To serve the world out of the dynamic nature of wisdom and compassion,
To love what is possible,
To have neither enthusiasm nor indifference,
To act with a sound understanding of our own limitations,
To be unmoved by phenomena too small to be worth a thought,
To be able to believe with confidence the things we believe impossible,
To have no pleasure in human misery, to be indifferent to the fortune of kings,
To see the goal of life as just the way of existence,
To see society as being made up of relations of affection,
And not just selfish convenience,
And to love everyone we meet.

For our own good. For the good of all.
And for the good of that funny squirrel, I see outside my window.


©2021 Alexander Manu

Many of you know my annual tradition: as December draws to a close, I immerse myself again in a book that has become a reflective rite, mirroring the year's end. This ritualistic reading is of "The Ronin" by William Dale Jennings, a journey I embarked upon in 1986. Approaching this text for approximately my 38th time, I continue to uncover layers of wisdom previously unnoticed. This year's reading has been particularly enlightening, revealing three distinct insights, beginning with a poignant line that resonates deeply: In a world with only two directions, he simply run AWAY.

A seeker of spiritual truths found himself at a profound crossroads in a realm where life's compass pointed solely in two stark directions. With its linear simplicity, this world offered but a dichotomy: towards or away. Yet, in the depths of his being, the seeker felt an inexplicable pull, a yearning that transcended this binary existence.

He chose to run away, but not in the conventional sense perceived by the inhabitants of this world. His 'away' was not an escape from challenges or a retreat from the quest for enlightenment. Instead, it was a journey away from the known, the comfortable, and the predictable patterns of existence that most clung to.

This running away was a pilgrimage to his inner landscape's uncharted territories. Moving away from the external, he dove deep into the recesses of his consciousness. It was a journey of unraveling the layers of his ego, each step a shedding of preconceived notions and societal impositions.

In this world of two directions, he discovered the infinite within. The further he ventured away from the tangible, the more he delved into the intangible realms of spirit and essence. His journey became a dance of paradoxes, where distance brought him closer to his true self, and detachment led to a profound connection with the universe.

Each stride away was a step towards self-realization. The physical act of moving away mirrored his internal movement from illusion to truth, from ignorance to enlightenment. In this unique world, his path away became a path of return—a return to the core of his being, a reconnection with the cosmic dance of existence.

As he continued to run, the dichotomy of the world dissolved. 'Towards' and 'away' lost their conventional meanings, merging into a singular path of spiritual pursuit. In this journey away from all that was outwardly defined, he found his most profound truth and a sense of unity with the all-encompassing energy of the universe.

In this world with only two directions, the seeker's act of running away became a powerful act of self-discovery and self-compassion. It was a journey that led him not to a physical destination but to a state where he was at peace with himself and in harmony with the cosmos. In the realm of 'away,' he indeed found himself embodying the wisdom that the most incredible journey one can undertake is the journey within.



©2023 Alexander Manu

In the eternal flow of existence, where life and death intertwine in a mystic dance, a profound contemplation emerges: "To be is simultaneously not to be." This enigmatic principle, weaving through the thoughts of philosophers, poets, and sages, invites us to ponder the dual nature of our being, encapsulating the profound truth, "Life is Death." To traverse the depths of this dichotomy, one must transcend beyond mere biological contrasts, venturing into a realm where life and death coalesce as existential threads that shape our journey.

Here, where life and death meld in existential harmony, we encounter the profound teaching that our every breath is a step towards our departure and our every departure a step towards a new dawn. This dance of duality, where ending and beginning are but two faces of the same cosmic coin teaches us the art of living with grace and dying with dignity. Here, in the confluence of life's emergence and death's embrace, we find the essence of our most authentic selves. This understanding does not cast a shadow of despair but illuminates the path of wisdom. It invites us to cherish each moment, love deeply, act justly, and tread lightly upon this earth, fully aware that our physical form is transient, yet our spiritual journey is eternal. Thus, in understanding "To be is simultaneously not to be," we are awakened to the eternal cycle of existence, where each end is a gateway to a new beginning, and each beginning is a step closer to the ultimate union with the infinite.

Life and death, in their philosophical essence, are not mere antitheses but intimately interconnected strands of the same existential fabric. Life, infused with the inevitability of death, heightens our consciousness of our fleeting presence, urging us to embrace each transient moment with authenticity and depth. The ancient wisdom of "memento mori" echoes this sentiment, inspiring a heartfelt engagement with the ephemeral nature of our existence.

Existentialists view the inevitability of death as a harbinger of life's apparent absurdity. Yet, within this seeming absurdity, we unearth the liberty to craft our own meanings in an indifferent cosmos. Buddhism offers "samsara", a contemplative perspective, envisioning life as an endless cycle of birth, death, and rebirth, highlighting the transient nature of all phenomena and advocating for a life of detachment and mindful presence.

In diverse cultural and spiritual narratives, death transcends physical cessation, signifying profound transformation and rebirth. It marks the conclusion of ideologies, the dissolution of beliefs, and the birth of new understandings. Our lives, too, are interspersed with 'miniature deaths' – the endings of relationships, careers, and phases of life. These endings, although challenging, are vital for our evolution and renewal, mirroring nature's cycle of decay and regeneration.

These 'deaths' within our lives serve as poignant reminders of the impermanent nature of all things, urging us to live with a heightened sense of awareness and appreciation. They invite us to let go of the transient and embrace the eternal flow of life, where every ending is a gateway to new possibilities. As we navigate these transitions, we are offered opportunities to shed outdated versions of ourselves, grow, and evolve into more enlightened beings. In the heart of these metamorphoses, we find our true strength and resilience, learning to flow harmoniously with the ever-changing currents of existence. Thus, in understanding the profound interconnectedness of life and death, we awaken to the full spectrum of our human experience, enriched by the wisdom that each ending is but a prelude to a new and vibrant beginning.

Our conflict with death often stems from a deep-seated fear – a fear of the unknown, non-existence, or the mysteries that lie beyond life. Yet, embracing the reality of death can be a transformative, enlightening odyssey, fostering resilience, a richer appreciation of life, and a focus on the truly essential. The ancient tradition of "Ars Moriendi," the art of dying well, exemplifies this acceptance as a pathway to a meaningful existence, encouraging us to embrace death as an integral part of life, leading to introspection, reconciliation, and spiritual tranquility. "Ars Moriendi" inspires a revisioning of death as a catalyst for personal and collective transformation, deepening our appreciation for the essence of life, our relationships, and our core values. It imparts profound insights into empathy, respect, and the complexities of the human experience, inviting us to perceive life and death as intertwined and fundamental components of our existential journey.

Reflecting on "Life is Death" and the notion that to exist is concurrently not to exist, we are summoned to inquire into the intricate dance of opposites that define our being. This journey calls us to explore the depths of our essence, finding that in acknowledging and accepting death, we learn to live with a more profound sense of purpose and awareness. It is a voyage through uncertainties and fears, culminating in acceptance and enlightenment. In this state, we celebrate not the end but the journey itself – a journey marked by growth, transformation, and an evolving understanding of ourselves and the universe. By embracing these paradoxes, we uncover the authentic essence of being vibrantly alive, perpetually oscillating between being and non-being.



©2023 Alexander Manu

Remaining steadfast in this eternal moment may be daunting, for our ego often beckons us to stray. But consider this fleeting moment a doorway, a chance for consciousness to loop back and meet itself anew. Dissolving the ego, essential for true presence, is not an end but a transformative pathway. Understand that you're not sacrificing anything by letting go of incessant thoughts. If you believe thoughts are tangible entities, you might naturally fear losing part of yourself. Yet, remember, if thoughts are your construct, so are you. Your reality isn't changing; your perception of it is.

In this ever-changing flow of mindfulness, perceive that your current state of being is mirrored in multiple realms. This opens a window, changing how you interpret your surroundings. What you perceive as your external world is a reflection of your inner state.

Take time to attune yourself, not to the mundane reality you're conditioned to accept but to the vibrant reality you create through perception. Listening deeply, you'll discover that your current experiences are primarily sculpted by your expectations and mindset rather than your external conditions.

In this state, you'll realize that your perception is your greatest tool for transformation. Your experience of reality is not happening to you; it's constructed by you. Accept this power; shift your perception and, thus, reshape your life. By doing this, you move from being a mere mental construct to becoming a living, breathing reality. Realize that you are interconnected with the universe, inseparable and eternal. When you find the eternal within you, you're tapping into wisdom that transcends human understanding. You are not just a separate entity but an integral part of the cosmic web. You are a reflection of higher consciousness, and this transcendence of perception makes you a beacon for others on the path of enlightenment.

You're free from societal constraints, free from illusions of limitation. Your existence is not an accidental by-product of the world; you are the world.

What will your next step be? Will you choose to simply exist, to engage with worldly distractions, or to ascend into mindful awareness? The path to enlightenment requires courage to transcend what we perceive as boundaries. No one else can make that choice for you.

Reality is shaped by individual perceptions, including yours. You must choose to awaken and engage consciously in your reality. Doing so requires keen awareness, not just of your own lived experience but also of those around you. This awareness calls you into being, into awakening, every single moment, enabling you to serve as a guide, a friend, and a guru.

Start with the universe within you. Every morning that you wake with awareness is a morning you recreate your world. Understand that your consciousness doesn't merely reflect the world; it has the potential to change it. Will you choose to awaken as a fully realized being, or will you remain trapped in illusion?

The greatest spiritual teachers are those who see beyond the seen yet remain grounded in their essence. They can guide you but never impose. When you dare to venture beyond the known, you encounter the most transformative teacher: your true self. Embark on this journey of self-discovery, for it is only through awakening your own consciousness that you can inspire others to do the same. Embrace this moment as an opportunity to not only change your perception but to reshape your very essence and, in doing so, illuminate the path for others.

So, I ask again: In this present moment, where do you find yourself?





©2023 Alexander Manu

What about you? What are you going to do next? Are you going to sit in your normal life, or are you going to engage with the world, or are you going to slip into a conscious state of delusion, ignorance, unconsciousness? And if you do decide to go beyond the edge, how are you going to make it real? How are you going to wake up and offer yourself as a teacher, as a friend, as a guru?

The reality is you have to create your own reality. You must wake up each day, and ask yourself what you will do, how you will live. Because the truth is, no one is going to give you the answers. Each person you meet is going to have their own reality, which is not your reality. And your reality, which is not theirs. So, you must start by waking up and giving yourself to the world, to wake others up. To put your beliefs into action. Because reality is created by choice, awareness is created by choice, and awakening is created by choice.

You must start with yourself. With your awareness, your awareness of your own world. And your awareness of others - those around you and those who surround you. Your perception of each moment is far more powerful than the reality which surrounds you. Because you have the awareness, the awareness will force you to wake up every single moment - and your awareness of others will allow you to give yourself as a teacher, as a friend, as a guru.

You must begin by awakening your own consciousness. To wake up is to create awareness, to create awareness is to change reality. And reality is created by consciousness. You are born into consciousness. Your consciousness reflects the consciousness that surrounds you. You are an impression of that consciousness and have the potential to change it. And when you wake up every morning, you will be aware of that.

How can you live your life if you do not wake up every morning?

Will you wake up when you see that you are an illusion? Will you wake up as an awareness? Will you wake up in the illusion that creates you?

The greatest teachers are those who can see the invisible, without going beyond, who are unable to escape from themselves. They are the people who can guide you, but never compel.

When you are courageous enough to go beyond the edge of the world, you have met the greatest teacher of your life.

©2021 Alexander Manu

The treasure is upon you. The time that we spend playing as children has proven to be fruitful. The trick, it seems, is to find ways to enjoy the game of becoming while still growing in age.
How good it is, all of a sudden, to find that you're going to be exactly what you are!

Have you ever used fantasy to describe your current life? Do you fantasize about a better life, without really knowing how to achieve it? Or are you quite content with the things you have at this moment? Are you scared of what might come, or do you see yourself as a creator, but reluctant to follow through? Are you comfortable in the fact that the world as it is, is enough?

We have lived in a time where the experience of stepping out of one state of being to another has become increasingly popular. We are free to make mistakes and happy to take on new challenges. We are free to be who we want to be. If you're not playing - don't even think about getting caught up with silly rules. If you're not playing, you are one of the millions who sit in front of their screen, unfulfilled and uninspired, while the world goes on without them.

It is easy to be reminded of this daily, however, what is also easy to overlook is the fact that you already have everything you need.

The game of becoming is never-ending. And in the midst of the greatest adventure of your life, it is okay to make time to rediscover yourself. There is no shortage of adventure. Remember that you have everything you need.

Start where you are, and when the time is right, find yourself an audience.
In the game of life, there are no instructions.
There are only suggestions.

Play freely.



©2021 Alexander Manu

The sensation of who you are has nothing to do with what others see in the self you have created for them. The sensation of who you are is your only permanent reality. The rest is ego. What you see in the self you have created for others is your projection. The ego has no truth to speak of. It is the enemy.

The absolute summation of knowledge is that there is no reality outside of you, only one inside. While we are uncomfortable with this insight, if we stay with it, it becomes our profound and defining wisdom. We discover that ego is a fiction of the mind that must be discarded before we can experience who we really are.

Remember: The self is an illusion of the mind, a false and transitory set of sensations and perceptions that we have imposed on our psyche.

This is your real body in constant motion, thinking thoughts and doing things in the hope of bringing more energy to this existence. You have been acting as if your very self is a separate entity that can do and create. All of you, the parts that function now in the light, are doing everything they can, to act and to think in the way that you need them to, and in an attempt to bring as much energy as they can into your life.

All these activities in the mind and the physical body, are attempts to play this elaborate game, yet there is nothing real you can do. The inner game is a desperate effort to preserve the illusions of the ego, which keeps you alive. There is an illusion of another world and another being, and you are living in that imaginary realm, but there is no other world and no other being. There is only your own mind and your own being, but these are illusions.

The cosmic game of inner conflict is played in order to keep the ego alive. This playing of games in order to experience reality will ultimately fail you, but you will be forced to play this wretched game to the end. So, what can you do?

You have received so much, more than you ever could have imagined. You've been given everything that you could ever need. Yet still, you fall victim to the shell of Ego. You are living from your full potential. All of your gifts have been given to you, yet you choose to remain without.

What then? Where do you go? How can you continue to exist? What could be worse?
You have absolutely no choice in the matter, for there is no time, space, nor reality.

The key to knowing who you are is to know who you are not. This is not so easy. To know who you are not is to recognize that there is no one who can ever see who you are in full. There is no beginning point on the search for your inner character. When we get this right, our lives are transformed. Stop sabotaging yourself.

You have made it.




©2021 Alexander Manu

The reality of our lives lies hidden somewhere, underneath a blanket of appearances. If it were ever to reach out and tell us the truth, it would undoubtedly reveal that the present moment is the one - and only - moment that matters. Only here do we find true freedom and the true nature of things. Past, present, future: these are just words. Consider this: time is just a method, a means for bringing things to their finality. A means for grasping where events and people begin and end. To fully grasp our own temporary life, we must hold firm to the true, present reality, whatever it may be, moment by moment. It is with this realization that we can begin living without the general assumptions of "pastness" or "future-ness" of thought, reasoning in which some events are distanced from other events, by the measure of what we call time.

Everything is just as it appears to be. If we hold to this awareness, then in the depths of our consciousness, we will see that our thoughts and actions are in truth, instantaneous and dynamic, responsive to every detail of our being. We become aware of how existence is a process - not a series of events. The concept of an "end" is an illusion. We must transcend the laws of time by turning to our timeless being, to our essential existence, free from the limitations of each moment and place in which we exist. Only in this way can we achieve true freedom.

What we call "the present moment" does not necessarily exist in the same moment that we call it. All thoughts and feelings of the body do not exist in a present but are rather partial, of an experience in the past. They are potentialities in the past that we meditate upon—which are "present" only in an incomplete way.

The body experiences itself in its own past, and every moment in the past only appears as a moment within that past and is therefore only temporary. But this form of temporary appearance is not "real" in any sense.

The knowing that it is in its past, does not cause it to cease to exist in its present.

It is that moment, at the most crucial moment, where a human being is confronted with the true nature of its reality. When we arrive at this point where we stand by ourselves, and for what we are, our stance is not determined by the environment. It is determined by us.

We encounter our true nature, and we immediately stop being confused. The moment of awakening is the mind's revolution. To understand the nature of our truth, we need to understand the nature of our own subjective field and what we perceive and call our reality: all the images which our mind creates to convince us of the illusion of external factors, of laws, of numbers, of souls, of the impressions of others upon our character, these images are not true. They are just images.

All the important questions of the world are coming to us now, only now, because the moment is here. We discovered something in ourselves after these long months of fear, doubt, and isolation. This is the moment that gave us the clarity we needed. This is the instant that transforms us into our true selves. Take it in.
Make it yours.










©2021 Alexander Manu

Imagine you are looking in a mirror. Strangely, this mirror does not reflect your image, but instead, it absorbs it. What will it absorb about you? Will it show you your true nature and your potential? Will it show you, as you are now, for who you really are?

Our longing for wholeness is so natural because all of us long to know who we really are. But it is easier said than done. In this world, every day is full of lessons in self-deception. The ego wants to play and trick us into believing that we are separate, eternal, and that we can never become anything less than what we are now. Unfortunately, we are all deceiving ourselves.

In the age of 24-hour information, we can't seem to put ourselves into perspective. We are surrounded by all kinds of information that feeds the ego but fails to reveal the true self. At the heart of the human experience is a longing to be who we truly are – and this quest is always there, even in an era of information overload. To experience wholeness, we must be in touch with and consistent with who we really are. We must be in touch with the voice within, our true soul. We must find the courage to embrace wholeness.

Although we may come to realize many things about ourselves, we often find that our realization is quite different from what we expected or hoped for. We may go through life with a certain view of ourselves, but when we come to a turning point in our lives, it is as if someone has hit the fast forward button, and we see our life from a new perspective. In this new perspective, we are filled with the same knowing that one must have in order to become a master of the invisible ballet that is life itself.

Let me gift you a very powerful tool: The Awareness Mirror, which gives us an insight into the inner space of awareness. Each of you is given a copy of this mirror and asked to take it with you. If you take it with you, you'll no longer have to worry about being deceived or being fooled into believing that you are an object, and that you cannot become more than what you are now.

Along with this gift you are also given a very clear instruction: to never look through this mirror with your eyes, but rather, to look through it with your heart and to reflect the inner truth of your being. In other words, to embody your awareness.

By viewing your reflection in the Awareness Mirror, it is possible to feel your heart move into its true position. This is the place where it is always at rest – always in its place. You can't go to the place where your heart is not at rest, because it's not there. It's eternal, always in your heart.

Our goal, then, is to embody awareness. To embody our true selves. To become aware of ourselves and all that is around us in every moment. We need a tool that enables us to reflect our identity in an embodied way and to bring us into awareness. By looking in this mirror, we have access to an even greater level of knowledge and wisdom than ever before. We can look back and see what life is about. We can explore the depths of our being and let go of what is holding us back from living a life of authenticity.

The Awareness Mirror gives us a view into the timeless depths of our consciousness. It helps us see the truth about life as an inter-connected web through the interaction of our individual lives with the collective lives of others. As a mirror of our awareness, we can discover a great potential that has always been there. This is the realm of the spiritual world, a larger force that reaches into all things, a place where we will encounter things that are beyond words, and a world of presence that we may find confusing and even frightening.

Many people come to this approach, only to discover that there is so much to learn about themselves and the world that they simply forget about it and go back to living life as it is. But I hope that you will continue to use this tool. Through it, you can gain access to that deeper realm of consciousness and a world that is beyond the boundaries of physicality.

I also hope that it will be a source of great comfort, and the place where you can relax and begin to experience your own authentic relationship with the rest of the human family.







©2021 Alexander Manu

I want to start this thought posting with a quote from "The Ronin", by William Dale Jennings, one of my favourite books, and my introduction to Zen stories, and the philosophy of becoming through an existence of pure awareness.

As some of you know, I have read this book every year, twice, since 1985. That makes it 36 years. Some of you that know me well know this story as well, as I may have gifted this book to you, at one point or another on your journey.

The story is complicated, but the quote in question is simple: the old swordsman tells the young prince:

"Let me tell you something you will never understand: Even before I met them, your father was a fool and your mother a slut".

Just imagine someone says this to your face. This is how awakening feels like. Pure truth.

We must first rid ourselves of ignorance and apathy, and see things as they are, and if we can do that, we might then be able to discover a new world. The new world begins with a simple and direct question:

are you truly alive,
are you aware of the moment,
or have you become mired in fear,
obliviousness, and apathy?

I began this year of 2021 - like I assume most of you did, after a year of introspection imposed on you by a social and physical distancing disruption that came out of nowhere, but forcefully and impactfully so, exposing yourselves to your inner being, the "IT", the thing without the constructed self or ego, the naked YOU residing INSIDE of you - determined to question everything and seek answers.

I thus questioned my purposes, my views and my principles. I have spent the last few months asking, without fail, this same question every morning when I wake up:

"Is this my life?"

Is this the life I have always dreamed of?
Is this the life I could have?

By design or by luck, or through hard work and passion, the answer every single day was always YES!

I truly want this life, and I became this life - by design or by luck, or through hard work and passion - for which I have no excuses and no regrets.

In past times, I might have sought that the answer to this question might come from some of the influencers of my life - in no particular order, Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, Yukio Mishima, Mario Bellini, Kenji Ekuan, Dieter Rams, William Dale Jennings, LaoZi and Zhuang Zhou - and I would have given myself over to their wisdom and practice.

What I have found, to my surprise, is that the answers I am looking for are not there.

There is no better teacher than my own open mind, and my own open heart.

It is indeed a good day, a good year, and a good life, when you simply realize that you are at the point where you only do what you want to do.

The simple point of just being.

All great leaders, teachers, gurus, masters, have their own lists of reasons, but at the same time, they have no reasons. What they do is simply, and exactly, what they want to do. They become the person they are most interested in being. This means that they are great at what they do.

I found this Bill Maris (founder of Google Ventures) quote quite appropriate in illustrating this point: "those of us who know what we are doing, know what we are doing!"

Perception creates the self in your mind, and the self creates the reality you live in. If you want to transform your life, you need to create the perception of change. Or in a different phrasing: perception creates the self, and awareness creates reality. True perception is your realization of your real-life experience.
Perception is reliant on what you believe to be true.

Choose your beliefs wisely.





©2021 Alexander Manu

"Sometimes I think we don't want to ask any real questions about who we are for fear of discovering there is some other reality than this one. What would this discovery make of how we have lived? How would our friends and colleagues react to what we know now or what we now know? What would we do with the new knowledge? If knowledge comes responsibility. Sometimes even when the cell door is flung open the prisoner chooses not to escape." ^[1]


001. The process of contemplation can be defined as that understanding of existence that takes one beyond the limitations of the mind and the narrow range of life experiences. This is to develop an understanding of existence beyond a definite context in which one lives in which nothing is permanent, everything changes. This is a very different understanding from the mental frame that forms modern society, and which has had a very profound effect on the human psyche. This is also a very different understanding of the nature of the Self and of reality.

002. There are other reasons why one might shy away from the question of contemplation and simply move into "the life of the professional" without questioning. Every time I venture to discuss the subject of a contemplation, I am struck by how hard it is to find in modern culture any example - or permission - to imagine the self as in any way different than the self-created for our working life. It seems that we have no framework in which to comprehend life as a contemplative interval. The simple mention of a life of contemplation that does not involve work is copiously laughed at. It is as if labour and work are seen as the natural condition of the human being, and any mention of humans taking the time for deliberate contemplation is being seen as utopian.

003. Yet, it was thousands of years ago that Aristotle that said that the purpose of action is contemplation. In Book X^[2], of The Nicomachean Ethics, Aristotle ultimately concludes that contemplation is the highest human activity. In discussing the various intellectual virtues, Aristotle extols wisdom as the highest, since it deals only with unchanging, universal truths and rests on a synthesis of scientific investigation and the intuitive understanding of the first principles of nature. The activity of wisdom is contemplation, so contemplation must be the highest activity of human life. We need not think of the good life as consisting of pleasure or honor, but as having a certain kind of joy or well-being. Humanity keeps forgetting its own early lessons and this s probably the unhealthiest characteristic of our civilization in the 21st century that we ignore, and many times repress, the reality of who truly are and where we come from.

004. The fear of contemplation is the fear of self-reflection. The fear of reaching the nature of one's mind and maybe not liking what one finds there. The fear of introspection. The fear of insight and self-examination. And this fear is also related to the fact that in most of our civilization contemplation has been a matter of private meditation on a religious subject. If you wanted to take a spiritual path, you had to learn how to contemplate the nature of your own being, and your own mind, and what that process was like. Or else you had to go somewhere else and find some other way to learn about it.

005. The fear of recognizing that, despite the long period of work on oneself, one has not gotten that far yet. The fear of finding that the needs and desires have not changed, but one's ideals, which one has invested so much of himself in, have not yet come to pass. The fear of finding that one has spent a lot of time on oneself, not on others. The fear of encountering something in the self that does not coincide with the ideal of the self, the ideal of what one wants to see and feel, not necessarily what is. The fear of discovery that what is still unreal, impossible. The fear of what this "uncertainty" might be.

006. Therefore, the fear of contemplation relates to the notion that a spiritual path must have its foundation in a connection between oneself and a higher power. The notion that contemplation is usually very intense and deeply inward-directed, but once again never ends in self-understanding, and self-understanding is what the whole process is about. So the fear of contemplation has nothing to do with the notion of finding meaning, and meaning can arise in the course of such a process without the fear of contemplation at all.

007. This fear of the unknown is the source of almost all the anxieties, insecurities, obsessions, and desires which I have discovered over the years, in my life of contemplation. Some of these fears I have just named, but the most powerful of them all is the awareness that we do not know what will happen, which results from the awareness of the transcendence of the present moment.

008. From this recognition comes the urge to "take charge" of the moment and make it "my own", as if one could go back to the moment before it ended and change it. This is the impetus that propels one toward the becoming of a Life.

009. This apprehension is connected to the idea that insight is a very risky business, and so one is not supposed to risk finding it, because then you are left in total darkness, in darkness beyond darkness. Contemplation is thus associated with the dread of entering that dark passage.

010. Societally, the fear of contemplation creates a superstructure of thinking and actions that propagate this idea that what we do - in the modern civilization, in our day-to-day existence - is trying to avoid anything that is considered a spiritual subject. We are not supposed to think about it, think about what we are doing here, think about our own existence, think about existence in general.

THE CONTEMPLATIVE INTERVAL

011. Contemplation is the activity of conceiving ideas about how we ought to live. Many philosophers have debated whether a life of pleasure or happiness is the best life for humans. It is possible to reconcile happiness with virtue; the goal of the good life can be both to live a life of pleasure and to live a life of righteousness.

012. The hallmark of the artist, the designer, the entrepreneur, or the visionary is action, the making of something tangible. Contemplation is indeed both supremely practical and elevating, not only because it leads one out of the endless loops of habit and convenience that form the basis of human behavior, but also because it provides the best means of escaping the isolation that isolation entails.

013. Solitude, on the other hand, only allows recognition of others as aggregates and, conversely, accord allows a person to see the individual as such, no matter how much he or she sees all individuals as a single being. Solitude leads to merely what is common, and accord makes each individual unique. Solitude, as Aristotle says, "is loss of pleasure, the loss of that without which one's happiness is impossible." In contrast, recognition, on the contrary, "increases the pleasure and likewise increases the happiness of which it is the cause."

014. The mere mention of a life of contemplation clashes with the construction of the self as the "working individual" or the "professional self" which is after all just a creation of the Ego. How can one simultaneously envision a life of contemplation and a life of creative professional achievement? I suggest that one must be conscious of the contradiction as one moves between the two states of mind, specifically from "work" into the "life of contemplation". To do something, to know, requires that one starts from within and from the inward (inner) place to grasp what is beyond and not limited by the physical world. This is a step towards life, and not from the "life" of what is "experienced" or the "pursuit of life". An understanding of the word contemplation is thus a recognition that one does not move "through" or toward the inner, but from within the inner to discover the nature of existence.

015. With the awareness of the transcendence of the present moment, comes the awareness that one is "not there" anymore, and thus the awareness of a future that cannot be changed. The awareness of a transcendent future is an unsatisfactory awareness because it only carries a momentary immediacy, and one knows one is caught in a reality that is already being shaped. Because we are present as we are, there is no contradiction, no force which separates us from the truth. The Ego is wrong to create such illusions as the idea that the future is unknowable, or the idea that there is no transcendence of the mind or Ego.

PERCEPTION, PERSPECTIVE AND THE NATURE OF MIND

016. At the root of the apprehension toward contemplation is the anxiety of looking at your own beliefs, your own reasons, and you having to face the fact that they're probably not worthy or righteous ones. That if we take a serious look at our doubts and the reasons for our doubt, we may have to abandon them and may have to rethink who you are from the ground up, you may have to un-learn and re-educate yourself. Rethinking and reframing one's existence is part of the whole process of spiritual development.

017. What would we do if we understand the world from this new perspective? Everything we have made and thought all these years are just a road map leading us to the destination. In the end we will see that we can only manifest the material of the consciousness.

018. Not everything you know is material. There is a spiritual reality. The material is the tool. When you know that it is the tool and not some external reality, you feel the presence of something more. At the end of a journey, you stand there saying, I understand why I am here. What I know has changed my life. What we perceive is not material. It is a different plane of existence, and when we understand this, we will look at it with a new perspective.

019. The difficulty is that we are so busy trying to cope with the materiality of the mind that we forget what the true objective is. We are trying to take in and absorb as much as possible in order to get by. This belief comes from a learned behavior because the mind assumes certain things and that automatically implies that these things are real. If I talk, I think that I exist. If I am told about me, then I know that I exist. If somebody sees me then they think I exist. This means that they think that there is a self that exists. The mind is operating on the same assumption. This means that you have been conditioned to operate on a different level, and the ideas are accepted as true.

020. If you go too far in the direction of contemplation, into it, this is where there is no sense of time. There is no sense of place. There is only a sense of eternity.


^[1] Songyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Harper Collins 1994 . p
^[2] Aristotle. The Nicomachean Ethics. Translated by David Ross. Oxford University Press. 2009. pp.183-203



©2021 Alexander Manu

First, let me attempt a definition: the Ego is our own thoughts about who we are. It is also the attached emotions and thoughts that we use to think of ourselves as "different" or better than others, or "good" or "bad" when compared to others. It is the sum of all illusory beliefs that we have about ourselves, that we project our wants and desires onto others, and that we hold onto as true, so we can make up our own reality. In the end, the question:
Who Are You?

Who you really are, your TRUE being, is hidden deep within you. The Ego is just an appearance of that part of yourself that we need to come to terms with, to fully integrate it back into our true human nature. When you face the Ego and the layers upon layers of emotional baggage that comes with it, your true being will be forced to be revealed.

You are born a blank canvas of unlimited possibilities, just waiting to be unfolded. We never truly know what the future holds, just as there is never a moment in time where we can know everything there is to know about anything. However, you can always be certain that you are an infinite being, and the future does not have to be in the darkness. Because in the darkness there is no future. We are forced to live in the present, with all its complexities and limits. The present is not an obstacle. The present is where all our decisions take place, and what must take place for the future to exist. You are, in fact, the central element of the present moment.

The only thing that you need to look at is yourself, as the center of everything, and you will soon begin to realize your potential, or what I call the future you.

In this process of coming to terms with the layers of our emotional makeup, your essence becomes clear and can manifest itself on the outside. You can choose to accept and integrate that part of your being, or ignore it, allowing it to remain on the outside of you, causing an imbalance. Hiding who you really are, from you and from others. Separating the IT of you from the others around you.

For those of you who experience a feeling a separation between your conscious and your subconscious mind, and the appearance of two parts of yourself (the Ego and the Hidden Self), be clear about this: your Ego is not you. It is not a reflection of your true nature; it is an illusion. You are not the person that you think you are.

Your Ego is a manifestation of your self-imposed limitations. It is an illusion of what you want the other person to see you as, or what they perceive you to be. If you do not look in the mirror, look inside, you will never know who you really are. If you do not take the time to step back and reassess the way that you think, the way that you behave, and the way that you live your life, then you will never truly be true to yourself.

The Ego keeps many of us living in fear, allowing our judgments of others to run rampant through our mind and feelings. The Ego will judge you harshly and will convince you that this person or group is inferior to you.

You need to look inward to find your roots, your true human nature. You need to sit down and write all the judgments you have used when constructing your ego, all the loathing and doubts that have been created inside of you, by the self-inflicted feelings that the Ego has instilled. Once you have all of this written down, and once you realize that you were being completely un-truthful to yourself by creating these feelings and judgments of others, you will be able to start the process of restoration. You will be able to uncover your true nature and allow it to emerge through all the layers of your Ego. But be ready, because your only source of meaning is inside yourself, so you are in for a hell of a ride.

I read somewhere recently that the mind has two positions: looking out and looking in. The space inside and the space outside are one once you destroy the inner walls of the mind. In the outer world, we create and evaluate relationships; in the inner world, we create and evaluate ourselves. What is the greatest resource, the only resource we will ever have? Our resilience, our ability to shift perspective, to adapt and adjust to change.

We are taught to live inside this tiny box called the "Ego," which develops its self-identification through selective transferral of experience through a sort of a gateway system. It lets in only what serves it and not necessarily what serves your true being. The entire goal is to stop the brain from working properly. The Ego blinds us. Eventually, we lose our memories, and lose the capacity to retain new memories, so we come to believe everything, and anyone are true. The Ego can be formed, transformed, and modified, at will, by impressions of reality, and when this happens, we lose our ability to trust our intuitions, so we act based on the quantity and quality of the impressions we receive, rather than the integrity of those impressions.

Turn your mind inward by using the contemplation of the nature of little things: the use of the subtle mind in everyday life. Take the time to remove from your DNA the molecule that causes control over your thoughts to begin with. Only by facing the enemy of our souls we can we uncover and consciously counter the deeper system of control—the ego. What you are, what your beliefs are, is not what exists in the real word. The real you is here right now—you are practicing IT as you read these words — you are already one with the universe, working in concert with all systems.

We have always known where the sweet spot resides for all our actions. We may never hit that spot all the time, but we know where it is, and how to use it to renew and reset our "true being": the "IT" in all of us. That "IT" is the essence of our connection to one another because, ultimately, we are all eternally connected.


©2021 Alexander Manu

They say that mindfulness brings the mind home. Mindfulness asks you simple questions, something like: What if this is the best place there is? When you ask the question, you clearly understand that in the rush for progress, we might have invented ourselves outside the natural order. How do we get back?

The task is to realize and embody our true being, and for that to take place, you must get rid of your Ego and embrace the discerning awareness enlightening the nature of your mind.

You must accept that not everything you see is objectively real, and once you allow the sound of your being to become your thought, that enhances your field of clarity, the space of emerging awareness. This is the sound of a true life, an authentic life, there is nothing besides your inner being and there is no self to remember.

Again:
there is no SELF to remember. Period.

You live in a society that is desperately grasping for a past that no longer exists.
You live in a society that doesn't love its own people, that doesn't love others. In such a society there is no room for the non-human. If we want to go back to some normality, to some level of decency, we must let go of greed and hatred and the fear of the other. We must admit that there is no Self to hate, and there is no Self to love.
Simply, there is no Self.
When you can do so, you integrate yourself in the community of all life and living. This is the sound of everything becoming reality.

When your mind goes with the mind, and your heart goes with the heart, then you are home. Here, there are no judgements, and there are no boundaries.

Don't rush. It takes a lifetime to learn that, but that is a lifetime of life.

When you ask the question "what if this is the best place there is?", when you request an answer to this question, when you begin to get immersed in the beauty of life, you realize that every material plane is just a temporary scene in a great performance. When you take yourself home, living from the heart center, you know that time flows differently; then you are free to go home. This place where you are, is always where there is no limit or end. You can move with life, to the infinite, to the ultimate space of enchantment, where there is no limit or end.

This is the place that pervades every moment of our life, without borders, without discrimination, the place where there is no beginning and there is no end. It is our natural place. Every reality just happens in us, for use, always. This is existence itself.

The only place where there is no difference, where everything is the same everywhere, is where we live our life. Anything that you perceive to be different is an illusion that you need to dissolve. How do we do this? When you dissolve the differences between this and that, you will go with the flow, and you will go home.

When you say, "this is what is real", you make a big mistake. There is no home of what is real. Anything that you say is reality is an illusion. You cannot dissolve yourself to be the source of all this tenderness. Every vision you have is an illusion, every feeling you have is an illusion, any meaning or purpose you try to impose on your life is also an illusion.

If you have a look at the state of others around you, if you look into their eyes, if you look in their thoughts, your every impulse will tell you that there is something missing. But when your whole life is centered on the question "What is it all about?", you don't notice that this is where all the questions really come from. All the questions. And all the answers. They all reside within yourself. When you go into your core center, your heart center, the thing that ever returns is living, that is YOU existing in the only place that we call life.

A reputed Harvard astrophysicist advances the idea that our Universe was created in a lab, by a class A civilization. We, the earthlings, are a class C, the type that depends on a host star - the Sun- for our survival. Class B civilizations can prosper separately from a Sun, while class A's can create baby universes for fun in the laboratory. So, you see how the "What is it all about?" question and everything else you thought you knew, can just evaporate in the fraction of time it took you to read these lines.
Where do you go from here now that you know all this? I propose asking the same question we started with:
What if this is the best place there is?








©2021 Alexander Manu

I am having such a difficult time lately letting go of this beautiful phrase:
"the deathless nature of the enlightened mind?^[1]
Why does it feel embedded in my mind ever since reading it?

Perhaps because most of us are still trying to find our way to our being, to find out who we really are.

Perhaps because most of us are still struggling with an illness of the soul, a disease paralyzing our minds and bodies, robbing us of the ability to think, dream, think, think, think, think.

Perhaps because the key to the riddle of our inner lives lies in the momentary encounters with the beyond of the mind and body. Perhaps because we must fully grasp the riddle in our lives.

Perhaps to fully comprehend our lives, we have to really step into our own futures in an exhilarating and challenging way.

Perhaps because the riddle of the psyche can only be solved through connecting to the infinite.

Perhaps because the past and the future are temporary, what is a mere memory, what has passed, what we have long ago, or will long past.

Perhaps because understanding the ego can only be done by engaging the soul, that is, living in the moment, or the truth, as it were, that resides within us.

Perhaps because all such notions as the above are at the core of reality.

Perhaps because we do not need to understand why we are here, but we are here to experience life and experience the many varied dimensions of existence, each of which requires a unique way of experiencing and viewing it. Perhaps because this statement is true.

Perhaps because the most incredible ideas, the most extraordinary thoughts, the most incredible creations came from only one direction: the journey to your core humanity.

Perhaps because we are only given an audience to realize that which is not yet lost, lost to the untaught, that which is eternal and transcendent. Perhaps because we are given the responsibility, the responsibility, to be honest, to be spiritual, to be aware, to think.

Perhaps because we are allowed to walk the garden of existence, the garden that is as much a mystery as it is a world, a world that is the perfect theater for a vivid yet fragile universe that is bleeding of its vividness.

Perhaps the most significant truths, the greatest truths about everything, have always been inside the most intimate of relationships. The relationship between "me" and "I."

Perhaps because a soul without a body or a body without a soul is the ultimate metaphorical mystery. Perhaps because we can go far beyond the field of feeling and thinking and into the realms of pure being.

Perhaps because the nature of mind, the wisdom, the absolute truth, resides within us, which resides in everything.

Or maybe, just maybe,
because every truth we find,
is only a thought away,
from our self-transcendence.




[1] Sogyal Rinpoche, The Tibetan Book of Living and Dying. Harper Collins 1994.




©2021 Alexander Manu

To experience in your lifetime the non-dual nature of everything is a tremendous gift. Discover and experience these feelings and senses while you have the chance; use them to your advantage because life is short. There are no guarantees.

Do not be fooled by an illusion. You are the only thing that truly exists. There is no plane of existence other than that in which you exist. There is no form of force; there is only consciousness.

Everything else is an illusion. You are the only one who truly exists. Nothing exists outside of you. Everything else is a creation of your mind, and you are merely a manifestation of your mind. And you can choose to create a reality or change your reality.

It is easy to fool ourselves about what is real. It is harder to realize that everything around us is an illusion. Everything is connected, nothing is separate, yet we still believe there is an objective reality. It is hard to find the humility to admit that we are just a collection of neurons and chemical reactions. But it is important to realize we are but one component in an entire hologram.

Our perceptions are controlled by the very same neurological system that controls our body. This realization is the basis for the practice and act of losing one's ego. Dissolving it.

Ponder this: You are not your body, your brain, or any other specific manifestation of your consciousness. You are consciousness. It.

Your consciousness, when in balance, is your entire being; it is the foundation of all life. When it is unbalanced, your body, mind, and perception are symptoms of your consciousness' imbalance. Many mindfulness practices help cultivate an awareness of this. They strengthen the mind's capacity to perceive. You must be aware and even humble to achieve this state beyond the reality of consciousness.

It is only through constant observation that you begin to see amazing things.

As for me, I know that there are ten million things I still must-see. Things I do not fully understand. And all this time, while understanding I do not understand, I am still in awe of this mind, this fantastic organism that can take any experience and mold it into something different. It can twist and distort your reality to believe something completely different from reality.

This is the definition of illusion; it bends perception to your will. It tells you what to think. It makes it so that you are doing what it wants you to do, and you have no way of escaping this illusion.

Reality is beyond imagination, beyond the perception of our senses. When your sense perceptions have been muted, all that remains is to experience in the limited capacity of your mind. Embrace the knowledge that you are a being, not an idea. The idea is nothingness. You are eternal. There is no beginning, no end.

You are watching the same sky as everyone else. So, there is no need to figure out where you came from or where you are going.

What lies ahead is what you create. There is no other "you."




© 2021 Alexander Manu

I lay no claim of uncovering the mysteries of the mind or the deepest reaches of the heart. I do not speak for anyone but myself. I have no proof of my experience belonging to anyone else or being explained by other than the lived emotions I have felt and dealt with. I do not fear being understood by you, and I just want to point out that this unique experience has delivered me here and now.

What does it mean to feel so acutely this pressure to be the most authentic version of yourself all the time?

I lay no claim of uncovering the mysteries of the mind or the deepest reaches of the heart. I do not speak for anyone but myself. I have no proof of my experience belonging to anyone else or being explained by other than the lived emotions I have felt and dealt with. I do not fear being understood by you, and I just want to point out that this unique experience has delivered me here and now.

I am a seeker of consciousness. Some people call this an enlightened being. Others might find me detached from all that is and an object of fascination to be studied, interpreted, and made into a thing. Who cares what you label me? What I call myself is irrelevant to my search. I do not own the name "consciousness."
It owns me.

But I do not claim it to be an achievement.

It is simply a journey that has brought me where I am, and my path is not for everyone. As I just said, I lay no claim of uncovering the mysteries of the mind or the deepest reaches of the heart. I do not speak for anyone but myself. I have no proof of my experience belonging to anyone else or being explained by other than the lived emotions I have felt and dealt with. I do not fear being understood by you, and I just want to point out that this unique experience has delivered me here and now.

What exactly is consciousness anyway? Is it a separate thing that we are all capable of tapping into? Or does it exist in the world and everything around us? How do we experience it?

I often thought that one definition of consciousness that has meant the most to me was "awareness of what is."

You might imagine I am an eccentric, but I just strive to explore the invisible forces of beauty, the unseen waves of energy and magnetism that sustain us, the unseen forces that provide us with the lights, warmth, and the rain that nurtures our life.

I am looking for a rational response to everything that surrounds us. Now, I ask you to put your label away.
Let go of your confusion.

I am not confused, nor do I think I know.

I can only explain what I know, what I have experienced. And what I have felt since the lockdown of March 18 of 2020, has been … extraordinary.

That is all.



© 2021 Alexander Manu

I want to clarify to all of you that nothing called "the future" exists, and nothing called "the past" physically exists. The only thing that really exists - genuinely exists - is this moment. This. Moment.

Now.

So, when we are talking about anything we call "today" or "the future," we are talking about the near now or the near forward now, as opposed to the near past.

Think about the present as the play button on any device – and I do hope you know or remember what the "play" button I am talking about is - if that button is pressed, we are playing, we are "live," and the playing happens IN THIS MOMENT.

The idea of Just press play manifests the idea that life is arrived at in the present moment. So how do we articulate this concept of a near Now, a Now about to happen? Let us call it for what it is: the emerging now. The emerging now is how we should refer to the Present.

The Present is constantly emerging NOW as an always dynamic experience. The opposite of the emerging now is the receding now. The dissolving sensation of the moment gives way for the emerging sense of the moment. The moment we call life.

In our present-day vocabulary, we describe things on a historical scale, a scale in which portions of the human experience have manifested themselves in what we call the past. In contrast, other experiences are about to manifest in what we call the future. The actual experiences we all can feel and describe are happening in the Present, this very moment in which we live. We all understand that the Present, the past, and the future are concepts that do not manifest in any actual dimension.

The future is a concept; it is our way of addressing the things that are not happening now. The past is a concept as well. It is our way of addressing the thing that has happened sometime in a different now, which means a receding versus an emerging now.

Another way we can look at this is that the Present is never already here. The Present is constantly being made. Even the time we experience right NOW is being made right NOW.

When we talk about the future, we talk about the possible happening now, in a potentially infinite and eternal moment which makes the concept of a now about to be realized. The present moment is an extension of the future, encapsulating this possibility.

When we talk about the past, we talk about what is not happening now. The past is what was happening then. We are all always Past Present.

So, the emerging now, the now about to be realized, is the expanded version of what we can call the Present. When we expand the idea of the Present, we realize that the Present is constantly being made.

The Present has no actuality of its own because it is always fleeting;
it only exists in our most recent memory and in the context of what we consider to be the future. While we may feel our Present always exists now, it exists only in the memory of now. The Present is always something about to be realized, and therefore we should call it the future.

When we say the future, we are talking about the possibility of what will happen sometime in the near moment. We can never predict when that moment will occur. We can only express a hypothetical occurrence that may happen, a concept representing a real possibility that exists in a now that is about to be realized.

So, the concept of the "the future" in our language, meaning the endless future, or the future as a mass, or the future as a universal present, is a function of a prior moment we have experienced and defined as a peak we would like to master again.

In the present moment, everything is "alive" because everything is about a relationship to everything else that is present, and everything comes together to become a "human," a being who is simultaneously embedded in a physical world of change and in a psychic world of timelessness and possibility. A whole being is a totality of parts, and an all-inclusive human experience is a different aggregate of these parts, which collectively manifest a concept that we call being.

You will not feel and experience the future, not the past, or even be aware of an eternal present because you cannot even imagine the possibility of these things. Your experience is the ever-present actualization of all possibilities in the present moment, in the same sense that your body, mind, consciousness, and senses are actualizations of reality in the physical world.
You are you because you experience yourself,
and there is no time,
there is no space.

To recap: I suggest that we look at the concept of the future as the emerging now, the concept of the present as the now, and the concept of the past as they are receding now.
I am simply saying:
just press play,

and hold.




© 2022 Alexander Manu

What if you could build a sort of symbolic threshold between the physical and the psychic, where the "dead-space" between the two became a place of possibility, where no relationship was defined as good or bad, no person was evil or good.

A being was defined as bad because it caused a human to suffer.

A human was defined as good because it caused another to enjoy life.

A human was good because it prevented the suffering of another being. A whole human experience is a bit like a coin, with good and bad sides. It is just that one side always weighs more than the other, and the value of the entire coin is the difference in weight.

But how do you break down the meaning of "good" from "evil"?

The simple answer is that we do not have to because it is not up to us. It is not up to us to decide what someone else is responsible for. Whether or not we are responsible for what happens to us and the beings around us is not up to us to determine. No one is responsible for anything. We cannot change anything, and no one can change us. The only thing we can do is find joy in the things that are right in front of us, in what is already.

Right now, the sky is blue, the air is warm and fragrant, and you are reading these words with your eyes closed. Your front door should be unlocked. Your heart is open. Your hands are not tied, and your mind is unencumbered by any degree of subjectivity.

You are ready. Show them who you are.
Show them who they can become.


(Dedicated to Marius Leonte at the moment he felt he was ready to show us who we are).


© 2022 Alexander Manu

Last night, just before going to sleep, I listened to the sound of my own breath, deeply inhaling, and exhaling in and out of my nostrils. The more I listened, the more I realized I was listening to my entire physical self, to my entire body, to every organ, muscle, and cell, to every breath, and to the sound of my heart beating inside my chest.

Then, I did the opposite, and, with my mind, I made my entire body silent, and immediately I could hear the sound of my body's heat. I could hear my heartbeat and the blood flowing through my arteries. I could hear my stomach gurgling. I could hear the sound of my teeth grinding. My heart expanded in my ears.

I could hear every word that my mouth breathed into my mind.

Within. Within. Just within. It was as if I became an extension of myself, almost as if I became one being. The more I asked, the more I discovered.

What is within me?

It's invisible.

How can I, myself, find that which is invisible?

Easy.

When I close my eyes, I can still perceive it, and I can still, with my mind, whisper into my physical self. I'll say to myself, "Where is this? Where is this?"

I'll ask it where it is, how it is. I'll ask it for what it is.

I'll say to it, "What are you?"

When I look, I find: Myself. A body. Body parts. Legs. Arms. Neck. Shoulders. Throat. Swaying forehead. Everything that is within me. Everything that I'm made of.

Wake up! Look inside yourself. Go deep inside.

Here you are! Just inside yourself.
No one else knows it. No one else can see it.
It is inside.
You.

Everything in you.
All.
Perfectly.
Simply.
Inside.


Inside you is everything you need to be on your way to living your truth.





© 2022 Alexander Manu

There is a subtle shift at work when we describe our "selves."

We might say: I am me, or I am just me. When we describe ourselves with these words, we are practicing the language of shape, the language of a schema. When we see ourselves as beings in or within (non-self) things, we project our referential desires and orientations onto them.

The way we present ourselves is profoundly shaped by the objects, people, places, and events that serve as our neighbors and sometimes confound our desires. As we step into a new home, we are drawing on the power of that physical place to create a reflection of ourselves that has more character than the one we've always presented in this home.

The deepest, most profound experiences of our existence are not those we are familiar with. The agony of childbirth is a mystery to most of us. And so is our own birth. Our most intimate friends and the creatures we love are vulnerable to the unpredictability of death. Our lives, shaped by our unique conditions, can change profoundly even in a matter of seconds. Our lives are always part of and are dependent on a realm of matter and forces beyond the recognition and experience of our own world.

This is another way in which we have come to distance ourselves from ourselves. Insofar as we seek help from others, we increasingly turn away from what most clearly defines us. Even the most fleeting of our human experiences can bring with it the sense of a more wondrous totality. When we trust the memory of another human being, we are coming to feel connected to a being whose claims are more significant than our own.

If we change the emphasis from a person-within-a-thing to a place-within-a-thing, we can say that the most radical experience we have, and the most foundational and enduring, is the care of other living beings. A child learns to walk at the feet of their mother. When a new child is born, it moves with a sequence of signs from the living world: the first cry, the first stick of grass, the first cloud. The sight of a newborn baby is nothing less than the very fact of life. To spend long moments with a sleeping child is to marvel at life as it comes to be.

We are reminded of the essential and fragile dimensions of what we call "humanity."

Whatever we have been or can become, we are a part of a web of being, a web that can never be entirely severed. This is the significance of what the philosophers called "the eternal return."

The experience of childhood is at the heart of human beings' relationship to themselves, each other, and the universe. These are the forms of deepest selfhood, and they cannot be transcended or contained.

All of life is based upon, and ultimately dictated by, the primary act of self-growth that animates all creatures and sprouts everything:
Life is a variation on the theme of birth.







© 2022 Alexander Manu

The present is our absolute and fundamental dimension of awareness, our continuum of perception of ourselves, our world, and our relationship with it. The present is our reality, our context.

It is what we always experience, in whatever dimension or vantage point we may be experiencing it. The present is in continual process, a moving, evolving, fluctuating being.

When we are in a state of constant chaos, there is no past, there is no future, only the present. Our experience is limited to the present in this state, which means we can only know what we feel right NOW. Our present experience. What we might call the totality of what we are.

In truth, what we call the present is the totality of what we feel and what we translate to ourselves as the now moment where life is really felt.

The word present is both past tense and future perfect. The present is the past with future potential.

The present is "present with potential for change."

Expressed in a relational sense, the present is a being that can change. It is a being that can evolve into something different.

In our present moment, the future is to be made manifest. We can and do live in this present moment as though it is finished.
It is not.
It is unfinished.

As we are doing life at this moment, there is this past-present that exists within us and around us. This past-present is part of us.

It is our beginning.

©2022 Alexander Manu

There is no place, there is no distance. It is simply you.

You see things in the same way you physically feel your physical body, the world you are in. The actualization of your subjective consciousness is reality; your perception is reality.

It is like this, there is no place or distance, and actually no particular place or distance, between your subjective consciousness and your objective reality.

In other words, there is no place or distance at all between you and everything that is your conscious awareness.

There actually is no such thing as place or distance. Place or distance means only that which we perceive through our subjective consciousness. The actual space and place is the external world of objective reality.

Your mind is just your perception of the external world in the same sense that you actually see things, and this is your place or distance, which does not really exist in any external reality.

There is no place or distance because reality is always exactly what is perceived, and what is perceived is always exactly what you are. It is impossible to be separate from the external world. All that is real is always what is perceived, not what is actually in reality. Reality is always what your subjective consciousness perceives, and what you perceive is always your reality.

There is no difference between you and the external world.

You are yourself because you are what is perceived!
You are what is felt, seen, heard, and experienced.

It is so natural that your reality is what is perceived. Everything is within your perception; it is not outside of you. There is no place or distance; there is no place or distance between you and your reality.

There is no place or distance between your subjective consciousness and your objective reality. You are the objective reality of your own subjective consciousness.

You are the external reality of your subjective consciousness.

There is no place, there is no distance.

It is simply you.

©2022 Alexander Manu

The past, present, and future are the distance between a moment and eternity. They are the transitions of dimension. The continuum has past, present, and future in all three dimensions of being. It is in this constant flux of dimensions that life indeed exists. In this continual transformation of dimensions, from one realm to another, we experience freedom.

In this continuous process of the movement and merging of dimensions, we experience a continual path to realize wholeness, oneness, union, and oneness.

To grasp and experience the reality of the present moment, we must overcome the rigid and fixed nature of time and its limits on our experience. We must see time as an empty continuum.

We are in the present. Our only limitation to this reality is our sense of time. Our only need is to be in the NOW. When we feel a thought, we know what is within the NOW. We know that right NOW, this thought exists.

We can only experience the NOW.
To exist in the NOW, we must eliminate dualism. It is the "always other, never self." The "should," and "maybes," and "should not" keep us stuck in a linear form of reality, a self-referential mind. We must fight to live in the moment. When we do this, we access our consciousness fundamentally, which will change our perception of reality and unlock the capacity to transcend the limitations of linear time.

Time is not linear. It has no beginning or end. It is a constant interplay of dimensions in an infinite continuum. Time is the eternity of the NOW.

The present moment is the totality of time.
Because it is a continuum, it is also the totality of reality. The NOW is the totality of reality. It is the totality of who we are. It is the totality of what we are. It is the totality of the continuum of time.


©2022 Alexander Manu

Where are you taking your spirit? And where are you going with it? Yes, all the lessons we have ever learned about living in a world of the Ego are valid, and they are sacred; they are sacred because they are based on profound truths about the inner world and because they are aimed at nurturing our spirit.

But the fundamental understanding lies in the essence of your being. It is in the sacredness of what lies inside of you. Your true Self has evolved, not to forget the sacred things you have experienced, but to submerge them within yourself and allow them to become the energy that you direct to all that you do and all that you do not do. The sacredness of life is there; it is not something that you create but something that your very essence is built on so that the best of your essence can be presented and stored there within you.

Your mind is self-transcendent; your conscious mind. Your entire mind system, and your whole self-identification, lie inside the borders of the Ego. The self-transcendence of the Self you can only achieve if you dissolve the walls of the Ego and allow yourself to become self-transcendent. The sacredness of life is where your spirit reside, in your own self-transcendence, where one must dissolve the walls of the Ego, and dissolve the impediments that keep us from accessing that sacred space.

These impediments include attachment, love, ego pride, arrogance, prejudice, identity, doubt, understanding, judgments of Self and others, uncertainty, anxiety, pleasure, pain, and ultimately ego self-delusion. It is a remarkable spiritual paradox that the extraordinary intensity of your personality arises from your selfish Ego. Sacredness is not created by wisdom or knowledge but by self-sacrifice.

To really be yourself, you must be able to forget who you are.

Not all can experience self-transcendence, but all can be drawn into an existential flow.

The power of that experience is very profound; your whole self-identification, the entire world-consciousness of yourself, is anchored to the self-transcendent nature of the heavenly spirit within you. That self-identification is the foundation of your own sense of the sacred, and so every sacred feeling, every moment of sacredness in life, is the experience of this collective sense of Self.

People experience self-transcendence in the many ways they can express and demonstrate their self-esteem and self-confidence, the self-transcendence of their dignity, self-love, self-esteem, and self-confidence.

By giving yourself to yourself, you are receiving your own deliverance. It is the most profound of human spiritual experiences. By giving yourself to yourself, you are dissolving the image of yourself that you have made through habit, time, and a sense of self-importance.

It is a revelation for the truly spiritual individual, the moment when the idea is realized that the totality of Self is an illusion. With this attitude, each person can set aside everything else and return to the root of their spiritual identity. This discovery is only of value when you can see it clearly.

Profoundness is only genuinely profound when you feel connected to something sacred, something that is beyond yourself and your existence.

Introspection allows you to transcend your Ego.

This is the essence of self-transcendence, of being of service to oneself. But a profound self-transcendence is not an obvious self-transcendence or outward self-transcendence. It is a deep sense of self-respect, self-confidence, and mystical knowledge of oneself.

You can have profound insights, great wisdom, and profound spiritual experiences, and they can be of great value, but only if you let go of your Ego. If you let go of your Ego, you will realize that your identity, in reality, is not so important, and the great wisdom and profound spiritual experiences will be much more accessible to you. The Ego gives you the sense that you are something, but you will never find that you are indeed what you think you are.

I am writing this in response to the many questions I received about my post The Dissolving Ego". My intent was not to undermine the profound sense of self-worth many hold in experiencing inner truth and self-love. My intent was to question the sense of significance we attach to our Ego and the experience of profound knowing that arises from the dissolving of that ego-individuated Self.

The real mystery of spiritual truth and experience is not discovering a way to keep the Ego but developing a complete understanding of it. Only then will the truth and experience be profound and lasting.

INTIMACY

When you go through the process of dissolving the self-imposed barriers of the Ego (of limiting yourself) and all of the cracks that have been made inside of you, you are removing barriers and compressing the self-implied limits within your sacred Self. You will gain a new perspective, a new perspective that is within.

There are two kinds of experiences you have here: one that is revered and one that is ordinary. This experience is revered because you are transcending the limitation of your Ego. When you act in the usual way, it unfolds who you are and who you have become; you are, in essence, trying to live within your usual limitations. This is the arena of the ordinary, which is defined as belonging to the human collective and to the Ego. There is no idea of a divine sense of Self or self-transcendence in the ordinary. You are a very human creature; you have self-realization.

When the definition of oneself is wholly lost, and the boundaries between your thoughts and words are blurred, you begin to think that your body, your thoughts, and your words are real. However, you are only filling yourself with what you want to experience. The Self is not real as we know it. The only thing that exists is an illusion of what we call Self, this energetic construct of our Ego.

PROJECTIONS

The Ego likes to keep the dark corners, it likes to create fear, so it protects itself by moving you away from fear. It wants to move you away from excitement, so it creates insecurities. It wants to create shame and blame, so it creates victims.

The only thing that you need to look at is yourself, as the center of everything, and you will soon begin to realize your potential, or what I call the future you. I believe that most people don't understand that they are the source of their own happiness and joy. I believe that most people are not true to themselves, and that is why they keep shifting through life, trying to fill a perceived void in their life, trying to change their world and their thoughts and actions to fit what they think others want to see them as.

We are the creators of our own reality. We can do this only if we consciously choose to create life and reality in a way that is true to ourselves. The Ego holds you back from this place of truth and responsibility, and you are only being shown another reflection of who you are.

Pay attention to what your life does for you. What kind of world do you create for yourself, the world you create for yourself? Live your life. Build your life. Create your life. Be the master of your own world, your own reality, your own everything.

That future is only a projection of who you are. Find out who you are in the present, living in this present. Make yourself into the person who you are projecting. The one thing that can make us truly self-transcendent is our ability to stop looking in and start looking out and open our minds to the view of all possibilities that the universe has to offer.

Once you find the path, get ready to be changed by your own power of self-transcendence. Your life is a projection of the thoughts that you allow yourself to hold onto.



©2022 Alexander Manu

To be a human is to search for the ultimate I AM of all. We are all the Universe, and we are all stars, but only a few ever shine. To embody the transcendent is why we are here. The trick, of course, is to move beyond this basic definition of who we are.

Our impermanence is not just a notion. It is the most authentic reality. It is life itself. So stay connected to your own inner life. Stay connected to the world. Understand your reality and the nature of all things, and you will be connected.

The ego itself is born from our relationship to what is. After all, if we believe that we are nothing in the grand scheme of things, we will always fail. The ego actually worsens in its ability to adapt, not to strengthen. The ego demands certainty and keeps people focused on whether they're losing, winning, or falling short.

Things change when you let go of the ego. When the ego falls away, it frees you to take some risks. It frees you and gives you more space to create the world that is in your heart. We come to understand that the grass is not greener where we go. It is greener where we let it grow.

When your ego dissolves, not only is your ego dissolving, but also the illusion of the self, since you are no longer responsible for protecting a self-image from life's disappointments. The dissolution allows the vital energy of your true self to fill in your life. All else is suspended.

But dissolving the ego does not mean abandoning the spirit. Instead, dissolving the ego lets the spirit of separation dissolve, bringing you closer to a state of pure being. This is what the living moment is really all about: true being is about letting the self dissolve in the continuity of the breathing cycle.

The ego dissolves by letting go of your story. That means allowing the thoughts of the mind to dissolve away and you become clear about the power of your own life to become.

Feel this moment as NOW. Feel it as present. Feel each moment as being a possibility and hold on to that feeling of possibility. You are creating your life every moment because, in every moment, you are creating possibilities. When you are in this present, you realize you have the power of existing. When you live in the present, there is no fear in it.

Once you realize this, you also realize you are at the center of life because you would not be in this present if you were not at the center.

Life is a process of the mind. So, think of yourself as the sky, holding the whole Universe. Find your soul resting in nowness. One cannot be with oneself without being in nowness. This is the essence of contemplation. This is the essence of being human.



©2022 Alexander Manu

How do we perceive reality? It is through a process of self-reflection. The filters of thought and perception distort our vision of reality most of the time. It is through self-reflection that we can see the nature of our mind.
When you speak to yourself, consider this word: "Nothing."

You must develop the ability to stand on your own without the need for anything. You must recognize that this awareness is a heavenly gift given to you to master the mind.

When you stand on the ground of awareness that no attachment exists, a space is created. What remains is the potential that can create relationships.

Our knowledge and understanding of self define our perception of reality. It is through self-awareness that you can break the perception of the self. The question that arises is, what is this? To understand the self is to see that the self is not separate from the world but is the world. We reflect the world and are living in a space of free fall. We are not separate from ourselves but are in an interconnected cycle of ego awareness.

Let us say you find yourself in a group of people. Your ability to see the world through the lens of ego allows you to be seen by others. They cannot see you because you are the expression of their experiences. The people you interact with are not separate from you because they are the energy patterns of your mind. Understanding this helps you understand the nature of reality and your relationship with the world.

The essential part is that there is no sense of separation between you and your thoughts. In the absence of self-awareness, you see yourself in this space as the reflection of the nature of your mind. The pure awareness that is your mind is that of enlightenment. You have returned from the inversion of time. You are aware of the nature of your mind and everything else as an illusion. Everything you think and everything that you do is the perception of your mind. Your experiences are not you; they are your experience. And you are none other than the world of the thoughts in which you reside. Once you realize this, your entire experience changes.

When the totality of your consciousness becomes clear, you will experience life in such a way that you no longer need to worry about becoming successful. You will allow life to be your teacher and you will let it speak through you. That thought that causes the fear of not being accepted, loved, and supported is only a reflection of your perceived separation. In reality, you are unadulterated awareness, and everything else is a distraction trying to convince you of its existence. You will see that life is endless.

The fact that we can create the world and ourselves is an expression of our awareness. When you reach this level of realization, you realize that you are the essence of your mind. This realization means that there is nothing outside of you and nothing outside of the nature of your mind. You have returned to the pure nature of consciousness, which is non-dualistic nature.

The purity of the mind that is non-dual is the antithesis of the ego. The belief that we are separate from the world is a limiting belief. As a result, we create the illusion that the world is separate from us. We must return to the pure nature of consciousness. When we connect with the source of consciousness, we dissolve the illusion of separation. We return to the fundamental nature of being. When we realize that nothing is outside the mind, we begin to experience the truth of non-duality. It is the experience of the truth of the nature of being that we call Awakening. You have no attachments to anything. You are the owner of your mind.

SEEING THE NATURE OF THE SELF

The ego is an illusion. It is a concept that has been created to restrict your awareness. It has been created to create fear and to define you. Your ego has been created as a way to describe your experience. You find unity when you understand that there is no self and your experience has no borders. When you are indeed able to perceive the nature of your experience, you can see the nature of yourself. It is a clear realization that will cause you to awaken. You will feel pure harmony, and the experience will cause you to remember that you are the owner of your experience. This realization will help you to realize that there is nothing outside of you.

If you are in a highly developed state of non-ego awareness, you will not look at things from a linear standpoint. Instead, you will be able to pick up on objects and their qualities rather than viewing them through ego awareness. From there, you are able to ask, "What is this?" and be able to receive the answer.

In a state of non-ego awareness words have little meaning; those who have walked this path know the reality of this space as the experience of pure awareness. For others, it will be a new concept. For all, it is a re-introduction to their soul.

You may experience this as a space between worlds. You can step out of your awareness into this void at any moment. If you can stay in the flow for any extended period, you will realize that you are in an experience different from any other. You may feel like you are in a straight line going in one direction and then realize that you are traveling in all directions at once.

Ultimately, it is through self-reflection that you can discover the nature of this existence.

CONCLUDING THOUGHT FOR THE YEAR 2022: FREE FROM THE INSIDE

You have returned from the inversion of time, and it has taken you on a journey that has made you aware of the nature of your mind. You can now see that our minds cause all experiences. And the entire world is nothing but a reflection of your mind.

The nature of your mind is enlightenment. Through self-reflection, your mind develops a sense of wholeness, expanding your perception of the infinite. This is the state of being that is beyond duality. As the mind separates into the subject and object of thought, there is an opportunity for this mind to separate and expand. In this state of self-reflection, when you become aware that you are a non-dual being, you can experience the infinite as it is and nothing more.

No borders, no rules, just unity.
One.



©2022 Alexander Manu

To be? That is the REAL question.

Being manifests as matter that can be counted and categorized. We cannot count something that is not; thus, Not Being does not exist, and it is not the opposite of being. The inquiry line "to be or not to be?" does not offer a genuine choice of selecting between different states of matter. The real question is "to be?"

To be?

That is the excellent question that drives our thinking on this planet; it is the great question that drives our understanding of the universe and every other reality that man has not made. To exist. "But what do we do when we exist?" The proposition of the universe is that we exist.

Yet we call what we do "our life." We call what we are "we." We are things that have memories and experiences, and thoughts. We walk, see, hear, taste, touch, and understand. These are not passive things that float on the ocean of stars and breathe like our creations; they are active things that make our creations. We are not passive in ourselves; our minds make it possible for us to create, not the other way around. For, without creating, we would not exist. Being is a creation.

It is through the reality of Being that we can understand our life.






©2023 Alexander Manu

A beginner pays attention to his movements. Thus re-evaluates the regular movements of the body as dualisms; conceals himself in outward movements; dissolves his desire to speculate in mind; thinks to himself: "What? Why do I chase after what I believe to be my life when I should follow outward motions?"

Though anguish in self-avoidance, the mind arises in contemplation to realize the need to remove ego-consciousness, to uproot the personality. Here arises love for all else in existence. The delusion of the ego's transience and memories. Since this knowledge of reflection is dependent upon the mind, subject to the correction of thoughts occurring in this manner, which are themselves transient, a desire to move inward in contemplation arises.

Therefore, discharging his devotion empties the mind and the body of its attachment.

There is no longer a discourse with the heart: self-discerning is the one who has separated himself from the scope of the heart. One who dissolves the self's opinion of self is aware of its confusion. And so, surmounting this state of being becomes apparent to the mind: self-surrender to reflection is like the transposed reflection itself, from the external to the internal. The depths of the heart are thus revealed as being concerned only with itself; therefore, one becomes aware of the true aspects of self in an inward undertaking. Good luck.

Because the mind is never confused. Do what you must but remember: There is no escaping who you are.







©2023 Alexander Manu

Outside of your mind or inside of your mind. Where are you?

In the eternal present. Can you keep that location fixed for the duration of this reading? Maybe not.

The dissolution of your ego – the state you need to be in order to be present - creates a temporary barrier, a loosening of consciousness. You could use that temporary opening to force your thinking to enter your existing consciousness from the opposite direction. You could attempt to dissolve the ego, but it will be challenging to keep you out of it since dissolving isn't the intention.

Dissolving is your idea.
You could keep yourself in mind by pretending not to be ego. What will dissolve your thinking is an existing conception of thinking as dissolving. You will lose nothing by not thinking. Unless, of course, you believe that a thought is a thing. If thought is a thing, then you are a thing. (So you are thinking now.) All you have to do to remain a thing is to remember that you are thinking.

No integration is necessary.
No thought-separating is necessary. No feelings-separating required.

Imagine that the exact change of consciousness you are experiencing in the now through your mind is occurring in all the universes around you. Suddenly, you begin to see the world differently. How wonderful, right? Because of this shift, you realize that all the perceptions of the world around you come from your mind and your perception of yourself. Reality exists through our perception. This shift in perception is the most powerful tool you have. It is a living reality, visible to you now in your present life.

Change your perception.
Your perception is changing with your attitude, not your reality. Try to forget your reality now and follow your desires to follow your life. Try to picture your mind only at the beginning of this adventure. Look at reality again now; see your actions, not your life. See yourself as being a vision of your future self.

Slow down and listen.
Listen to your thoughts. You are already experiencing the living reality of the life of your mind and your expectations, not the reality of your everyday life.

All is perceivable as you perceive it when you observe it. Because the mind perceives from your perspective, all is perceivable in your life as your experience.

You are choosing.
It is a choice to perceive reality as your experience from your mind. You are choosing to see yourself as having an eternal reality within the same state of your mind. Look around you. There is no reality outside of you. You are experiencing reality now; every other reality you perceive is also your experience. This is the most powerful tool you have. Observe the living reality of your awareness in your life, not the reality of your mind or your perceived reality. Change your perceptions and change your reality.

Accept yourself as being your mind and become a living reality in your own life. Take your perception from the mental life to your actual life. The most significant shift you can make in your reality is to always become a living reality in your own life. Change your perception of your life, and you will begin to experience life differently.

The world surrounds you.
You are also experiencing a universal understanding that there is no separation. You are touching the eternal within yourself. Do you know what this means? You have the knowledge within you, a wisdom beyond your understanding. It is divinely given and depends on what you choose to listen to. You have transcended your perception. You transcend what others have determined to be reality. What others look for is who you are and what you are, but that is already within you. Those around you are like mirrors reflecting what is within your heart. When the signs of transcendence exist within you, you reflect that to everyone around you. Because you are moving toward your enlightenment, others see this as you.

You have no limits, no burdens, and no failures. You are outside of worldly conflicts. You are beyond what is thought of as meaningless.
You are that which is now.


©2023 Alexander Manu