Let’s say we’re walking down the street
and we saw a piece of paper lying on the floor. Will we pick it up? Maybe not.
But what if the paper had ₱100
written on it? Will we pick it up? Maybe yes. If it had ₱1000
written on it? Maybe faster than we think. Change the sign to a dollar ($),
will we pick it up? Let me be the first one to say that I’ll definitely pick it
up! Now, let’s say we pick up the paper and papers with values written on them
and put it in front of a dog. We gently lay down the white piece of paper
first, then the paper with ₱100 written on it, then the paper with $1000
written on it. Which do you think will the dog pick up (or in this case, eat)? I
do not think that the dog will be interested in any of those because the dog
knows (at some level) that they’re all the same. We too, know damn well that
they’re all the same; they’re all pieces of papers. But why is it logical to
pick $1000 than $100 if they’re both papers anyway?
Because we’ve put a value in it. We put
an identity on the paper – this value will give you this food, but this one has
a higher value, it will give you more food. And I believe that "success", in our
own definition, means just like the same. He is more successful than you, because
of this, because of that. But stripped off of all these things, strip off all
the money, fame, properties, abilities we have, and focus more into the
structure, aren’t we all the same? Soul and body? Heart and brain? Aren’t we,
in relation to my earlier analogy, all papers? Therefore, the belief that the
paper with $1000 written on it and the one without are basically the same,
which means it is an illusion to think that the former is more
important/valuable than the latter? Or is it not?
(Fear and Truth dialogue)
Fear: What is it then that separates us from
each other?
Truth: It is the Ego - Egoic mind, the mind
that tricks us into creating a false sense of self, the “I” that we identify
ourselves with. The “I”, who was a failure to his family, a womanizer, a
murderer or the “I” who built a school in his community, who has the largest
house in the country, who has been the president of this organization. This “I”
which is our own thinking – conditioned by the past, whatever was done before, our
upbringing or maybe family background – creates an idea of what we think we are made of and
where we base our idea of self, of who we think we are. But the Egoic mind is, like the paper with
written value on it, still a paper – no matter how many numbers are written on
it - and it gives us an illusion that we are “more important” than a paper with
lesser 'value'.
Fear: So how can we then identify what the
illusion is and what isn’t?
Truth: By looking through the eyes of God
which is manifested in the eyes of Nature. The trees, the animals, all these
living things know what the truth is. Only humans fall for illusions.
Fear: But we cannot talk to the animals and
the trees!
Truth: Not in your language, which you don’t
even understand, but in theirs.
Fear: What is that?
Truth: Empathy. Compassion. In treating them as how
you would treat yourself. In believing in what they believe in, taking care of what
they take care of, and making important the things that are important to them.
When you have done all this, you will notice a change with the things that you see.
It’s not a physical change. You will still see the same things but inside you,
there will be a huge shift - a wisdom that wasn’t there before. You will
understand things differently. This shift, of being free of the illusions of
this world and then being one with the world, will set you free. This is the truth.
Fear: So, to see through the eyes of a dog,
or the nature, is to see through the eyes of God? But humans are very different
from animals, let alone nature. The trees don’t have brains to think. The
animals have brains but they don’t rationalize. How can I even see through
their eyes?
Truth: By seeing through the eyes of an
innocent child. “Become like children”, as Jesus said.
Fear: But why? Why can the children see what
I cannot? They have eyes like mine, they have brains like mine. And they
rationalize too.
Truth: Yes. They do. But they use their
brains very different from how you use yours. In fact, they don’t use them that
much. Because all they care about is the present – what is happening now -, not
five seconds before, not five seconds after, but what is currently happening.
They do not consume their days thinking about the past or the future because anything
that is concerned with the past or the future is the creation of the Egoic mind.
And we know, based from what was discussed earlier that it is not true – it is
an illusion. “The future never comes as the future; it always comes in the form
of the present.”, said Eckhart Tolle.
Fear: What good will this bring me? If I know
how to identify the illusions of this world and if I know how to see through
the eyes of a child, then obviously my understanding of needs will become
different from other people. Will this give me all that I need? Because I
don’t see the purpose of doing this if I’m not going to get the things that I
need anyway.
Truth: To release your ego, is to be present.
By being present, you are able to see things you couldn't see before. It’s
like this. You are watching a comedy film but your mind is thinking about all
your debts and all your problems and because of this you cannot enjoy what
you’re watching. By being present, you forget all those things in the past, and
the future, and focus in the now and therefore enjoy the film that you are
watching. This is true in everything that you see or do. Being present
dissolves the Ego in you (the time – past or future) and creates a new
dimension, a new world, which makes you enjoy every second of your life – just
like when you were a child. When you can see the world through the eyes of a
child, you see through the eyes of the animals, and the trees, sun, clouds,
everything. You start to empathize with others. You start to become
compassionate with others. And being compassionate is the key to understanding
love. And understanding love is the key to giving and receiving love. So would
this give you all that you need?
I’ll leave you with John Lennon’s (and
the rest of The Beatles’) answer: “All you need is love”.
