are now discovering that perhaps
there never was a ‘big bang’ that began the universe? Those on the ‘cutting
edge’ are now discovering that, wonder of wonders, the universe had no beginning
and has no end. Welcome to the Vedas, the Upanishads, and all
the other scriptures that have existed for thousands of years saying the same thing.
As for my ‘philosophy,’ I’m not sure I really have one that could
be put into words other than, in my own experience and observation, all of life,
and all spiritual seeking, leads to eventually living in the Truth of the
present moment. I don’t have any mental speculations. The mind is only the 16th
of 36 Tattvas (levels of creation); what does it know? I wouldn’t put my trust
in thoughts or concepts. The only thing concepts are good for are to be broken.
My philosophy is to be real, be sincere, be who you truly are,
live according to your own heart and your own nature, feel good about yourself
as God made you, even manifests as you, just as you are. Drop all
pretension. Give up your fake veneer and your hypocrisy even when you think
you’re being genuine. Stop playing your phony games that you’ve been playing so
long you don’t even remember that they are phony games.
Give up the endless desires to impress anyone or to improve anyone. Please, please stop
explaining yourself. There’s nothing worse than someone insisting on explaining
something to you and thinking that you’ll understand something about them better
after they complete their explanation. We all already get it. Get over yourself.
Rip off your mask of propriety and hurl it into the ethers. Forget
everything you’ve ever been taught you should or shouldn’t do. Free yourself
from the shackles of conformity. Stop worrying about being good enough for
anyone else. You already are all there is. All you lack is this understanding.
Whatever you do, at least don’t feel guilty about it, because the guilt
you feel is much worse than whatever you did to feel guilty about. In fact, the
secret to truly enjoying a fulfilling life is simply to love every single thing
you do during every single moment. Of course, you have to greatly value your own
life in order to do this, but then that’s the point, isn’t it?
You are already divine; there’s nothing to become. Don’t do anything to seek the good
opinion of others, to make others like you, or to attract others to you.
Otherwise you will only lose yourself and fade into oblivion in the objective
world of humanity, thinking you exist yet being only a floating reflection of
how others see you. This greatly reduces you and in fact dissipates whatever
Shakti, whatever inner power you might have gained, by caring how you are
perceived by others. Love them, honor them for who and what they are, for
whatever function or role they play in your life, and remain in harmony with
whatever arises from one moment to the next.
No one needs to see you except yourself. Others need only to see their own Self. No one will ever
understand you except yourself. Others have to understand their own Self. When
we all do this, when we really get it that we’re the only One here, and that
everyone around us is an individualized aspect of the same One, we’ll realize
that deep within we share the same Self.
Spirituality is a matter of realization or recognition of the already existing Truth. Many have the delusion
that it’s about becoming something or attaining something we don't already have.
The Self is already attained. The only reason we do sadhana (spiritual practices) is to purify the mind and ego.
Once they are clear and no longer prone to projection, delusion, and false identification, the Truth
reveals itself within us naturally and spontaneously.
What have I to offer others? In myself, there is nothing. I love and honor all, but there is
nothing I can offer anyone except to share what I have learned from the universe
in the forms of all my teachers. If I can do or say anything to help anyone
recognize their own inner Self, their own inner value, then I am immensely
fulfilled. I am fulfilled anyway, yet there is a great dharma in helping others
to recognize their own Truth and to enjoy their own freedom, and it is very
gratifying.
On Facebook, I offer lighthearted friendship, a humorous
perspective, some words of wisdom, and even some good music. On the blog, I answer questions
and offer all that anyone can or will accept. However, due to the nature of the way
things work, one is limited in how much he or she can or will open up to
accepting and receiving until there is some degree of commitment to the process
of uncovering and dismissing all that is false, and some contribution to the
source of the possibility of new knowledge and an expanded sense of being.
My friend Baba Rampuri, an American who was the first Westerner to ever
be initiated in the glorious tradition of the ancient Naga Babas in India, and who is currently in NYC,
once wrote that people have this delusion that knowledge should be free, yet knowledge is the most
expensive thing there is, and it has to be highly valued before it can actually be received and used in meaningful and transformational ways.
In the lessons of the Course of Training via email, I offer all that the universe is willing to pour through me.
Everyone starts out on the level of his or her own current understanding and perspective of things, and
with each lesson, on the 1st and 15th of every month, we take another step in
the process of breaking free from all that we’re not and opening up to all that we truly are.
In one of the lessons there is a quote from Ramana Maharshi, the great Indian saint and sage.
Let’s end with his words for now, for to me they perfectly sum up everything:
"There is no greater mystery than this: Being Reality ourselves, we seek to gain Reality. We think that there
is something hiding Reality and that it must be destroyed before the Truth is
gained...A day will dawn when you will laugh at your past efforts. What you
realize on the day you laugh is also here and now."
If you wish to share this with friends, feel free to repost on your own page.
The above was first published in my blog, "Living in the Truth of the Present Moment." For more recent
writings, go to: http://truthofthepresentmoment.blogspot.com
the Truth of the Present Moment as I have come to understand it after 50 years
of seeking, studying, training, being whipped into shape by various teachers in
various ways, having my ego obliterated over and again by the Guru until I
couldn’t be anyone other than who I am, and the experience gained as a teacher,
writer, speaker, answerer of innumerable questions, and leader of many classes,
workshops, and retreats over the 35 years I functioned in such a role.
The past is a memory; the future is a projection; neither exists now
except in our mind. What is the Truth of the existing moment? Is it the pain in
my back and hips? Is it the confusion in the mind? Is it the continuous
emotional ups and downs? Probably it’s not any of those, as they all come and
go; relative truth is only temporary, or for this time only.
The Truth with a capital ‘T’ is the one Principle that never changes in a universe where
everything else on every level of being constantly changes. The body changes,
thoughts change, emotions change, the world around us changes, ‘others’ change,
but the Truth of divine Awareness within never varies in the least. It is
eternal, all-pervasive, and all-inclusive. Nothing exists outside it. It
includes the entire cosmos of the waking world, the innumerable realms of the
dream world, the vast world of deep sleep, and the Turiya state that
simultaneously permeates the other three. It is the only Truth there ever is,
ever has been, and ever will be. It is without beginning or end. It is an
unmodified, undifferentiated, unconditioned, formless Awareness of Being.
Did you know that scientists are now discovering that perhaps
there never was a ‘big bang’ that began the universe? Those on the ‘cutting
edge’ are now discovering that, wonder of wonders, the universe had no beginning
and has no end. Welcome to the Vedas, the Upanishads, and all
the other scriptures that have existed for thousands of years saying the same thing.
As for my ‘philosophy,’ I’m not sure I really have one that could
be put into words other than, in my own experience and observation, all of life,
and all spiritual seeking, leads to eventually living in the Truth of the
present moment. I don’t have any mental speculations. The mind is only the 16th
of 36 Tattvas (levels of creation); what does it know? I wouldn’t put my trust
in thoughts or concepts. The only thing concepts are good for are to be broken.
My philosophy is to be real, be sincere, be who you truly are,
live according to your own heart and your own nature, feel good about yourself
as God made you, even manifests as you, just as you are. Drop all
pretension. Give up your fake veneer and your hypocrisy even when you think
you’re being genuine. Stop playing your phony games that you’ve been playing so
long you don’t even remember that they are phony games.
Give up the endless desires to impress anyone or to improve anyone. Please, please stop
explaining yourself. There’s nothing worse than someone insisting on explaining
something to you and thinking that you’ll understand something about them better
after they complete their explanation. We all already get it. Get over yourself.
Rip off your mask of propriety and hurl it into the ethers. Forget
everything you’ve ever been taught you should or shouldn’t do. Free yourself
from the shackles of conformity. Stop worrying about being good enough for
anyone else. You already are all there is. All you lack is this understanding.
Whatever you do, at least don’t feel guilty about it, because the guilt
you feel is much worse than whatever you did to feel guilty about. In fact, the
secret to truly enjoying a fulfilling life is simply to love every single thing
you do during every single moment. Of course, you have to greatly value your own
life in order to do this, but then that’s the point, isn’t it?
You are already divine; there’s nothing to become. Don’t do anything to seek the good
opinion of others, to make others like you, or to attract others to you.
Otherwise you will only lose yourself and fade into oblivion in the objective
world of humanity, thinking you exist yet being only a floating reflection of
how others see you. This greatly reduces you and in fact dissipates whatever
Shakti, whatever inner power you might have gained, by caring how you are
perceived by others. Love them, honor them for who and what they are, for
whatever function or role they play in your life, and remain in harmony with
whatever arises from one moment to the next.
No one needs to see you except yourself. Others need only to see their own Self. No one will ever
understand you except yourself. Others have to understand their own Self. When
we all do this, when we really get it that we’re the only One here, and that
everyone around us is an individualized aspect of the same One, we’ll realize
that deep within we share the same Self.
Spirituality is a matter of realization or recognition of the already existing Truth. Many have the delusion
that it’s about becoming something or attaining something we don't already have.
The Self is already attained. The only reason we do sadhana (spiritual practices) is to purify the mind and ego.
Once they are clear and no longer prone to projection, delusion, and false identification, the Truth
reveals itself within us naturally and spontaneously.
What have I to offer others? In myself, there is nothing. I love and honor all, but there is
nothing I can offer anyone except to share what I have learned from the universe
in the forms of all my teachers. If I can do or say anything to help anyone
recognize their own inner Self, their own inner value, then I am immensely
fulfilled. I am fulfilled anyway, yet there is a great dharma in helping others
to recognize their own Truth and to enjoy their own freedom, and it is very
gratifying.
On Facebook, I offer lighthearted friendship, a humorous
perspective, some words of wisdom, and even some good music. On the blog, I answer questions
and offer all that anyone can or will accept. However, due to the nature of the way
things work, one is limited in how much he or she can or will open up to
accepting and receiving until there is some degree of commitment to the process
of uncovering and dismissing all that is false, and some contribution to the
source of the possibility of new knowledge and an expanded sense of being.
My friend Baba Rampuri, an American who was the first Westerner to ever
be initiated in the glorious tradition of the ancient Naga Babas in India, and who is currently in NYC,
once wrote that people have this delusion that knowledge should be free, yet knowledge is the most
expensive thing there is, and it has to be highly valued before it can actually be received and used in meaningful and transformational ways.
In the lessons of the Course of Training via email, I offer all that the universe is willing to pour through me.
Everyone starts out on the level of his or her own current understanding and perspective of things, and
with each lesson, on the 1st and 15th of every month, we take another step in
the process of breaking free from all that we’re not and opening up to all that we truly are.
In one of the lessons there is a quote from Ramana Maharshi, the great Indian saint and sage.
Let’s end with his words for now, for to me they perfectly sum up everything:
"There is no greater mystery than this: Being Reality ourselves, we seek to gain Reality. We think that there
is something hiding Reality and that it must be destroyed before the Truth is
gained...A day will dawn when you will laugh at your past efforts. What you
realize on the day you laugh is also here and now."
If you wish to share this with friends, feel free to repost on your own page.
The above was first published in my blog, "Living in the Truth of the Present Moment." For more recent
writings, go to: http://truthofthepresentmoment.blogspot.com
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