riclapaz said:
It is possible that the answers are within us, just that there is a flaw in all this, they are practically buried on layers and layers of programming, ego, self-importance, basically, false personality, trauma, physical pain, emotional weight karmic, hyperdimensional beings, etc.
I think that years of work, disciplined and painful, are needed to access the universal power.
A Zen story:
Working Very Hard
A martial arts student went to his teacher and said earnestly, "I am devoted to studying your martial system. How long will it take me to master it." The teacher's reply was casual, "Ten years." Impatiently, the student answered, "But I want to master it faster than that. I will work very hard. I will practice everyday, ten or more hours a day if I have to. How long will it take then?" The teacher thought for a moment, "20 years."
It is only my opinion... but:
You don't need painful work to gain knowledge. Pain is the result of the misunderstanding of the reality. You can find negative experiences in life, yes, but if correctly perceived they are not painful, they are an opportunity to learn.
Pain comes when you desire but you don't obtain, this is, the STS way.
The desire is a consequence of the lack of knowledge. Specifically, the lack of knowledge about who you are and what you are.
You are the "Prime Creator", so you are God. You are everything that exists and there is not anything different to you. You are not into an universe, you are all the universes.
If you understand this, there is no necessity of desire anything, because you have everything already. Also the ego vanishes because you are all the creatures and entities, their lives and souls are only your parallel lives and souls.
If you understand that you are everything, and you think about the consequences of this assertion, you start to understand that your physical life, and the experiences you get involved, are generated by you. So you have the power to change this too. This lead you to think that the environment you are in is only a reflect of your inner will and your learning process necessities.
Your mind is part of this environment too, so are your feelings.
I think you are right when you say
"the answers are within us". And I think you are right too when you say
"they are practically buried on layers and layers of programming, ego, self-importance, basically, false personality, trauma, physical pain, emotional weight karmic, hyperdimensional beings, etc.". But that, in my opinion is not a
"flaw", it is only part of the learning process.
You can be influenced by "external" forces, programming... that's true but, in the end, you have the last word. It is in you the will to obey or not obey these influences. That "predator's mind", as Castaneda call it, can be very powerful, but you only need to use your
"true mind" to get rid of it. It can be difficult? yes of course, but it is possible and it becomes easier if you understand you are everything.
These influences could even control your physical body and you could not do anything about it. They could transform or control your environment and kill you. But that is not important. The important thing is that you realize it. The act of
realizing something is a capacity of the
true mind. The act of
believe in something is the work of the predator's mind. The main theme here is if you are deceived or not by the environment you perceive (which is generated by you).
Realize of something is acquire knowledge, believe is to fall in deception.
Other zen story:
Without Fear
During the civil wars in feudal Japan, an invading army would quickly sweep into a town and take control. In one particular village, everyone fled just before the army arrived - everyone except the Zen master. Curious about this old fellow, the general went to the temple to see for himself what kind of man this master was. When he wasn't treated with the deference and submissiveness to which he was accustomed, the general burst into anger. "You fool," he shouted as he reached for his sword, "don't you realize you are standing before a man who could run you through without blinking an eye!" But despite the threat, the master seemed unmoved. "And do you realize," the master replied calmly, "that you are standing before a man who can be run through without blinking an eye?"
The Cassiopaeans say that faith is the most difficult thing to achieve, and I think they are right. In my opinion this is a consequence of the lack of realization about who and what you are: One thing is to say "I'm the Prime Creator" and other thing is realizing this is true.
Only when you realize this you can get rid of all fears, wishful thinking, addictions to pleasuring the self and desire of prolonging the life in the body.
As final note I would like to say that, under my point of view, it is logical to use the acquired knowledge to be prepared for future cataclysmic events and try to survive. But there is no point in trying to force an acceleration in the learning process, that would be like watch a movie in high speed: You would not understand the story told in it. Concentrate on the spirit and your lessons will give you the path you need to progress.